Kricket Cakes

Every once in a while I get really excited about eating a scone, but when I bite into a hard, crumbly, bland, dry thing, I am greatly disappointed. I know that scones are ”supposed to be dry” and are “meant for dunking in tea or coffee,” but I am not a big fan of that kind of pastry. I like my scones to be soft and moist, rich and flavorful… more like a biscuit. Perhaps the truth is that I don’t really like authentic scones. Whatever the case, this recipe creates a pastry just how I like it!

I was planning on making all fruit scones, but I realized at the last minute that I didn’t have enough berries. So, I improvised and made some with chocolate chips. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the chocolate ones were, and even more surprised by how good the experimental chocolate-blueberry-raspberry ones turned out! Makes me think there are  a lot of interesting and delicious possibilities to be tried out…

I got this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and it makes 8 large scones.

For the Scones:

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
• 1 1/2 cups fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) and/or semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Large crystal sugar for sprinkling

To Make the Scones:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Grate 8 tablespoons of the butter on a box grater, place in a bowl and return to freezer until needed.
3. Melt the other 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan, set aside.
4. Whisk the milk and sour cream together in a medium bowl and refrigerate until needed.
5. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl.
6. Add the frozen butter and toss with your hands until thoroughly coated.
7. Fold in milk mixture with a wooden spoon until just combined.
8. Knead the dough on a floured counter until it just holds together in a ragged ball.
9. Roll dough out into a 12 inch square.
10. Fold the dough over itself in thirds, like an business letter.
11. Turn the dough one quarter turn and fold again.
12. Place the dough on a floured plate and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
13. Remove dough from freezer and roll out into a 12 inch square.
14. Sprinkle the berries and/or chocolate chips evenly over the dough, pressing them in lightly.
15. Roll dough into a tight log and pinch the ends closed.
16. Flatten the log out into a 12 x 4 inch rectangle.
17. Slice the dough crosswise into 4 rectangles and then slice each rectangle diagonally to make a total of 8 triangles.
18. Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
19. Brush the melted butter on top of the scones and sprinkle with the large crystal sugar.
20. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
21. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 10:31 am and is filed under Pastries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.