Lemon Scone
It's really hard to find really good scones. They have to be flaky and soft. One of the only places you can get these in Copenhagen is at Reinh van Haun bakery. Well you can probably get real scones in the UK.
Recently I had a really god and flakey scone at Tartine Bakery & Cafe in San Francisco, but it's not just around the corner from here, so I won't be hanging out there a lot. But if you're ever in San Francisco stop by Tartine, even if you have to wait in line, It's worth the wait.
I got this recipe at a cooking class in Sur La Table from Chef Nikki B. Frias. I'm sad to see that she's no longer at the Los Gatos Store - I miss you Nikki!
Makes 10-15.
Ingredients:
- 450 g all-purpose flour
- 85 g sugar
- 30 g baking powder
- 7 g salt
- 115 g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 475 ml heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Topping:
- heavy wipping cream
- demerara sugar (raw cane sugar)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C) For a convection oven. Non-convection preheat oven to 425°F (220°C)
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, by hand. Add the butter. I used a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter in the flour mixture. Mix until the the butter resembles small pebbles.
Getting ready for the oven.
Add in your cream and lemon zest and mix until it just comes together and resembles biscuit dough. This step is very important because if you over mix, the dough will become dense. If you use berries in the scones, add them now
Using an ice cream scoop, take the scones dough and place the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush the top with heavy whipping cream and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown in the mottle of the oven.
Note:
You can make the dough and set them on a baking sheet and then freeze them in advance. When you want fresh baked scones - just take the frozen scones out and brush the top with heavy whipping cream and sprinkle with sugar, and bake. No need for defrosting.
You can add fruit to the batter. Use about 115 g, but don't use strawberries, they contain to much water.