Cookbook #67, A Passion For Baking

Marcy Goldman shares her passion for baking in her appropriately titled cookbook "A Passion for Baking".   The cookbook starts with a section on baking secrets, and continues with  baking hints and tips throughout the book.  And the recipes?  Well how many baking cookbooks are filled with recipes that have you throwing up your hands and screaming "never!!!"  None.  Exactly.  And this cookbook is no different.  It's full of all of those tempting baked goodies that have you turning the pages and wondering how you will ever choose that first recipe to try. 

Tea and scones--such a happy time.  My first experience with tea time came when I'd first moved to NY and working for a Brit.  He was a super tall, strapping gent and took his tea daily at the same time. Up to that point, I always thought tea was Liptons, but the cup he brewed me--that'd put hair on even a girly girl's chest. He said it was Scottish Breakfast Tea and I fell in love.  Deep, dark, strong amber colored tea with just the right amount of cream--nothing like it. To this day I instantly judge a tea by the color that begins to swirl around that first drizzle of cream into the cup.  Yes, I pour the tea before the cream--I'm not Britsh y'all.

A tea that dark needs a strong scone to stand up to it. I have a favorite scone recipe--a bit crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside but solid enough to hold a big glob of clotted cream.  When I saw this recipe for scones I almost kept going...but then the honey butter glaze was a bit intringuing.  And cream and butter?  This would be toxic but you have to try right?

My biggest aversion to these types of recipes is the mess.  Goo on the hands.  Flour everywhere.  This is the exact reason I am not a true baker at heart.

The outcome?  I don't think it was the cookbook but the recipe was not my favorite.  It was good but it was just almost cakelike. And true to promise, it did stay moist for days--how could it not with the vast amount of fat inside of it?  I couldn't bring myself to put clotted cream on the top when there was so much cream and butter on the inside.  I'd rather have the clotted cream on top.  But all in all, that's not a commentary on the cookbook, but rather a commentary on a girl and her devotion to the type of scone that was the perfect compliment to the perfect cup of tea.

Blueberry-Raspberry Honey Butter-Glazed Scones

From A Passion For Baking

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup, approximately, whipping cream
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen blackberries
Milk or melted butter for brushing
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Put lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup, pour in whipping cream to 1-cup mark, and let stand a few minutes to make soured cream.
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. In a food processor, add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and blend briefly. Add butter and pulse to make a coarse, grainy mixture.** Turn mixture into a large bowl and make a well in center. Add egg, vanilla, and enough soured cream to make a soft but firm dough. Gently fold in berries.***
2. Knead briefly on a lightly floured work surface, adding more flour, if required, to make a firm dough. Pat out to 1-inch thickness. Cut into wedges or rounds and place on prepared baking sheets. Brush each scone with milk or melted butter.
3. Bake until scones are nicely browned, about 16-19 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, for glaze, heat honey and butter in a liquid measuring cup in a microwave until mixture is just simmering, about 1 1/2 minutes on high, stirring after 45 seconds.
5. Brush scones lightly with honey-butter glaze as they come out of the oven. Let stand on baking sheet. Repeat with more honey-butter glaze, more generously, about 15 minutes later.
Makes 8-12 scones