Pane del Pescatore

We have arrived at the scones portion of the tea!  I based my recipe on one found in my Simply Scones book by Leslie Weiner and Barbara Albright called Scones a la Florence.  The book explains that these scones were "inspired by Pane del Pescatore (bread of the fisherman), a scone-like bread from Fornaio, a bakery off the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy." 

(Ponte Vecchio itself!)

After a little internet research, it seems like this dense cookie-like bread was traditionally sold to fisherman who were going out to sea, thus the name "fisherman's bread." 

Pane del Pescatore

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter

zest of 1 large lemon

zest from half of a medium sized orange

1 cup golden raisins

2 large eggs

2 tablespoon cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water for glaze

sliced almonds

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine.

3.  Cut in butter until resembles coarse crumbs.

4.  Whisk in zest and toss in raisins.

5.   Combine eggs, cream, and vanilla extract and add to mixture. Add extra cream a tablespoon at a time if needed to combine.

6.  Divide dough into roughly 12 round pieces.  Brush with egg yolk and top with almonds.

7.  Bake for 20 minutes.

I served these scones with faux clotted cream made with mascarpone (a soft Italian cheese, somewhat similar to a sweet and lighter textured cream cheese) and blood orange marmalade imported from Italy.

 

 

Carrot cake scones

When I was trying to think of what  I would serve at my little Easter tea, I figured what goes better with bunnies then carrots?  So...carrots plus tea equal carrot cake scones!

Carrot Cake Scones

 

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1 stick butter

1 cup grated carrot

3/4 cup walnuts

3/4 cup raisins

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Whisk together.

3.  Cut in butter with pastry blender.

4.  Add carrots (tossing to cover), walnuts, and raisins.

5.  Combine egg, buttermilk, and vanilla in a small bowl.

6.  Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing until combined (batter will be wet).

7.  Drop round spoonfuls onto prepared tray.  I covered with a bit of orange sugar for fun.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

 

 

I was very happy with the way this recipe turned out.  I started with a cake recipe and "scone-ified" it.   To get the triangles I have above, shape the dough into a long log and freeze it.  When ready to serve, defrost the log slightly (really until you get to the point you can cut it) and then slice at a slant to make small triangles.  This is actually how I do all my scones for parties since it is easier to just slice and bake on the day of the party. 

 

 

Carrots are divine...You get a dozen for a dime, it's maaaa-gic!  ~Bugs Bunny

 



Snow days and maple apple butter scones

I've been off work for the past two days because of last weekend's blizzard, so I've been doing some boredom baking (always a dangerous thing).  After making my ill gotten goods, I decided to take tea outside (despite the snow it is in the upper 40s today) since I'm getting a bit of cabin fever,

 

and it is so pretty looking out into the woods.

 

The swing set might be a bit buried so I don't think we'll be heading there, but my deck is clear right near my wicker set.

 



 

A cup of Charleston plantation peach tea fills the small transferware teapot I bought during a trip to Savannah, Georgia--both tea and pot from the same 2014 summer trip. 

 

 

These scones are the real star of this post.  My street is not completely cleared, so I was stuck here and limited to what was in my larder...thus experimentation was in order!  I was quite happy with how these scones turned out.

 

 

I combined apple butter, maple syrup, and cream cheese to make these sweet, moist, and yet biscuit like scones. These ingredients were "extras" I just so happened to still have in my fridge from the December parties.  I'm normally all about the cream scone, which is this not, so I also am getting outside my comfort area.    

 

 







Maple Apple Butter Scones

 

2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar*

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1 stick butter

4 oz cream cheese

2/3 cup apple butter**

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  

2.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking to combine. 

3.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender.  Cut in slightly softened cream cheese.

4.  Combine apply butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Pour over dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.

5.  Drop spoonfuls onto parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Cook for 12 to 14 minutes (or so).

 

*If you prefer your scones to not be slightly extra sweet, I would reduce the sugar in the recipe to 1/4. 

**I used a somewhat local brand of apple butter--White House Apple Butter made in Winchester, Virginia, which worked very well in this recipe.



 

 

Thanks for joining me for tea!  

 



Christmas Brunch--Tea and scones

Day two of recipes, and we've gotten to the scones.  A friend requested scones, so I decided to try something new, a fruitcake-like scone...sort-of.

