Chocolate Scones
Makes 12-15 scones
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream or buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
Whole milk for brushing tops
Clotted cream, for serving
Directions
Set the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers, until the mixture is slightly coarse; butter bits should be roughly pea-sized.
In a small bowl, beat the cream and egg yolk with a fork until blended, then stir this into flour mixture until there are no dry bits, but be careful not to overwork it.
Turn out onto a lightly-floured board, flour your hands, and knead lightly to just bring the dough together, then shape into a square about 2 inches thick, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes, just to chill the butter down a bit.
Remove dough from the fridge, unwrap, and place on a lightly-floured board, then roll or pat into a square about 1 inch thick.
Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut squarish scones from the dough (this saves having gathering and rerolling scraps to make additional scones - no waste). Alternately, for traditional round scones, use a 2 1/2-inch cutter to cut out rounds, rerolling the scraps to cut out more scones, until no dough remains.
Transfer to the prepared baking sheet (I find the square scones rise a bit better if the edges touch) and brush the tops with the milk.
Bake for 16-18 minutes. Scones should appear puffed up and slightly dry around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm with clotted cream.
Recipe based on one found in Margaret M. Johnson's "tea & crumpets: Recipes & Rituals from European Tearooms & Cafes."
Makes 12-15 scones
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream or buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
Whole milk for brushing tops
Clotted cream, for serving
Directions
Set the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers, until the mixture is slightly coarse; butter bits should be roughly pea-sized.
In a small bowl, beat the cream and egg yolk with a fork until blended, then stir this into flour mixture until there are no dry bits, but be careful not to overwork it.
Turn out onto a lightly-floured board, flour your hands, and knead lightly to just bring the dough together, then shape into a square about 2 inches thick, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes, just to chill the butter down a bit.
Remove dough from the fridge, unwrap, and place on a lightly-floured board, then roll or pat into a square about 1 inch thick.
Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut squarish scones from the dough (this saves having gathering and rerolling scraps to make additional scones - no waste). Alternately, for traditional round scones, use a 2 1/2-inch cutter to cut out rounds, rerolling the scraps to cut out more scones, until no dough remains.
Transfer to the prepared baking sheet (I find the square scones rise a bit better if the edges touch) and brush the tops with the milk.
Bake for 16-18 minutes. Scones should appear puffed up and slightly dry around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm with clotted cream.
Recipe based on one found in Margaret M. Johnson's "tea & crumpets: Recipes & Rituals from European Tearooms & Cafes."
