Tuesday, November 2, 2010

We've made items that have orginated from Brazil, Greece, and the United States, but were feeling rather Britsh this week, and what better recipe to represent the UK than scones. Made salty or sweet, scones make a yummy mid-day snack. So invite some or your mates over and have some rapsberry scones over tea.

Raspberry Scones

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients

2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (65g) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (75g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
2oz dark chocolate chunks or chips (1/2 cup or 50g) (optional)
3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (we used fresh ones)
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk plain yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or just the regular vanilla)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF (177ºC), and place rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

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. (Fingertips work just fine, too). The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chunks and raspberries. In a small measuring cup whisk together the yogurt, vanilla, and egg. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.


Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18cm) round and about 1 1/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut the dough into eight triangles. Place the scones on the baking sheet.


Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Although not necessary, if you want the tops of the scones to be crispy, then turn your broiler on high. Sprinkle confectioners sugar over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.


Ann's Thoughts


Our originally plan this week when we decided to make the raspberry scones, was to use the left over frozen raspberries we had used a couple of months ago for our Lemon Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake. However, when we saw how disintegrated the frozen raspberries were, we decided it was better to use fresh fruit. What we were trying to avoid was a batch of scones that had mashed raspberries rather than semi-formed ones which we could sink our teeth in and actually taste the fruit. In my opinion, it is very difficult to bake very fragile fruits such as berries within pastries and expect them to keep in shape no matter how careful one tries to mix the batter. Our batch of scones looked like it took a beating, being bruised black and blue. Sounds gruesome, but Ana and I were surprised with the results especially since our scones looked nothing like the one on the Joy of Baking - I sense Photo Shop had a hand with their scones.


Speaking of photos, this week's photo shoot was rather frustrating because most of the photos that we've took in previous entries were done outside. However, since the weather is gradually changing, the amount of daylight we've been getting has been gradually decresing. By the time we meet up, bake, and scramble to get outside to take the pics, it is pretty dark out. We're trying to find new (but cheap) methods in taking great photos of our baked goodies and hopefully we can figure out something for next week's recipe.


Ana's Thoughts

It was my first time making scones so I was a little apprehensive as how things would turn out. Specially because I've heard that scones can be a little tricky. But after reading the well-written Joy of Baking instructions I became more confident and saw that scones are very simple to make. You just have to follow a few steps, like using super cold butter and not over kneading the dough. (Just knead until the dough comes together, with no loose crumbs.)

The final result was a success. They turn out very good. Moist, light, tasted like our pound cake but more crumbly. Perfect for breakfast. Can't wait to try new flavours. Hmmm. Oh, and they are super fast to make, too. I think it took us 15 minutes to put the dough together and 20 more minutes to bake them.


See ya'll next week. ;)

Receita em Português

Scones de Framboesas

2 xíc. (260g) de farinha de trigo
1/3 xíc. (65g) de açúcar cristal
1 col. (chá) de fermento em pó
1/2 col. (chá) de bicarbonato de sódio
1/4 col. (chá) de sal
6 col. (sopa) (75g) de manteiga sem sal, gelada e cortada em pedaços pequenos
1/2 xíc. (50g) de chocolate picado ou em gotas (opcional)
3/4 xíc. de framboesas frescas ou congeladas
1/2 xíc. (120ml) de iogurte integral
1 col. (chá) de extrato de baunilha
1 ovo grande, ligeiramente batido

Preaqueça o forno a 177ºC. Forre uma assadeira retangular rasa com papel manteiga.

Em uma tigela grande, peneire a farinha, o açúcar, fermento, bicarbonato e o sal. Junte a manteiga e amasse com a ponta dos dedos até formar uma farofa úmida. Acrescente o chocolate e as framboesas. Em um copo medidor, junte o iogurte, a baunilha e o ovo. Adicione à farofa e misture até combinar. Não misture demais.

Transfira para uma superfície levemente enfarinhada e sove a massa levemente, 4 ou 5 vezes. Abra a massa (com as mãos mesmo) até formar um círculo de aproximadamente 18 cm de diâmetro e 4 cm de altura. Corte em 8 triângulos e coloque na assadeira.

Asse por 18-20 minutos ou até que um palito, quando inserido no centro, saia limpo. Retire do forno e deixe esfriar em uma grade.






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