Carrie's Christmas Scones

2¼ cups flour

½ cup sugar

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 stick butter

1 large jar maraschino cherries, drained, dried, halved

1¼ cup chopped pecans

1 cup eggnog

1 tablespoon spiced rum

1.        Preheat oven to 350.

2.       In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Whisk to combine.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3.       Toss in cherries and pecans and coat in flour.

4.       In a separate bowl, combine eggnog and rum.  Add wet mixture to flour to flour mixture stirring until dough is just combined.

5.       Drop balls onto prepared baking sheets.  Brush with eggnog, sprinkle with green sugar.  Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

My guests seemed to enjoy them and I thought they were really good...so this recipe is a keeper!  I served the scones with clotted cream and holiday jam.

Now for the special Christmas tea that I made with fruit juices, spices, and tea of course! 

I started with the recipe on this website.  I didn't realize when I started (really because I have no concept of liquid measurements), but the recipe on the linked page is huge.  I ended up having to change it up by default.  It is also really sweet so I increased the tea flavor to compensate.  Because of the changes, I'll go ahead and share it here.  It was very good and smelled wonderful as it simmered in the kitchen.

Christmas Tea

Base recipe ONLY  (ingredients will be added on the party day as described below)

1 Cinnamon stick
 1 TBSP WHOLE cloves
 1.5 cups sugar  (I think you could substitute this for artificial sweetener if desired)
 2 cups apple cider
Juice of 1 lemon
 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice

4 black tea bags (VERY strong)

2 cups boiling water

Directions:
Bring cider to a boil, add cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sugar.  Boil for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, also brew the tea bags in the 2 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes.  Strain the spices out of the apple cider mixture.  Combine all ingredients.  Place in refrigerator overnight (I just poured it into an empty 1/2 gallon jug.   

Steps for the Day of the Party



On the day of the party, pour into a pot and add two cups water.  Once the mixture has come to a boil, take off heat and pour into a crock pot to keep warm (I used the warm setting of my pot).   Add two cinnamon sticks and a tablespoon of whole cloves.

 I would recommend that you taste the mixture at this point.  If you would like a stronger tea flavor (like me), bring four cups of water to a boil.  Add 4 black tea bags to two cups of the boiling water.    Add tea and the remaining two cups of water.  Regardless, you should add as much tea or plain water (or both) as you think you need too to dilute the taste and cut down on the sweetness.       


I should have done a better job of writing down what I did, but it was a bit of trial and error.  This recipe was a great way to use some of the black tea in my stash that is too strong for my plebian tastes.

Peaches and Cream Scones

“The walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling. James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious.”

~Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach 

Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits (next to cherries, I pop them like candy as soon as the price goes down).  After my Afternoon Tea in Paris, I had left over cream and cream cheese and a couple weeks old peach--the perfect combination for a scone recipe!

 

Peaches and Cream Scones

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

heaping 1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tablespoons cold, salted butter

1 1/2 cup diced peaches (one large peach)

4 oz cream cheese, diced

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, whisking until blended.  Using a pastry blender, cup butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3.  Add cream cheese and peaches, tossing to combine.

4.  In a small bowl, combine cream and vanilla extract.  Add to flour mixture, stirring to combine.  Worth through lightly with hands to bring together in bowl (If mixture seems dry, add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time, until uniformly moist).

5.  Drop rounded scoops on sheet, and bake for approximately 15 minutes.



 

 

 

 

Lavender scones

I'm fascinated by lavender and how it not only has a wonderful scent, but it also tastes good in a variety of dishes, from savory to sweet.  On the sweet side are these lovely scones, that I originally found the recipe for in Tea Time Magazine.  I've made a couple of changes, so I will go ahead and copy it here.  This recipe has the perfect amount of lavender so as to not be overwhelmed by the flavor and the touch of lemon zest is the perfect compliment. 

Lavender cream scones

 

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cold salted butter

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp dried lavender

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, mixing well.  Using a pastry blender, cup in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add lavender and lemon zest, stirring well.  Set aside.

3.  In a small bowl, combine cream, egg, and vanilla extract, whisking well.  Add cream mixture to flour mixture stirring to combine.  Continue to bring dough together with hands (if mixture seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until uniformly moist).

4.  Take portions of the dough and drop on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5.  Bake until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Bananas Foster Scones

Bananas Foster are a decedent New Orleans dessert, so I figured they'd made the perfect scones for my mardi gras party.  The recipe below was inspired by this post  on peanut butter and Julie, with my own modifications, of course.

