Vanilla Cardamom Scones
this is what happens when I binge The Great British Bake Off!
Hello, Foodie Friends! I’m Lisa, chiming in from the US Side of the Pond…..Jane (my dearest friend from the UK Side of the Pond) will be back soon!
First off, I need to apologize for not having my act together enough to get you the inside scoop on my favorite spots in NYC and Boston.
If you’re reading our Substack for the first time, my daughter is graduating college and thinking of moving to NYC or Boston. We took a mother/daughter trip there in March (literally can’t believe it’s already been a month!) and I’ve been meaning to type up all the recommendations.
My plans were foiled with a fabulous birthday surprise visit — both my kids flew home and it was the absolute best birthday present ever!! Of course, I dropped everything while they were here and soaked up every.single.minute with them.
In addition to an awesome birthday week (lots of lunches, dinners, celebrations with amazing friends), the sun has decided to return to Seattle. If you know me, you’ll know that my energy and mood is completely dependent on the weather. Next to the kids surprise visit, the sun has been the next best birthday present!! Fingers crossed it sticks around!!
The gorgeous weather has made me want to put off everything on my to do list and just sit outside with my book and an iced coffee. I’m currently reading Throne of Glass (just started the 2nd book in the series and I’m completely hooked) — have you read it? I never considered myself a fantasy girl, but I read the ACOTAR series (A Court of Thorns and Roses) and fell completely down the rabbit hole of fantasy books!
I pinkie promise I’ll work on my list of recommendations and next week you will have my NYC list! Feel free to check in on my progress in the chat!
In the meantime, with Mother’s Day in the US around the corner, I thought you might enjoy a delicious flakey scone recipe. Now, I’m sure Jane will read this and say these are not proper scones. And she’d be absolutely right.
By UK standards, these are entirely the wrong shape….but they are buttery, perfectly flakey, full of warm cardamom flavor and the honey glaze is so ridiculously delicious you’ll want to spoon it over everything!!
My husband was out of town for a few days last week and when I was searching for a show to binge that I knew he wouldn’t be sad to miss, I stumbled upon the latest season of The Great British Bake Off.
Have you watched? It was one of the best seasons and the talent was off the charts!! I would have been happy with any of them winning!
I’m always in awe of the bakers on that show — so cool under pressure, the talent is insane, and even when mistakes happen the results still look absolutely spectacular and delicious. I would never ever make it — the first criticism from Paul Hollywood or Prue and I’d dissolve into a full on sobbing mess.
Watching TGBBO always gets me in the mood to bake, though. And I envision Paul and Prue sitting around my kitchen table, giving me pointers (no soggy bottoms, no stodgy or claggy sponge cake…..) and, of course, I have all the time in the world to finish baking.
Whether you like to bake, or like to eat baked goods, I think you’ll love these scones!!
Until next Friday…..have a fabulous weekend, foodie friends!
xo
Jane (from the UK Side of the Pond) and Lisa (from the US Side of the Pond)
Vanilla Bean and Cardamom Scones with Honey Glaze
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon Heilala vanilla paste (or other vanilla paste)
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream, divided
1 large egg
Manuka Honey Glaze:
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tablespoons Manuka honey – the amount depends on how sweet you like your glaze
optional, splash of whole milk or heavy cream - if you want a looser, more pourable glaze
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Get out your baking sheet. You can line it with parchment, but I find you don’t really need to with this recipe.
In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and vanilla paste. Pulse a couple of times until combined.
Add cold butter, and pulse until mixture is crumbly and the butter is pea sized.
Transfer dough to a large bowl, add 1 cup cream and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix! You want to just barely stir in the cream until the dough comes together. That way you’re scones will be light and flakey.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly, just until dough comes together.
You can use 2 methods to cut your dough into wedges:
Press dough into a lightly greased 8 inch cake pan. Turn out back onto your lightly floured surface, and using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet.
OR use your hands to gently form the dough into a circle, about 2 inches thick. Then cut into wedges.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg and remaining 1 teaspoon cream. Brush tops of scones with egg wash, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
For manuka glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and manuka honey until smooth. If you need to make the consistency more “pourable” add in a splash or two of whole milk or cream.
Let the scones rest for a couple of minutes. Place them on a cooling rack over parchment paper. The parchment paper will help catch the drips! Drizzle the scones with the glaze. Serve warm or room temperature.