A few weeks ago we were traveling and I had the opportunity to take a cooking class with Chef, Leah Caplan. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and the creator of food kitchens for employees at Google then went on to do the same thing for Amazon. The class was a wonderful experience and here is one of the recipes we prepared hands on.
Leah doing instruction for class. I was impressed with the prep work for the class.
Scones originated in Scotland, which was news to me when I took another cooking class with Catherine Fulvio (her married name, she married an Italian chef), outside of Dublin, Ireland. The name comes from sgonn- meaning a large lump or misshapen mass. And/or Scone, a town in Scotland where ancient Scottish monarchs were crowned. In the 19th century scones moved to the south into England and became a very popular treat enjoyed during afternoon tea during the Victorian era.
During the mid 1800s Anna Maria Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, popularized the custom of Afternoon tea. Scones were served with jam and clotted cream. To this day, if you attend tea in the afternoon in England, most likely scones will be on the buffet/menu, served the same…
Leah’s scone recipe was basic and what I liked about it was you made one round, about 1 inch in thickness and 5 inches in diameter. The round will be cut into quarters. This is enough for the two of us. I cut each quarter into two, as I feel that that size serving makes “just enough” for a nice little snack. Scones are like a blob of dough (think the original meaning sgonn-a large job or misshapen mass). My recipe differs from Leah’s in that I added orange zest and dried cranberries. I made these on Sunday evening and in a short amount of time I had a tasty little treat. Another reason I like scones is that you most likely have all ingredients on hand (maybe not the dried cranberries or oranges, but the basic recipe, yes). Here you go!
The orange cranberry flavor seems a bit seasonal to me.
Orange Cranberry Scones (The small recipe)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and either butter a cake pan, baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
1/2 cup cream or milk (and a little to brush on the scones)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon orange zest
enough orange juice to cover the dried cranberries
Method
My cake pan was a tad small. I would recommend a larger cake pan or baking sheet. You want enough space around your scone. You can see how close together the quarters baked, after rising. I cut the quarters after removing from oven following from baking.Del
1. Arrange all ingredients and prepare pan to bake in.
2. Zest an orange and juice. Pour juice over dried cranberries. Set aside.
3. Pour all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
4. Cut in cubes of butter either using a fork or a pastry cutter, until all butter is blended in and mixture is crumbly. Add orange zest and drained cranberries. Stir and then add the cream or milk. Stir gently and just enough to incorporate all ingredients. Do not over mix.
5. Pour out mixture onto a floured surface (I like a piece of parchment paper with some flour on it) and shape into a 1 inch thick 5 inch in diameter round. Place the round on the prepared baking pan and cut round into quarters. Brush round with milk or cream.
6. Bake for 15-19 minutes, based on your oven. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve with either clotted cream, jam or butter.