Bananas Foster Scones

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large banana, quartered (make sure banana is very ripe with lots of brown spots on the peel)
1/4 cup spiced rum (or brandy)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk

Heavy whipping cream for brushing
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Prepare the bananas:  Place the brown sugar in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the bananas, cut side down, and cook for 2-3 minutes without stirring, until the sugar starts to dissolve.  Add the rum and cook for several minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture thickens.  Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.  Chop the banana and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.  Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the reserved bananas; toss to mix.  Add buttermilk and mix until just combined and the dough begins to stick together.
Spoon mixture onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper to desired size.
Brush each scone with the cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  The scones I made (which are on the small to medium size) took 18 minutes. 

Roses, Strawberries, and White Chocolate (Countdown--3)

Rose scented strawberry white chocolate scones--it's a delicious mouthful in more ways than one! 

These are the same scones I served at my Valentine's tea party earlier this week.  I had a little trial and error figuring out the right amount of rose water (and I was determined to have roses in the scones to go with my theme), but I think the version below came out perfectly.  This scone worked pretty well with the cutter, so this is a pretty good base recipe if you want to cut your scones into shapes.

Rose scented strawberry white chocolate scones

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter, chilled

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp rose water

1 cup white chocolate chips

4 oz dried strawberries chopped

 

Preheat oven to 375.

 

1.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture.  With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

 

2.  In a small bowl, stir together the cream, egg, vanilla, and rose water.  Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and knead until combined.  Knead in the white chocolate and strawberries.

 

3.  On a lightly floured work surface, pat out the dough to a thickness of about 5/8 inch.  Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut the dough into hearts. 

 

4.  Brush tops of scones with cream (or egg) and sprinkle on valentine's sprinkles.

 

5.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until top is lightly browned.

 

And enjoy!

 

My giveaway is still going on here if you would like to check it out.

 



Eggnog & scones

So, one of the most important after Christmas questions--what to do with extra eggnog?  I have quite a bit still left from the tres leches & eggnog cupcakes (see here for more on that).  So, as a tea addict, when life hands you eggnog, make scones! 

 

I used a recipe from from Allrecipe (here) with some changes, so I will write it here.  This recipe is different than the norm-it has cornmeal in it, which gave it a really interesting texture.

 

 

Cranberry Eggnog Scones

 

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbls baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

6 tbls butter

3/4 cup craisins

3/4 cup eggnog

 

 

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg with a whisk.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter.  Add craisins.

3.  Add eggnog and mix until just combined.  Using a spoon, drop large spoonfuls on cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes.



 

 

 

 



Now, what tea should I have with these scones?  I recently bought Bigelow's Eggnogg'n tea, which I have never tried before (it was buy one get one free on the holiday teas).  I'm not sure whether I liked it or not.  The smell was not appealing, but it wasn't too bad with some cream.  I did not like it without the cream though.  It was definitely different.  



 

(picture from Bigelow's website)

Teatime Journeys goes Gluten Free

I've gotten so behind on my planned posts that this week I'm taking off from the tea parties so I can finish last week's party...oops!  So let's go gluten free!

Starting with the savories, I used the same recipes shown on the savories page for the witchy cucumber and the pimento cheese bat wings, but used gluten free bread.  I decided on the spider deviled eggs because they were cute and because they are naturally gluten free--which was a win/win for this tea party. 

 

The Jack o' lantern pies I made the same as in the savories link, but I made some homemade gluten free pie crust first, which brings me to my first recipe--a modified King Arthur Recipe.  This is my second time doing a gluten free menu along with my gluten-filled menu, and I must say I discovered something great for gluten free baking for tea parties: the gluten-free baking mix.  I found a box at Walmart, and boy am I glad I did--the recipes turned out perfectly!  Last time I cooked gluten free things were gritty, but not this time.

On to the first recipe: 

Gluten free pie crust for jack o'lantern pies (modified King Arthur recipe)

1 1/4 cup gluten free baking mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 tablespoons cold butter
1 large egg
1 tsp lemon juice

1.  Whisk together baking mix, sugar, and salt.
2.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter.
3.  Whisk egg and lemon juice together until very foamy.  Mix into dry ingredients, stirring until it comes together.  Add 1 to 3 tablespoons cold water if more moisture is necessary.
4.  Shape into a ball, cover with clear wrap, and put into fridge for an hour, or overnight. 
5.  Allow dough to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling, and then make pies as shown on the savories page.

I also made a special gluten-free scone--pumpkin chai!  This recipe is a mix of a couple I found online.

