Wonderful Cran Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

"Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake . . ." is what popped in my mind as I was readying my scones for the oven this morning.

Cran-Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Happy New Year's Everyone! Perusing Facebook early this AM, I got a reminder of a post I had shared one year ago for Red Berry and White Chocolate Scones. The recipe was found on a site called www.orgasmicchef.com, though the recipe itself was from a guest poster - another blogger whose site is called www.notquitenigella.com. The recipe had things I just love: raspberries, fresh cranberries and white chocolate. The fact that these things were made into scones was a no-brainer. So last year I shared the recipe on FB when it came around, and then managed to forget all about it. 

Till this morning. When I shared the recipe again. But this time the difference was that I actually had fresh cranberries in the fridge, frozen whole raspberries in the freezer and white "chocolate" baking chips in the pantry!

Just because I find a recipe that sounds amazing, does not mean I follow the recipe. I seem to have a built-in need to tinker. Tweak. The only part of the recipe that I followed (sort of) is with the amounts for the three ingredients   already mentioned. Even those were altered a tiny bit. When the first issue of BAKE from scratch magazine came out and it featured scones (which I just love), I was hooked. Their method was quite different from what I had done previously in my recipes for scones, and I liked the way they came out. And yes, I actually did follow (some of) the recipes in that magazine - just to see how they came out. They sort of have a basic main ingredient list and then flavors are added. There is some variation in the basic ingredients, mainly if there is a need to compensate for a moist addition or dry addition. And then there is method . . . . . !

The magazine calls for:

• starting in a food processor, 
• then moving the mixture to a bowl to add in the add-ins, 
• and then to a cake tin to form the circle, 
• then they are turned out onto the counter to cut them apart. 

😧

I mean, really??? And that's not counting the measuring cups and things and the knife or bench scraper for cutting, etc.

Pat out then cut and onto pan to bake

I once remarked to my sister-in-law that you can always tell when a person has "staff" to help out with washing the pots, pans, bowls and things. They will tend to use every piece of equipment in the kitchen, just because they can - and then the "help" will clean up afterwards. I am a "one-woman-show" here, and I try to utilize the least amount of things I would otherwise have to wash afterwards. I mix my scones up in a bowl, cut the butter in with a pastry blender. I pat it out on the counter top [at this point is where the "Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake . . ." popped into my head] to form the round 8-inch circle. In the end I have one bowl, a pastry blender, a knife and the counter to clean. Oh, and maybe a measuring cup and spoon. 

Cran-Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Anyway, back to making these scones. I opted to use the basics from the "BAKE from scratch" magazine, mainly:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt (which I find way too much, personally)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

A friend had given me some fresh raspberries over the summer, which she had frozen individually on a sheet, then packaged. I'd not yet gotten around to using them, so today was the day. I had some fresh cranberries in the fridge, also which I had not gotten around to using. I had no actual white chocolate, but I had white baking chips, so those would have to do for now. And all I can say is Wow! The scones were fantastic. That said, they were still a little soft in the middles even after the 15 minutes at 425 degrees. I might have to lower the temp and let them go a little longer next time - but for now I have absolutely no problem with how they came out.

Here is my recipe:

Cran-Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Makes 8 scones 

Cran-Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

¾ cup individually frozen raspberries
¼ cup chopped fresh cranberries
½ cup white chocolate in small chunks (or white baking chips)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1¼ teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
1 cup + 1 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a piece of parchment on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Measure out the chopped cranberries and set aside. Measure out the frozen raspberries. Cut them in half if preferred. Set aside. Measure out the white chocolate and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Stir to combine. With a heavy pastry cutter, or two knives or fingers, cut in the cold butter. If doing this with fingers, cut the butter into little cubes, then work quickly so as not to heat the butter too much. 

Mix in the reserved cranberries, raspberries and white chocolate. Stir to distribute. Do not mix too much. With a fork, toss the mixture lightly while drizzling in the heavy cream. Once the cream is all added, continue tossing and scraping sides until most of the mixture is moistened. Do not beat. Spray a clean counter top with cooking spray and turn out the scone mixture. Press and pat the mixture together ["Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake . . ."] to form an 8-inch circle. Use a long knife and cut across the circle four times, creating 8 scones. Using the knife, separate and lift each scone to the parchment lined baking sheet, setting them at least 1-inch apart.

Bake the scones for 15 minutes, until browned and set. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.