Baking Endeavors: Elderberry Clementine Scones
I will preface this by saying I am NOT a baker. I spend hours in the kitchen cooking, but baking is not my forte. That said, I generally don't ruin scones or brownies, so I try to stick with my strengths. Even so, I really have to psych myself up for baking. I've been "planning" to make these scones since September when I bought the elderberries at the Linden Hills Farmers Market. SEPTEMBER. Here we finally are and these scones turned out quite lovely and look pretty enough to be sold in a fancy pastry case (IMHO...)!
I'd never gotten or eaten elderberries before making these. When I bought them, the woman working at the stand told me that I could put them in a plastic bag to freeze and then once frozen, shake the bag to remove the berries from their numerous stems. Oh, and one other important sidenote: The berries are apparently poisonous when raw, so make sure you cook these babies up before consuming!
Any baking recipes on this site at this point will likely be based on another recipe and adapted. I used this recipe for the basic foundation of the scones. Citrus is in season and so I used some of the organic clementines I'd picked up from Lakewinds Co-op to add a nice zest and compliment the berries. If you're unable to find elderberries, you could always substitute currants, which are similar in size, or even wild blueberries.
Elderberry Clementine Scones
Makes: 12 scones
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 c. buttermilk (you can also just add 1/2 tsp. vinegar to 1/2 c. milk and let sit for a minute as a buttermilk substitute—that's actually what I did.)
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract (vanilla would also work well, but I really enjoy almond)
1 clementine, zested & juiced
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or white flour—I like the fiber!)
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
6 tbsp. cold butter, diced
1 c, elderberries, stems completely removed, frozen is fine for this (could also use currants or wild blueberries, which are somewhat similar in size)
For Glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 clementine, zested & juiced
Method:
1. Whisk buttermilk, egg, almond extract and the juice/zest of one clementine in a small bowl. In another larger bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in cold pieces of butter and use a potato masher, or pastry blender, to mix the butter into the dry ingredients. You'll want to avoid warming the butter, so a metal object (or anything besides your hands) usually works well for this.
2. Add elderberries to flour mixture and stir until well distributed. Pour liquid ingredients into the dry and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened and the dough can be rolled into a large ball. You don't want to overmix, I made the dough the night before and then baked in the morning. If you decide to do this, cover the dough ball with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a baking sheet with butter or cooking spray. Divide dough into 12 balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the scones have turned slightly golden.
4. Make your glaze while the scones cool briefly. Mix powdered sugar and clementine juice in a bowl until a glaze forms. If you prefer a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar. Drizzle on scones while still warm. Breakfast is served!
I couldn't stop taking pictures of these pretty little things.
