The Triple Dairy Scone – today with Blueberry and Lemon; and, the new “Secret” Step

The Triple Dairy Scone – Blueberry and Lemon Version

So sorry if you are sick of Scone recipes – but I’m not.  I’ll try to get onto other things, I will.  Yesterday, I made a batch of Pumpkin-Ginger Biscotti and I’ll be publishing this later.

But, you know me – just about each week I find myself experimenting in the scone department.  I don’t know why this is, except to say it inspires me to wake up and bake something fragrant and surprising in the early morning – something which would tease someone out of the bed should I have someone to indulge like this these days.  There are as many scone recipes as there are minutes in a day and I love trying out each and every one to see what the differences are and which I like and which I don’t.  Of course there are a million flavor iterations to try – always fun and greatly seasonal.   Aside from this, mostly the ones which intrigue me are the avec eggs and sans eggs.  Today, I found myself experimenting in the Dairy department.

There is something very satisfying about watching a scone rise in the oven – and yes, I still get a little charge out of this each and every time.  They are little miracles of magic puffing up wildly – of course as is bread, cake and lots of things in the “fun and yummy” category.

The past few days I have been re-reading the cookbook from Miette.  This is a great book not just because of her recipes, but also because her bakery motif is so fun and happy.  Anyway, I decided to make her Créme Fråiche Scones – because I have never done so and then I just went to work on the recipe.

I have to tell you that I have noticed lately that when I make scones strictly according to someone else’s recipe, that the batter is always too dry and I find I have to add wet ingredients into the mixture.  This, of course can have a lot to do with the weather, your flour(s) and the conditions in your kitchen.  On Sunday when I made the pumpkin scones this happened and today as I made these as well.

I’m calling these the Triple Dairy Scones – as this is what I wound up with.  A word about the dairy department – Créme Fråiche and Sour Cream are basically interchangeable as is subbing out one or both for a yogurt.  This can be a little hit or miss because of fat content but basically I have found it is ok.  And, I almost always have a quart of buttermilk in the fridge – and so this is always useful.  Miette’s original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of Créme Fråiche and 1/3 cup of heavy cream.  I followed her recipe exactly and knew my mixture was way too crumbly.  And so, as I was mixing my blueberries in at the end, I added just about a 1/2 cup of buttermilk in to get things just right.

But, my new big “secret” probably not a secret to many – which I learned on Sunday and from Thomas Keller – he knows everything doesn’t he?  –  earlier this year – is to put your unbaked scones into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.  The results have been great with this and I plan on continuing this step.  And so, I have named this new recipe – The Triple Dairy Scone.  Technically, of course, butter is dairy also – but in this instance I am referring to the ingredients other than the obvious and non-negotiable, butter.

You should note that your conditions – flour, humidity and your kitchen, will yield you slightly different results every day – so tread here at your own risk,  so to speak – I mean, you have to see how they come out!  Mine today were just how I love them, lofty and light, fragrant as all get-out, flavorful and, most important for me, crunchy!

Here is what happened:

THE TRIPLE DAIRY SCONE – BLUEBERRY AND LEMON VERSION – adapted from Miette

Note:  Today I didn’t have any créme fråiche so I substituted sour cream

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup plus 1 tblsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1 tblsp baking powder

1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking soda

1 1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup créme fråiche (or sour cream)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 – 1/2 cup buttermilk – see instructions

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 cup blueberries

egg wash

muscavado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425F convection. 

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt,and  lemon zest on low speed.

Add in the butter and mix on low until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  

In a small bowl, whisk together the creme fraiche, heavy cream, 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and the almond extract.  Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix just until the wet ingredients are incorporated. 

Turn mixture into a low wide bowl and evaluate the texture to see if the additional 1/4 cup buttermilk is needed.  The mixture should be at the “just holds together” point and does not crumble apart.  At this point add in the blueberries (or whatever fruit/chocolate, nuts, etc. you’d like and mix together lightly by hand.  Pat the batter into an 8″ round and place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.  Remove from freezer, cut into 9 wedges and separate. 

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with muscavado sugar.   Bake for 20 minutes.

Smell heavenly while baking and Yummm! You can also top these with some sliced, toasted almonds.  But, really, you can make these with just about whatever fruit you have on hand unless it is a particularly wet one – then, of course you will want to either toss your fruit in a little flour JUST before adding it to the batter or adjusting your dry ingredients slightly.  You really have to know how to get the right feel to the batter – not too dry, not too wet. 

Hope you like these and hope you enjoy this gorgeous day!