Secret Recipe Club: Honey Almond Scones

It's been a while since my last non-Secret Recipe Club post. I know I've been unfair to my other SRC members by not posting regularly. And so, as I've said a few times, this will be my last post for a while. I hope to be back with my regular posts and back in SRC in a few months - God willing! 

I was eager to see who I was assigned to for my last month before the break, and man - I wasn't disappointed! Goodie Godmother 's website is just awesome. This time I had to enlist my husband's help in choosing just one awesome recipe to cook! And after 15 minutes of browsing through, he just gave up and said, "everything looks so good. I can't choose. It's too hard!"

Mary, you've created a beautiful space for your readers! I love your blog and I love your '10 facts about me'. We are alike in a lot of ways - the love of caramel, the sweet tooth and a lot more. It was awesome getting to know a little bit about you through your blog!

So - back to choosing! Did I make these smooth and creamy, chocolate dreamy cookies which are so similar to a particular store-bought cookie that my kids love? Or do I make these vanilla bean marshmallows that remind me so much of my mom's homemade marshmallows? Ugh. So tough!

In the end, I made two recipes - the first one was these Red Velvet Baked Doughnuts. No surprise with my pick considering my love for all things red velvet is well-known. Unfortunately for me, just as I pulled the doughnuts out of the oven and I was waiting for them to cool, we had company. And before I could even think of photographs, they were all gone - yummy cream cheese glaze and all. :( Oh well! 

Finally, knowing my husband's love for scones, I settled on these Honey Scones. The flavour sounded lovely and it would be perfect for a Saturday morning breakfast with the family. 

The only modification I made was the addition of almonds. My husband needs the crunch of nuts in scones for them to be 'perfect' and almonds and honey made perfect sense to me. I also didn't use the Chantilly cream Mary recommended, but instead added a sprinkling of sugar over the top of the scones to add crunch and some extra sweetness.

Honey-Almond Scones

Recipe adapted from this one on the Goodie Godmother 

Ingredients 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold & cubed
3/4 heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp sugar, for topping
1/3 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or Silpat.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add the butter and work it into the flour using a pastry cutter, two knives or your finger tips. You want the mixture to look crumbly with the butter still in small pieces.
4. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the cream, vanilla and honey.
5. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine with a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together.
6. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking tray. Pat it down and shape it into a square about 8"x8".
7. Sprinkle the sugar and chopped almonds over the top of the scones in an even layer.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut the large square into 8-12 smaller squares depending on how large you want your scones.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the base and edges are a beautiful light golden brown.
10. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before serving with a glaze, preserve, cream or spread of your choice!

The flavour of these scones were really good. I mean - how can you go wrong with honey and almonds. The texture was something different from what we're used to in a scone. I guess that's from the total lack of any kind of sugar in the recipe. The honey gives the scones a spongy, soft texture. There were no complaints :)

Thank you, Mary, for this recipe, and for all the other yummy recipes on your site. Everything looks scrumptious and I can't wait to try all the others I've bookmarked. 

Thanks to Sarah, Camilla and everyone else at SRC - especially Group B, for being so kind and sweet and welcoming! I've enjoyed my time here, and I hope I can bake with you again in a while.

Until next time, dear readers and friends - blessings and hugs to you all... 

XOX 

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Berries & Cream Scones

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! If not for SRC, my blog would be already dead and gone. After two more months of SRC, I will be taking a few months off though. I need some time away from the blog to focus on the family and while I will miss blogging, I know I will be back.

This month, I was super excited to be assigned the fabulous blog Camilla's Culinary Adventures! Oh man - Camilla really is a star. She manages a fabulously loaded blog on which she posts amazing recipes very regularly, she runs a beautiful family and she is also our Group B moderator here at SRC. I need lessons from this lady on time management! Hats off to you, Camilla. You're an inspiration!

I honestly had such a hard time picking a recipe this time around. She has so many recipes in almost every style of cooking. I was tempted to pick a bread recipe, or a Madeleine recipe (I adore Madeleines) or one of her amazing cupcake recipes since my daughter has been nagging me for cupcakes. Finally, I ended up with a breakfast recipe when i needed to make a quick batch of scones for someone. I remembered seeing this recipe on Camilla's site and went back to it. 

The recipe is originally strawberries and cream but I didn't have strawberries in the house at the time, and so I made it with blueberries instead. I'm sure it would have been amazing with strawberries though! Next time! 

Berries and Cream Scones

Adapted from Camilla's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 cup white sugar 

1/4 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

2/3 cup double cream 

1 large egg 

1/2-3/4 cup fresh or frozen strawberries 

1 tbsp double cream (for the top)

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Stir well to combine. 

3. Add the butter and using either a pastry cutter or just the tips of your finger, work the butter into the dry mixture until the mixture resembles chunky breadcrumbs. You could even do this in the food processor. 

4. Add the cream and egg and gently bring the dough together. 

5. Once the dough is formed, add the blueberries and be very gentle to disperse the berries. Take care not to bruise the berries too much. 

6. Transfer the dough onto your prepared baking sheet and pat into a circle that's about 1/2 inch thick. Slice into wedges and drizzle the top with the reserved cream. 

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the scones are lightly golden and raised. 

