Tuesday, July 6, 2010

SCONE MARATHON



I've had a bit of a scone making marathon recently - don't really know why, but once I started, I kept thinking of other recipes I wanted to try!!

If I'm apportioning blame (it's always good to blame someone else!!) ... I think we'll have to take a look at this post over at Tea and Wheatenbread, scones have been to the forefront of my mind since I read that  (can you blame me?).  As always RhyleysGranny was on the money - really easy and incredible taste, with that perfect ever so slightly crumbly texture.



When I had the processor out, I thought I'd continue with the theme - as had become my habit recently, I turned to "Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache" as I had spotted a recipe for Honey and Sunflower Ginger Scones.  Ms Eastwood has stipulated that the veggies should be hand grated for her recipes, but I thought I would test that (bit of a rebel here!!) - and I have to say that for this recipe, processor grated carrot was just fine. (That said I imagine that softer vegetables would need the gentler handling of a hand grater).

These scones are simply wonderful, I will have to admit that I am a bit of a ginger fiend - love the stuff, but the ginger here is a gentle back note to the more savoury than sweet scone.  I ate my scone with some Dubliner cheese (sharpish Cheddar type cheese) and it was a marriage made in heaven.  I have hidden some of the scones in the freezer to have later in the week with soup - I'm thinking carrot and ginger, or would that be too much?

Honey and Sunflower Ginger Scones

220g           white spelt flour
1 tsp            ground ginger (heaped)
2 tsp            baking powder
1/2 tsp         salt
1/2 tsp         bread (bicarbonate of) soda
200g            peeled carrot - very finely grated
30g              butter, cold and cut into cubes
25g              raw ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp          honey
3 tbsp          sunflower seeds (I'll use more next time)
flour to dust the work surface.

Preheat the oven to 200 C
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.


Grate the carrots in the food processor.
Add the flour, ginger, baking powder, salt, bread soda, and pulse.
Add the butter, raw ginger and honey and pulse until the mixture starts coming together.
Add the sunflower seeds and pulse a couple more times.
Remove this mixture to a floured surface, and pat out to about 4cm thickness.
Treat the dough very gently - it's the difference between light and tough scones.
Using a pastry cutter (6cm) and a single pressing down action (don't twist) cut out your scones. I got 9.
Place on the baking sheet and brush with a little milk, and sprinkle a few sunflower seeds over them.
Bake for 17 - 19 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to cool.

I am nominating these scones for the July edition of  No Croutons Required to be served with this salad.





At a coffee morning recently, I asked a neighbour for her scone recipe - her scones are always incredibly light, they could nearly fly off the plate they are so light.  I felt more than a little shamefaced to realise that she uses the same recipe as me, hers are so much nicer than mine!!!  I'm going to have to get to the bottom of this.  I know she uses unsalted butter - but that couldn't make them lighter.  Anyway, as a first step in my "improve my scones" project, I thought I'd try making them in the food processor (it worked with the wholemeal ones above, so why not my usual ones).  I was wrong, these came out flatter than normal, they tasted fine but not quite as light as I want them to be.

I'm going to carry on with this project and report back with the recipe and method when I get them just right!!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love a good scone recipe... I made some banana scones (see the blog) but I also make a good carrot cake scone just using a basic recipe but adding shredded carrots, raisins, coconut and mixed spice... then instead of cream and jam I serve them with a cream cheese... like a carrot cake topping. Always goes down well! x

Jutta said...

Not sure if you have seen recipes like this before, but lemonade is used in some scone recipes in Australia. I am sure that is not traditional but I don't care if it gives good results. I have to admit to not making scones very often. The last time I made a traditional scone was in 1994 but they were so great I remember them well, just not the recipe!
Here is a link for lemonade scones with great reviews:
http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/07/lemonade-scone-recipe.html
and then the CWA recipe (Country Women's Association here in Australia famous for their scones and other baking):
http://www.abc.net.au/local/recipes/2004/09/17/1199471.htm

Maria♥ said...

