Black Currant Scones From La Provence Recipes

CURRANT SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cover currants with warm water in a bowl and set aside to moisten.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment at low speed, mix white sugar and salt into the flour mixture. Add all the unsalted butter to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until butter cubes reduce to the size of small peas, about 30 seconds.
• Drain currants and discard soaking water; mix currants, buttermilk, and lemon zest into the flour mixture on low speed just until the dough starts to hold together.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently shape into a rectangle 18 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1 1/2 inches thick. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar crystals.
• Cut the dough in half crosswise with a sharp knife; cut each half into thirds, and cut each third diagonally to make 12 triangular-shaped scones. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until scones are lightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Eat warm.

CREAM SCONES WITH CURRANTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender, until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in zest and currants.
• In a small bowl, beat the egg and 4 tablespoons of the cream together with a fork. Add to the flour mixture and mix with your hands until the dough just comes together. (If the dough seems dry add the extra tablespoon of cream.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough into a 6-inch round about 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 equal sized wedges. Space the scones evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

BEST BRITISH SCONES WITH CURRENTS

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 500F/260C.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to mix everything together.
• Cut cold butter in several pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like small crumbs.
• Add currants (or whatever you want to mix in) and mix with a spoon or spatula until well combined.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together milk and eggs. Add to flour a little at a time. Careful! You might not need the entire amount so don't dump it all in at once. Stir with a spoon or spatula until dough forms a ball.
• Knead dough several times on well-floured surface with well-floured hands until the surface of the dough is smooth and doesn't have any cracks.
• Press dough to 1 inch [25mm] thickness. Cut out scones using a round biscuit or scone cutter or a small jam jar or glass. You should get anywhere from 7 to 12 scones, depending on the size of your cutter.
• Transfer scones to a lined baking pan. Gather remaining dough into a ball, knead it together once or twice smooth, and again roll it out to 1 inch [25mm] thickness. Cut out the rest of your scones and transfer them to your baking sheet.
• Brush the top of the scones using what's left of the milk and egg mixture or whisk one additional egg with 1 tsp milk, cream or water in a small bowl. Brush on the tops of the scones.
• Turn oven down to 425 F/215C. Bake smaller scones for 10-12 minutes and large scones for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with butter, clotted cream, whipped cream, lemon curd or jam. Enjoy!
• Scones are best eaten the day they're made but I've found they're ok the next day, too.

CURRANT TEA SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400° F and butter a baking sheet.
• Pour boiling water into a small cup and steep tea bag 2 minutes. Remove and reserve tea bag and stir in currants. Into a bowl sift together flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add to flour mixture, blending with fingertips until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Squeeze liquid from tea bag into cup and discard bag. With a fork stir 6 tablespoons half-and-half into flour mixture until just combined and a sticky dough is formed. Stir in currant mixture.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 5-inch round. Transfer round to baking sheet and with a pastry brush lightly coat with additional half-and-half. Sprinkle dough with remaining 1/2 teaspoon sugar and with a knife score 1/4-inch deep into quarters.
• Bake scones in middle of oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden, and transfer to a rack to cool. Break scones along score marks and serve warm or at room temperature.

BLACK CURRANT SCONES FROM LA PROVENCE

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 2. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 of the eggs, the vanilla and buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir together to evenly distribute. (The dough will be crumbly.) Stir in the currants. 4. Pour the mixture onto a lightly floured cutting board, and gently knead to form a cohesive mass. Be careful not to overmix, or the dough will be tough. 5. Scoop the scones using a large (4-ounce) scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, or divide the dough into 14 portions (each portion will be about one-half cup), leaving 3 inches between each. 6. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg with the milk to form an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over each of the scones. 7. Bake the scones until puffed, lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking for even coloring. Remove to a rack and cool slightly before serving.