8. Serve warm drizzled with a glaze of your choice or with cream and jam. 

These scones were different from the ones I've made before and we all loved them - especially my husband! The base and edges had a crispy cookie like texture that we couldn't get enough of, and the middle was soft and crumbly, and as Camilla mentioned that her son noticed, - the flavour was intensely buttery and delicious!

Thank you for this amazing base recipe for scones Camilla. You can bet I'll be using this to make many amazing combinations for years to come! Please go check out Camilla's blog and I promise you a treasure trove of recipes that you can't stop bookmarking! 

Don't forget to check out the other awesome SRC recipes below!

Until next time :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Strawberries & Cream Scones

I love that strawberry season comes twice a year. The whole family rejoices when we walk into the market and find a table filled with box upon box of ripe, red strawberries. Both my daughters are just plain strawberry-mad! I've been buying so many boxes! Most of the berries are just washed and eaten, but I usually manage to hide a box or two to bake with. I love baking with fresh strawberries.

This recipe is one that I've made a few times now. It is no secret that our breakfast favourites are muffins and scones. So, I'm always trying out new scone and muffin recipes, and my family never complains. Of course, when you're trying out so many new recipes, you're bound to have some recipes you never want to try again. This isn't one of them.

If you want a lighter crumb and are baking for an occasion or for guests, and you don't want to worry about health, you could just bake it with all regular flour.

Strawberries & Cream Scones
Adapted from Taste of Home 
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar (plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
2/3 cup half and half, or medium-fat cream
2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or greaseproof paper, or use a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, 1/3 cup of sugar, baking powder, flaxseed meal, orange zest, salt and ground cinnamon. Mix well.
3. Add the cold butter and using just the tips of your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Work quickly, and gently until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
4. Add the cream and bring the dough together gently.
5. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, and add the chopped strawberries.
6. Working very lightly, so as to not bruise the berries too much, gently work the strawberries into the dough.
7. Transfer the dough onto your lined baking sheet, and form into a rough 8 or 9 inch circle. Pat down the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into six or eight wedges.
8. Brush the top of the scones with the egg and sprinkle with the 2 tbsp of sugar you have reserved. You could also sprinkle the top with chopped nuts.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown.

The flaky, buttery scone is rich with cream and loaded with tangy-sweet berries that drip their juice and make a very welcome mess. I wish I could get my hands on some clotted cream. I think it would be perfect with these particular scones.

My husband had a valid complaint. While he love the sugary crunch on the top of the scones, he felt these scones would benefit with some more texture and crunch. So the next time around, I thought I'd throw in some hazelnuts or pistachios for some texture.

In other news, with my birthday and Valentine's Day falling in the same month, I have received a bounty of new cookbooks that I am SO excited about. I have the best husband, friends and family in the world! I can't wait to be sharing some awesome tried and tested recipes from these awesome new books! :)

But, for now, watch out for another awesome strawberry recipe to celebrate the season of yummy strawberries!

Until next time…

Orange-Walnut Scones

I just love baking in the morning. Especially when no one else is up yet. These days, the kids don't allow me that alone time because they're up along with me at 5:30am these days. So I had two gorgeous assistants to help me with this recipe.

To be honest, only one was actually assisting me. The other just hung on to my leg as I walked around the kitchen trying to get breakfast together. I wish I had someone to take a picture. She was literally hanging on with her little arms around my leg while I moved around. It wasn't comfortable, but let's just call it weight-training!

Aimee helped a lot with stirring the flour mixture, breaking the walnuts into smaller pieces and of course, doing the all-important sprinkle of sugar. What would I do without her! <3

These scones are really yummy. I was considering throwing in some chocolate chips at first but I'm so glad I went the walnut route. The flavors were just amazing!

Orange-Walnut Scones

Makes 6-9 scones

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup castor sugar, plus 1.5 tbsp extra for sprinkling 

1/2 tsp salt

Fine zest of 1 whole orange 

1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

113g/1/2 cup cold butter, cut in small cubes 

4 tbsp fresh orange juice 

3 tbsp whole milk 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir well to combine. 

3. Stir in the zest of one whole orange. 

4. Add the cubed, cold butter and work it into the flour mixture using just your finger tips. Working gently, rub in all the butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. 

5. Gently stir in the chopped walnuts. 

6. In a small cup, combine the orange juice and whole milk.

7. Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the orange juice mixture. 

8. Mix gently until the dough comes together but is slightly crumbly. Do not knead! 

9. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking tray and flatten into a 3/4 inch thick square or circle. 

10. Using a damp knife, cut through the scone mixture to mark the pieces. This will make it easy for you to break off pieces when baked. Sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining castor sugar. 

11. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the surface of the scone is dry and springy to the touch and the base is golden brown. 

12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before gently cutting the pieces apart. 

13. Serve warm with accompaniments of your choice. 

My choice of accompaniments for this scone would be a thin spread of a nice marmalade and a generous dollop of clotted cream. Now if only clotted cream was easily available here. Sigh. 

The flavor of these scones is just right. Strong but not overpowering fresh orange flavor, an amazing buttery flavor that only real butter can give, and toasty walnuts that add some crunch texture to an otherwise melt-in-the-mouth scone. The sugar on top adds a little bit of extra sweetness because the scone itself isn't too sweet. 

This makes a small batch and it was just enough for us for one breakfast. We really enjoyed these scones, and I think it will be a hit with your family too!

Until next time... <3