Pumpkin Chai scones (Gluten free)

1 cup baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
dash of clove
4 tablespoons cold butter
1 bag chai tea (I used a pumpkin chai)
1/4 boiling water
4 oz pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (be careful, not all are gluten free.  McCormack's extracts are however)

1.  Put chai tea bag in a bowl and cover with 1/4 cup boiling water.  Let steep for 5 minutes.
2.  In a bowl add dry ingredients.  Whisk together.
3.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter.
4.  In a small bowl, mix together pumpkin, tea, egg, and vanilla extract.
5.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together.
6.  Oven should be preheated to 400.  Bake for 15 minutes.


I have one last post for last week's tea party then I'm done--dessert!

Lemon Tea Thyme

What better way to start a new week than with a new recipe?  Yesterday when I was relaxing on my deck with an iced lemon tea, I also enjoyed a lemon thyme scone.

I have a teapot of thyme growing,

 

and I've been wanting to make a scone mixing herbs with lemons, and finally got around to it this weekend.

 



 

 

Lemon Thyme Scones

 



2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold salted butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350.
Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, whisking well.
Using a pastry blender, cut butter into mixture.  Add thyme and lemon zest, stirring to combine.  Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine cream, beaten egg, and lemon extract stirring well.  Add wet mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until dough forms.
Drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for roughly 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted comes out dry.

 

Icing

 

While baking scones, combine lemon juice with confectioners sugar.  Add a little bit of heavy whipping cream (but only after having completely mixed the lemon juice with the sugar and making an icing).  Put icing on top of scones while they are still hot so it will melt and cover the scones.

Blueberry scones to share

We all probably have a favorite blueberry scone recipe, especially since blueberry is one of the quintessential scone flavorings.  I thought I would share mine, just in case you want to try a different version (or maybe it is close to yours--let me know!).

 

Carrie's Blueberry Cream Scones

2 ½ cup all purpose flour

½ cup sugar       

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter

1 cup fresh blueberries

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon orange zest

 

Preheat oven to 400.

In  a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, whisking well.  Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add blueberries tossing to coat with flour.  Set aside.

Add almond extract to cream.  Add cream mixture to flour mixture, stirring to combine.  (If mixture seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms and is uniformly moist.)

Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake until edges are golden brown, approx. 15-16 min.



I found this pretty doily at an antique store/consignment store.  I think it looks so cute on my tea cart!  I've had a difficult time finding things that fit the tea cart and look nice--I thought this doily was perfect!  Also in this picture is my Royal Worchester Caroline figurine.  My mother has gotten me a beautiful collection of figurines that have my name.

Strawberries and cream

I thought I would start the recipe posts to go along with this week's strawberry tea with the savories and the scones.

 

These sandwiches were very simple.  The chicken salad I made as I normally would with rotisserie chicken pieces and mayonnaise.  I then added a bit of lemon juice and chopped strawberries to taste.  I thought about adding a bit of sugar, but the strawberries were the perfect amount of sweet/sour to make the chicken salad delicious.

 

The cucumber rounds are simply that--I used a 3 inch cookie cutter on wheat bread, spread cream cheese on top with some cut up fresh mint from my garden, toped with a cucumber followed by half of a strawberry. 



Next we have strawberries and cream scones that, I must say, were wonderful!  My taste testers also thought this was a good recipe.  I began with a recipe from TeaTime Magazine, but made some changes (some by mistake  because I wasn't paying attention) so I will share it here. 

Strawberries and Cream Scones

 



2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1/6 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbls cold, salted butter
1 bag dried strawberries, chopped
3 oz cream cheese, diced
3/4 cup plus 3 tbls cold heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
1 extra large egg

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, whisking until blended.  Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add strawberries and cream cheese, tossing lightly until coated with flour mixture.  Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine cream, beaten egg, and strawberry extract.  Add to flour mixture, stirring to combine. 
Drop scones by the spoonful onto sheet.
Bake until edges of scones are light golden brown, approximately 18 minutes.  Let scones cool on pan for 5 minute.  Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.  Recipe makes about 20 scones.

Cinnamon Praline Scones

I found a new scone recipe that I really wanted to try and make and share with everyone.

These are Cinnamon Praline scones I found on a bed and breakfast recipe website here.  The recipe is different from any other scone recipe I have ever made.  First you make a base scone recipe as usual (by the way, I added an additional tablespoon of sugar because I like my scones on the sweeter side).  Afterwards, the recipe says you roll it out into a triangle.  Then you brush the scone dough with melted butter...before adding a filing! 

