One cannot host a tea party without serving scones, and currant scones are such a classic. Scones are especially delightful because of how quick they are to make.
I gathered the mise en place:
First, I combined the dry ingredients.
I added in the currants and made sure any clumps of fruit were broken up.
Lastly, I added the cream and stirred until the flour was all incorporated and I had a shaggy dough.
At this point I departed from the recipe. Instead of shaping the dough into one large round and cutting it into 8 wedges, I cut out 9 rounds.
I brushed the tops of the scones with heavy cream, and baked them until the tops were beginning to become golden. This took 26 minutes for me, instead of the recommended 15-20 minutes.
Scones are traditionally served with clotted cream and jam. Clotted cream is rather difficult to find, so I decided to make my own. The making of clotted cream does take a good 24 hours, so I started this a few days before I baked the scones.
I used this recipe. I was able to find pasteurized (but not ultra-pasteurized) heavy cream at my grocery store as recommended in the recipe. I poured the whole quart of cream into a baking dish, and baked it at the lowest temperature my oven would allow. I set the oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, but it was closer to 225 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the bake. After 9 hours the top of the cream was golden brown, and you could see a separation of the cream from the whey.
I allowed the cream to cool overnight, then poured off the whey. The golden bits on the top were rather crunchy, and that wasn’t the texture I was going for, so I strained the remaining cream through a sieve before serving.
The scones were lovely, and the combination of scones, cream, and jam was so wonderful. My neighbor, who is from Scotland, said these are the best scones he’s had in a very long time (he also approved the clotted cream).
Until the next time: may your yeast always rise and your flour never run out.
A Baker's Education 