lemons & heavy cream

here is another recipe from baker, beth hensperger, for a light and very easy-to-make scone. these ones are made with heavy cream (35% mf), butter and lemon rind, resulting in a mildly citrus-flavoured scone — one which is great for breakfasts & tea or coffee-time snacks.

originally, i made these scones with the 1/4 c of butter called for in the recipe. one day, i made the mistake of adding a 1/2 c instead and thought i had ruined everything. to my delight, they came out wonderful with this amount. i also added about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of "sour salt" which is basically a citric acid in powder form. while they were good with the lemon zest alone, i liked them much better with this sour edge and more lemon-y flavour. one must be careful with sour salt, however, as adding too much will ruin everything. a little bit goes a long way. (why not lemon juice? because i didn't want to incorporate any more liquid than necessary).

here is another scone recipe i like a lot, too. just as easy and equally good, if not better :)

lemon cream scones

if you like scones, you'll most probably like these. lemon-y and not too sweet, these are great with jam or preserves. the baked sugar on top leaves a nice crunchy coating and helps them brown a bit more during the baking process.

makes 8 to 16, depending on size you want

ingredients:

2 c (290 gr) all purpose flour
3 tbsp (36 gr) sugar
1 tbsp (11 g) baking powder
zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 - 1/4 tsp sour salt or lemon oil, optional

4 tbsp (62 g) unsalted butter*, cold & cut into several pieces

2 eggs
1/2 c (150 ml) heavy cream (35% milk fat)

*i use 1/2 c (8 tbsp or 125 g) often for a more buttery flavour and lighter texture; it works both ways.

you can add 1/3 cup (5 1/2 tbsp) dried cranberries or currants, if you like those.

method:

preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).

line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter it, if not using parchment.

in a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt together.

cut in the butter until you get something that looks like coarse crumbs.

in a measuring cup, measure out the cream and then break the eggs into it.

whisk the eggs and cream.

add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until a dough is formed. don't be rough with it and over beat it.

it will not all come together at once and there will be some dry left on the bottom. that is how it should be.

bring the mixture together with your hand until you get a cohesive ball but do not knead it. you just want things to stick together.

place the ball of dough on your baking pan and pat it out with your hands until it is about 1 inch thick and the shape of a rough square.

cut the dough with a knife in half lengthwise and then again width wise, in the shape of an addition sign.

cut each quarter into two triangles. you will have 8 scones.

move the dough with your hands gently and space them apart on the same baking sheet.

you can cut the triangles again in half to equal 16 smaller scones which are great for little snacks for tea or coffee.

paint the triangles well with cream and then, fairly heavily, sprinkle the scones with sugar. you can use regular (caster/granulated) or heavier demarrera (crystalized) sugar.

bake the scones for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

remove them and let them cool on a baking rack.

serve with thick cream and jams or preserves. they can be frozen for later, too.

enjoy!