My last attempt at scones was a complete and utter failure. It was a more like a scone pancake with all of the cream and butter and sconey loveliness running together in one huge mega scone. I could almost hear little whispers coming from the oven "we will become one and take over the world". It was a very large scone, but we ate it anyway. Not long after that fun experience I learned that my oven temperature was ALL WRONG. It's now been several months since the scone coup so I figured it was time to try, try again. And hey presto, correct oven temperature = perfect, lovely, amazing, soft, flaky, buttery, creamy scones. Holla!
Last summer (see above) we went for a lovely lunch with some new friends, it was the kind of lunch that began at 1 and finished at 5 and we nibbled our way through antipasti, greek mezze, apple crumble, and orange & cardamom cake. Well, obviously you know which one stood out to me as it has inspired this scone recipe today. The cake, which will probably also make an appearance here soon was dense with ground almonds and sweet with an orange sugar syrup, but still light enough to eat a whole slice. Frankly, I could've gone for another slice but for once I managed to keep my gluttony in check. We were in public after all.
These scones are not your typical cloyingly sweet Starbucks variety. They're breakfasty, but not not overly so. They would also be really delicious with afternoon tea (or coffee if thats how you roll). Jamie immediately said..."Mmmmmm...yummmmm....where's the clotted cream?" I guess it's an English thing. But for me, they are perfect as they come. The orange is fresh and light, the cardamom subtle yet still a bit spicy (in the ginger kind of way) and the roughly chopped almonds give that little bit of crunchy texture replacing the more traditional raisins or currants. I can say with certainty, I will be baking these the rest of the winter, and probably through next summer, if we have one.
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Cardamom Scented Orange & Almond Scones
For this, I adapted Mark Bittman's basic scone recipe and I really love it. The very high cooking temperature means the scones stay together giving a light crust and a very soft and tender crumb.
- For the scones:
- 2 cups / 200g plain flour, sifted
- 1 scant teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup / 47g sugar
- 5 Tablespoons / 2.5 oz unsalted butter, very cold
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup / 175ml heavy or double cream
- 1/3 cup / 56g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
- 10 cardamom pods, cracked open and the black seeds crushed in a pestle & mortar (yields approx 1 teaspoon)
- For the eggwash:
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon water or milk
- demarara sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 450f / 230c. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, or pulse in the food processor until you have the texture of coarse sand. (About the size of rolled oats) Don't worry about seeing little bits of butter in the flour, this keeps the scones flaky!
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and cream together and add the orange zest, and cardamom. Add the flour into the egg and cream, add the almonds and stir quickly to combine. Do not beat the mixture, just stir gently to form a rough ball shape. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead no more than 10 times. Mr. Bittman was very clear about this, and I followed his instructions to the letter here as scones really shouldn't NEED to be KNEADED too vigorously. Also try to avoid adding too much flour as you knead, the dough is much softer than a bread dough and will be slightly sticky to the touch.
At this point, I like to form the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and put it back into the fridge for 20 minutes. Although Bittman skips this step altogether, I like to give the butter just a few more minutes in the fridge to cool down again after being handled. When ready, take the dough out of the fridge and press it into a 3/4 inch thick flat circle. I cut mine into 8 equal slices, but you could use a biscuit cutter or a large cookie cutter (you may need to adjust baking time to size). Put the scones onto an ungreased baking sheet. Make the eggwash by beating the egg and water together and brush the top of each scone. Sprinkle with demarara sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Makes 8 scones.
@noteaafter12
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Made these scones last night—a very good recipe. My dough was so utterly sticky they had to be drop scones, but no problem—taste unaffected! My roomie thought they could be even stronger in flavor. Next time I might double the orange and cardamom. Thank you!
Hey Jacki, thanks for the feedback…yes I’ve had lots of regular scone recipes that have turned into drop scones! I think getting the flour to liquid ratio is definitely one of the most difficult things for scones - at least for me! Agreed, the orange could definitely be doubled, I also thought that the recipe might be nice with some almond extract for a bit of extra almond punch! Glad you liked the recipe anyway! :)
Or….you could even make up an orange and almond-y glaze for the top of the scones! Ooooh, now that might be a winner!
what an interesting flavour combination. they look so flaky, too! can’t wait to try… cheers, *heather*