Cream Scones with Chocolate & Coconut

For Day 4 of BM# 16, I made these scrumptious cream scones for breakfast. Scones are British quick breads that are leavened by baking powder. They are quick to make and need cold butter & cream, so they can be made in the morning for breakfast with no prior prepping.

Recipe is adapted from Everyday Food Magazine. Scones are best eaten the day they are baked. To make ahead, freeze unbaked scones in a single layer and then store in a zip-top bag for up to 2 months. To bake, brush frozen scones with cream, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

Ingredients:
All-purpose flour - 1 cup
Whole-wheat pastry flour - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - ¼ cup
Baking powder - 2tsp
Fine salt - ¼tsp
Cold heavy Cream - ¾cup plus 1 tbsp
Egg - 1, large
Butter - 6tbsp, cold unsalted, cut into small pieces
Sweetened shredded coconut - ¾ cup
Semi-sweet chocolate - ½ cup
Turbinado Sugar - optional

 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. 
• Whisk together ¾ cup cream and egg. 
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• With a pastry cutter/ blender or with 2 knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles caorse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
• Stir in chocolate & coconut.
• With a fork, stir in the cream mixture until just combined. The dough should be crumbly; do not over mix.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into 6" circle. Cut into 6 wedges and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. 
• Brush tops with 1 tablespoon cream and sprinkle the turbinado sugar, if using.
• Bake until golden, 16 - 18 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through the baking.
• After couple of minutes transfer scones onto a wire rack and cool slightly before enjoying with a dab of butter or just plain.

A Quick pictorial of Scone making:

Variations: Chocolate-Coconut can be substituted with 2/3 cup dried currants or 1cup blueberries and 1 cup toasted sliced almonds or diced small 1/3cup crystallized ginger and 1tsp lemon zest or 1 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts and 2/3 cup dried tart cherries (add ½ tsp cinnamon to flour mixture).

Let’s check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up for Day 4 of BM# 16.