Name: Cream Scones
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Great Britain
Ingredients: 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces; 1/2 cup currants; 1 cup heavy cream

Why This Recipe Works

British-style scones, or cream scones, are a far cry from humongous American coffeehouse creations. Cream scones are delicate and light, much like a biscuit. We set out to perfect a technique for making these tea-time (or breakfast) favorites.

Experimentation with different kinds of flour revealed that all-purpose is the best choice for scones, and even better, for maximum tenderness, is a lower-protein brand of flour. Butter was important for flavor, but only a modest amount or the scones would practically melt in the oven. Cream won out over buttermilk and whole milk for the liquid; it made our scones rich and kept them tender. As a nod to American taste, we increased the amount of sugar from that used in traditional recipes, but only slightly to keep them from being too sweet. The discovery that the food processor did a great job of cutting the butter into the flour was a boon, making it even easier to make these treats. Our British-style cream scones were just right served with a bit of jam.

Before You Begin

The easiest and most reliable approach to mixing the butter into the dry ingredients is to use a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Resist the urge to eat the scones hot out of the oven. Letting them cool for at least 10 minutes firms them up and improves their texture.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in large bowl or workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.

Stir in heavy cream with rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Following illustrations below, cut scones into 8 wedges. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet. (Baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.)

Bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.