LIVE, LOVE, & EAT in SAYULITA- A Recipe for Buttery Flakey Scones
What to do on a pouring, rainy day here in Sayulita? It has been raining for hours now. The road in front of my house is a rushing river; our pool has overflowed, and I have decided to follow my passion. Guess what that is? You got it! Bake something that I have never made before to see if I would like to share it with you today. My eight year old granddaughter Lily is here, and she loves to bake with me, so into our Sayulita kitchen we went!
My favorite food blogger Jenn Segal has done it again- Buttery Flakey Scones are what I chose to try, and I am very happy that I did. Most scones are heavy & dense, but these came out light, flakey, buttery, and oh so delicious! They are definitely a wonderful treat, and we all need to treat ourselves once in awhile. (The only problem is that I have been treating myself every day since we made these on New Year’s day!)
I already had all of the ingredients in my food pantry for this recipe, and it’s a good thing I did because I would have needed a boat to go out to a tienda with all of the rain. However, all of the ingredients are easily available in all of our Sayulita tiendas.
INGREDIENTS:
-2 cups organic cake flour. (I have never seen cake flour here in Mexico, but you can make it so easily. For each cup of flour needed, lightly spoon 1 cup of flour into a measuring cup, and level it off; remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch or “Maizena”; sift flour and cornstarch together 2 time,s and you now have Cake Flour! Remember that non organic flour is sprayed with pesticides approximately 2 weeks before harvest, so if you choose to not do organic, please do so for flour.)
-¾ teaspoon salt.
-1 Tablespoon baking powder.
-4 Tablespoons sugar. (Jenn’s recipe called for 3 Tablespoons, but I think that it could have benefited from a bit more flavor, so use 3 or 4 Tablespoons of sugar, depending on your taste.)
-5 Tablespoons of COLD, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces.
-1 large egg.
-⅔ cup whipping cream (“crema para batir”).
-1 egg, beaten.
-1 Tablespoon brown sugar, or 1 Tablespoon “Demerara sugar” (also called raw sugar or turbinado in the US & Canada).
For Cheese Scones:
-Reduce sugar to 2 Tablespoons.
-Add 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard.
-1 cup of coarsely grated cheddar cheese.
-2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh chives, or the tiny stems on the very inside of green onions in Mexico. (I have never seen chives here).
-One beaten egg for brushing.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a food processor, and pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter and pulse quickly until mixture resembles pea-sized pieces of butter.
- Add the egg and the whipping cream, and pulse until mixture comes together in clumps. If you are making the cheese scones version, add the Dijon mustard to the egg and whipping cream. (*If you do not have a food processor, you can do this by hand by adding the pieces of cold butter and using your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles pea-sized clumps of butter.)
- Dust a work surface with flour, and dump the scone dough onto the flour.
- Knead very gently until dough comes together into a ball.
- Press dough into a flat circle about ¾” high.
- Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles.
- Transfer triangles to a baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper.
- Brush lightly with beaten egg and sugar (if you are doing the cheese scones, do not sprinkle with sugar).
- Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and firm to the touch.
- Serve warm with butter or softly whipped cream, and a jam of your choice.
- * If you are making small cheese scones, divide the dough in half and pat each into a 5” round.
- Cut each round into 6 small wedges, and bake for 10-14 minutes.
- Serve warm out of the oven with butter.
(*You can change the cheese to Swiss, and add any herbs you choose.)
These are definitely the BEST scones that I have ever tasted! I highly recommend that you try making them. Although there are few steps, they are actually very easy to make, and even easier to eat! They are best eaten warm right out of the oven, but I warmed one up for breakfast the next day using my toaster oven. Please don’t warm in the microwave if you can avoid it, as they need to bake a bit to get the crispy flakey texture back.
I made Dorado the other night with a yummy lemon sauce. It was so delicious; I will share it with you in my next column.
If you have any questions or comments please contact me through my Sayulita Life Web Page. I LOVE hearing from you!
*Written by: KARINA SHECTER
