Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Cardamom Rose Water Scones!

I know all two of you guys think I forgot about this blog, but I didn't!  I've been 10 kinds of busy!

Last week I had to bake a ton of things for a wedding.  The bride and groom had a wedding day brunch, so I had to come up with some interesting scone flavor for them.  They had a garden-themed wedding, so I wanted a hint of flower in the flavor.  Having tried a delicious combination of Rosewater and Cardamom at a Persian friend's house and LOVING it, I decided on that combination.



I used the biscuit ratio from Michael Ruhlman's book "Ratio", to come up with my recipe.  I highly suggest this book, as it teaches you to make your own recipes and not rely on others!  Amazing!  I'm learning SO much.  The biscuit ratio is 3/1/2.  3 parts flour, 1 part fat, 2 parts liquid.  Some will say a scone ratio is 3/1/1 (using less liquid).  I think this is up to you, depending on how you like your scones. If you want them more dry and crumbly, 3/1/1 will be great, but I like them a touch more moist, so I don't NEED to have them with tea unless I want to!

I decided to do this recipe by hand.  It's relaxing for some reason and sometimes it's fun to get your hands dirty!  But, you can use a food processor if you want to speed it up and not get your hands all doughy. ;)  The cardamom and rosewater amounts are a guideline, and you are certainly welcome to add more or take away, depending on your taste buds.  I like alot, so I might even add more next batch. ;)  Also, I use freshly ground cardamom, versus already ground cardamom from the grocery store (this may make a difference on the amount you need - fresher=stronger.

Ok, I won't make you wait any longer!  Here's the recipe!


Cardamom Rosewater Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Dry ingredients:
12 ounces all purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
6 tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp of ground cardamom
pinch of salt

Fat:
1 stick of cold butter (cut in 1 inch pieces)

Mix together:
4 ounces of cold heavy cream
2 ounces of milk
1 to 1 1/2 tsp of Rosewater (depending on your taste)
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 egg (beaten)

-Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl, or food processor, add cut butter to dry ingredients and pulse a few times until incorporated into pea-sized chunks.  If mixing by hand, use a pastry cutter to incorporate.  Then, add enough of the liquid mixture for it to come together (not too sticky, not too crumbly).

-Roll or pat out to about 1 inch thick and cut into scone shape of choice and add to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 1/2 to 1 inch apart.  Bake in oven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until done and lightly browned.



Optional Glaze Topping: (I didn’t measure this, I just added the things below until the consistency & flavor was right).

Powdered sugar
Cinnamon
Rosewater
Milk

-Mix together to taste and till the glaze is thick enough not to be too runny (so it will set).
If you don't like winging it on the glaze, this is a good recipe for basic powdered sugar glaze, play with the flavors!

Enjoy!  Let me know what you think!  I can't wait to play with other flavor combinations now!