Blueberry-Ginger Scones

I love, love, love scones! If I could eat one type of pastry for the rest of my life, I would choose scones, especially Alice Waters’ scones… they’re light, soft, and totally melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Whenever I make scones, I usually go for Alice Waters’ recipe and put my own spin to it, so it’s kinda-sorta different each time. Over the number of times that I have used her recipe, my favorite flour blend is half whole wheat and half whole wheat pastry. It makes for a delicate scone with good substance.

This time, I decided to toss in some blueberries and crystallized ginger in the mix. The combination of both is heavenly! The freshness and sweetness of the blueberries makes you think of sunny fields while the warm and spicy flavors of candied ginger reminds you of burrowing under the covers. The blueberries and ginger bits enveloped in the orange-infused scone dough is simply delightful.

Blueberry-Ginger Scones (Makes 8 large scones)

Adapted from Alice Waters’ Scones, The Art of Simple Food

Scones:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup sugar

zest of 1 orange

½ cup fresh blueberries

¼ cup crystallized ginger, minced

1 and 1/3 cups heavy cream

Vanilla-Cream Wash:

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon sugar

Move an oven rack to the middle slot and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet, by covering it with parchment paper or rubbing it generously with a bit of butter.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt well together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, massage the orange zest into the sugar granules using your fingertips. Whisk the orange infused sugar into the flour mixture. Toss in the minced ginger and whisk well. Add the blueberries and use your fingertips to gently sift it in the dry mixture, make sure you don’t crush them.

Pour in the heavy cream and using a flexible, rubber spatula, gently mix the cream and the dry ingredients until a scraggly dough forms. Tip the dough onto a clean counter and gently form into a circle. Pat the circle into an 8-inch disk. Divide the disk into 8 wedges using a knife.

To make the vanilla-cream wash, stir together the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sugar in a small bowl. Brush the scone wedges with the wash using a pastry brush.

Carefully move the wedges onto the prepared pan. You might want to use a very flat, plastic spatula to peel them off the counter. Bake for 20-24 minutes until the top turns into a nice, golden brown.

Pairing these scones with a cup of coffee, a good latte, or your favorite tea is highly recommended. Sit back, smile, and enjoy!