Scones with Jam and Devonshire Cream

Oh the power of suggestion... This morning, someone posted on fb that they had just had a warm scone, with homemade jam and cream, along with a piping hot cup of tea. And there I was, just a split-second later, searching the internet for a good scone recipe.  And this, despite the fact that I barely slept a wink last night with little miss Chloé, the newest addition to our family as of this past Saturday, who finally decided to wake up for once, starting right at about midnight... until 8am or so.

Pictures can be deceiving - this is not what she looked like last night

I settled on a recipe for coffeehouse scones from the Joy of Baking, a website that I have gone to from time to time for all things delicious and fattening.  And while there, I also noticed a delicious-sounding recipe for devonshire cream, which sounded even better than just plain whipping cream.  And so I raced out to grocery store to get what I needed and made these without pause. The moral of the story is basically that if you happen to come by to visit the baby in the next couple of days, you might just be lucky enough to be served on of these.

Coffeehouse Scones

2 C all-purpose flour (I used regular white flour for once, instead of whole-wheat)
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
2/3 - 3/4 C buttermilk (I added a bit of lemon juice to plain milk and let sit for 5 mins instead, and used the full 3/4 C)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit and place rack in middle of oven.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Cut the  butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.  The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.  Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together.  Do not over mix.

3.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently and form into a round that is about 1 inch thick.  Use a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles (I used a small mug).  Transfer the scones to the baking sheet and brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.

4.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 6-8 scones.

Devonshire Cream

This cream is a nice substitute for clotted cream, to accompany your scone.

120g marscapone cheese (can be found near the ricotta)
1 C heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp. granulated sugar (I found the scone with jam and cream a bit too sweet (I had put 1 tbsp. of the sugar in the cream). Next time, I would omit this sugar entirely.)

1.  Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the mixture holds its shape and looks like softly whipped cream.  Use right away or cover and refrigerate the cream until serving time.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.