I'm hanging my head in shame but I made scones once and they turned out terrible and then I never bothered making them again. I'm going to get over this and try again!

Your scones turned out great and I love the sound of the Honey and Sunflower Ginger scones.

Maria
x

Choclette said...

Love the use of ginger and carrot in your scones - what a completely fab idea.

Rhyleysgranny said...

LOL I am so glad you blamed me. Funnily I was wondering if I could grate carrot into mine. (You have started me off on this you know so I am blaming you now.)Rhyley is a terrible eater. She loves my scones and will eat three in a sitting. I add ground seeds. oats and cheese to make them a bit more nourishing but today I was toying of the idea of grating a carrot in. Does it make a difference to the texture and taste?

Rhyleysgranny said...

Ooooooops i forgot to say your Honey and Sunflower Ginger Scones sound and look great. I think they would be lovely with the soup. Go for it girl!

Brownieville Girl said...

Dominic - those carrot scones sound fantastic - just leave out the raisins for me!!!

Jutta, I have made the lemonade scones, even tried them with low fat yogurt and diet 7up, not quite as bad as you would imagine!!

Maria, LOL, go for it. I think that freezing the butter and then grating it in is a good way to go with normal scones. But these honey and sunflower ones are pretty fool proof.

Thanks Choclette :-}}

That carrot is always worth a try Granny :-} The texture is actually excellent, and the honey and ginger disguises any taste!! I have a few chocolate buns with different vegetables on my camera - will upload and blog about them soon.

We should set up a competition to see who can squeeze the most veggies into unlikely dishes!!!!

Anonymous said...

The honey and ginger sunflower scones sound great- I wonder if you could put courgette or beetroot in them instead? I love a savoury scone with soup and cheese- one of my favourite meals x

Cookie Confessions said...

I love scones! These sound delicious! Have you tried making scones with sour cream? They are by far my favorite.

Julie said...

If you're going to have any sort of marathon, I'd say scones is the way to go...yum!

Brownieville Girl said...

Emmalene, I'd say beetroot would be great in them - courgette might be a bit too wet, worth experimenting though.

CC, those scones at the bottom have sour cream in them, taste wise they are great, it's just the texture I need to work on!!

Totally agree Julie!!

Lucie said...

These look delicious, I love savoury scones - this recipe is great. Lucie x

Unknown said...

I use the Delia recipe for plain scones, but they're still not as light as my Mum's. I have a real thing about scone recipes with egg in, I think that's so wrong! My Mum who is 87 makes what she calls 'threshing scones' - usual mixture but shaped into a round by hand and cut into wedges not rounds - very quick to make. It's a remnant of her farming background and I love that...

rosasdolcevita said...

Oh these scones sound scrumptious! I love the addition of fresh ginger.

Unknown said...

I've had those scone baking insanities as well. They are just so fun to make. These look amazing daaaaaahling. Pass the buttah!
*kisses* HH

freerangegirl said...

I havent baked scones in ages - thats got to change this weekend now ive read your blog, these look delicious. Love your blog, its left me ravenous for more!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Your scones looks and sound delicious. I'm new to your blog so I've spent some time reading your earlier posts and bringing myself up to date. I'm so glad I did. I love your recipes and the welcoming tone of your blog. I'll be back often to see what else you've been cooking. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

They look fab! Great entry. To make scones rise well Delia recommends sifting the flour high to get lots of air in and as well as this, I recommend a double sift :)

Susan Lindquist said...

Have just found your blog in my search for scone recipes ... these look so interesting! I'm looking for a really light scone, as mine tend to be crunchy crusted ( a heavier crust) and have a light center. Is it possible to get a fluffy light scone?

Brownieville Girl said...

These ones are nice and light Susan, but I'm still on the search for the perfect plain scone!

Otehlia said...

I am always in search of a good scone here. Not easy to find in Madison, WI. Guess I should make them myself.....