Happy St. Patrick's Day! I have a tasty recipe to share you with today that comes all the way from Ireland! Emily of blog From China Village and from Dublin, reached out to collaborate on a post in honor of today. Caveat, I don't have much experience making scones. I've only made them once or twice before. Scones can be tricky because (as Emily warned) if you work the dough too much the scones may become a bit too dense. Despite the warning, I overworked the dough, damn, and I also think I removed them from the oven a bit too soon in fear of them becoming too hard. The scones themselves taste really great, but I missed the mark on the texture for sure.
As told by Emily:
"The scone recipe is not a green recipe, and there's no Guinness involved, but it's probably one of the most truly Irish recipes I've found - as in real Irish people really make and love to eat them!
Before I moved to Ireland a few years ago, I was not a fan of scones at all. I found them hard and bland and they always reminded me of hockey pucks. But true Irish scones are light and fluffy, best served warm out of the oven. The standard scones over here have raisins, but most coffee shops or cafes have this yummy "Mixed Berry" version. This recipe is adapted from the famous Avoca Cafe - the coziest place to get lunch or tea and a scone in Dublin.
I often munch on these scones plain for an afternoon snack, but they make an absolutely decadent dessert if you serve them with runny, oozy jam and fresh whipped cream. The scones themselves aren't too sweet, so they're perfect when the jam soaks in a little. The top is crispy, but the inside is flaky and soft. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea - the perfect afternoon treat to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
Mixed Berry Irish Scones (adapted from Avoca Cafe )
Ingredients
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup caster sugar (caster sugar is just fine sugar. You can grind granulated sugar in a food processor or coffee grinder. Kind of in between granulated and confectioner's sugar.)
1 stick cold butter, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
50 mls heavy cream
200 mls whole milk
1 and 1/2 - 2 cups mixed berries (cranberries, blackberries, blueberries and/or strawberries - my mix has redcurrants and blackcurrants but those will probably be less common in America)
1 egg plus 2 tbsp water, lightly beaten for egg wash
1/4 cup caster sugar for dusting
Preparation
Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the cold butter and work together with your fingers until it turns to the consistency of bread crumbs. Add in the mixed berries and toss to incorporate. Add in the egg, cream and enough milk to moisten. Work together with your hands until you have a soft dough - don't work too long or you'll end up with hockey pucks! Roll out on a floured surface until it's about 2 inches thick (2 inches should give you tall, fluffy scones). Use a round cookie cutter (scones are only round over here!) to cut out the scones and transfer to a greased or lined cookie sheet. Brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with caster sugar, which will give them a crunchy top!
Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes, until they're golden brown on the top.
Oozy Jam
1/2 cup of your favorite jam, the chunkier the better
2 tbsp apple juice
In a saucepan, heat the jam and apple juice over low heat until it thins.
Cut the warm scones in half (of course, you can zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds if they've cooled or you're eating them a day or two later!), spoon a generous amount of jam sauce onto each half and drop a dollop of fresh cream (just barely sweetened) onto each half. And don't forget that cup of tea - not authentically Irish without the tea!"
I also whipped up some cream using 1/2 cup of heaving whipping cream, 1 teaspoon sugar and a splash of vanilla.
I would love to give these a try again when berries are fresh from the Farmer's Market, especially beautiful currants. Thanks so much to Emily for the scone recipe and have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!
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