The filing, which is the cinnamon praline part, is made up of sour cream, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans.  After spreading the filing on top, I rolled it up (starting at the point of the triangle) and pressed the larger side down.  It was a bit messy and the filing ran out some, but it did stay together.  I sliced the roll and then laid the scones on parchment paper so that you could see the filing.

  

They are delicious!  I highly recommend this recipe.  Aside from the extra tablespoon of sugar, I made no changes.  Temperature and bake time were perfect too.

Fat Rascal

Over a month ago I posted about my trip to the UK and Ireland last year, including my adventures in finding different types of scones to try.  My least favorite was the fat rascal I purchased in York (for more on York, see here).

The scone is described as plump and fruity with cherries and almonds--so I should like it!  A few months ago I purchased a tea book called Cupcakes & Afternoon Teas (first mentioned here), that included a recipe for fat rascals.  As soon as I saw that recipe, I knew I would be doctoring it in order to make it more to my liking.  I found that the recipe included glace (candied) cherries and mixed peel (called citron in the U.S.--think fruitcake).  I am not a big fan of candied fruit, so I knew that had to go (and was probably why I wasn't a big fan).  So, here is my version of a fat rascal:



Carrie's Fat Rascals

3 cups self-rising flour

1 stick butter, salted

generous 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup mixed currants and raisins (plus a little extra)

zest of 1 large lemon

Grated peel of 1 medium orange 

1/3 cup maraschino cherries, drained and patted dry

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1 egg

5 tbsp heavy whipping cream

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Sift the flour in a large bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

3.  Stir in sugar.  Add zest and almonds. Add dried fruit and cherries, tossing to coat in flour mixture.

4.  In a small bowl, lightly beat egg and stir into flour mixture.  Add sufficient milk to gather the mixture into a ball of dough, mopping up all the dry ingredients.  The dough should have a soft texture, but not be too wet.

5.  With lightly floured hands, divide the dough into desired sized balls, flattening into rough circles on the tray.  Makes about 10.

6.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden brown. 

 

Bridal Tea-- Scones

I made two types of scones for Pooja's bridal tea.  The first was lemon cherry, one of my go to recipes that my aunt gave to me.  I think I've used that recipe at most of the tea parties that I've done.

The second scone I created just for this tea--Mangos and Honey.  Pooja likes mangos so I knew I wanted to do something with them.  In addition, mango trees are native to India--which was good for my theme!

 

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of any of the scones that I served, but I'll share the recipe here.  They were definitely popular, so I think this recipe is a keeper.

 

 (Because this was pre-blog and I didn't take pictures of the scones, here is a closer picture of the table in the breakfast nook.  This table was even more colorful than the one in the dining room.  I used pink tea trios in different patterns and my colored glass water goblets.  Behind the nearest cakepop favor you can see a tiny teal Turkish bowl a friend gave me that I used as a mini sugar bowl for Splenda.  This picture also gives a closer view of my mother's goldware that I borrowed to use on both tables.)

 

 

Mangos and Honey

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbls baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup cold unsalted butter, diced

¼ cup cold cream cheese

 

3 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp allspice

1 cup cream

1 1/4 cup dried Mangos (or more if needed).

(cream and sugar to put on top)

1.  Preheat oven to 350

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add mangos.

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together honey and 1 cup of cream.  Add cream mixture to flour mixture, stirring until moist dough forms.

4.  Lightly coat the scones with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar (I used gold glitter sugar).

5.  Bake until golden brown on top—approximately 15 minutes.

6.  Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to cool completely.



Cherry Blossom scones

For this last Cherry Blossom Festival post, I will share my recipe for cherry blossom scones.

Carrie’s Cherry Blossoms Scones

 

2 cups self-rising flour

½ cup sugar

½ tsp cardamom

½ cup salted butter (cold)

6 oz dried cherries

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 egg

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

2 tsp rose water*

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine flour, sugar, and cardamom.  Whisk together.

Cut in butter.

Wisk in the lemon zest. 

Add dried cherries and toss in flour mixture till covered. 

Combine wet ingredients. 

Pour wet ingredients into dry.  Mix to combine. 

Take large spoonfuls and roll into a ball.  Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Cook for 12 minutes.

*If you aren't familiar with cooking with rose water, it can have a strong flavor.  You might want to start with 1 tsp to see if you like it.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed a taste of D.C.'s cherry blossom festival!