I woke up early Saturday morning while it was still dark out. After tossing around in bed for who knows how long without any success in falling back to sleep, I finally gave up and decided to surprise hubby with fresh-baked scones instead. I had been thinking about making scones for a while now anyway and was glad I finally got a chance to do it before my big carton of heavy cream expired. :) This is my favorite scone recipe which comes from another of my well-loved, well-used cookbooks – The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg.* The recipe makes these big, beautiful scones that are absolutely tender and delicious. Enjoy!
Adapted from the Scones recipe from The Professional Pastry Chef:
3 ounces dark raisins
3 ounces dried cranberries
14 ounces bread flour
1½ ounces granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1¾ cups heavy cream
2 ounces honey
turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with Silpat (silicone baking mat) or parchment. Combine the dried fruit and a handful of the flour to prevent them from sticking together. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cream. Add the remainder of the cream, honey, and dried fruit to the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients come together in a smooth dough. Take care not to overmix.
- Pat the dough into a round disk. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to relax for 5 minutes.
- Next, knead the dough for a couple of minutes until it’s smooth (dough should not feel sticky – if it does, dust your workplace with some flour before kneading). Press the dough out to form a 10-inch circle.
- Cut the circle into 8 wedges. Brush the top of each wedge with some of the reserved cream. Invert the pieces in turbinado sugar. Place sugar-side up on prepared pan.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.
*I was required to purchase this book a few years ago when I took some pastry courses. It is a great reference book, albeit a little more expensive than your regular cookbooks. I think it’s a good investment overall, especially if you are interested in the technical aspects of baking and pastry. Also, I have tried a lot of the recipes from this book, all with excellent results. A word of caution though – the recipes are not scaled for home bakers (not in my edition anyway – I own the third edition). For example, a typical muffin recipe makes approximately 30 to 50 regular size muffins. I usually halve the recipe anyway so I can’t tell exactly what the actual outcome would be – just that it would be A LOT. :)
