Anyways, because it's such an awesome show, I felt that the finale warranted British food of some kind. I met every Sunday night with a fun group of ladies, and we'd watch the episodes together. Most fun! I've always wanted to make legitimate scones and clotted cream, and I've been sitting on a recipe for them for awhile, so I went for it!
I was kind of disappointed? I mean, these are delicious! Especially the cream! Oh man that stuff is good. But I just expected them to taste more British? My mind is a wonder, is it not?
Traditional English Scones
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
4 oz (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 TB grated orange zest
1 large egg
1/4 cup heavy cream, or more as needed
1/4 cup milk, or more as needed
1/3 cup Fat Raisins, drained (optional) (I left these out because I have picky feelings about raisins)
Milk for brushing
1. Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat to 400. Line two pans with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and orange zest and mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the butter and flour are broken down into pieces the size of walnut meats. Use your thumb and forefinger to flatten the pieces. Then take up the mixture and rub briskly between your hands.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, and milk. Add to the flour mixture along with the raisins, if using, and blend at low speed just until the dough comes together, about 10 seconds. If it seems dry, add a bit more cream or milk, a tablespoon at a time.
4. Line your work surface with parchment, dust the parchment with flour, and scrape out the dough. Shape into an 8 inch square, about 1 inch thick. You can use a rolling pin for this. Cut the dough into 2 inch squares. If making triangles, cut the squares in half on the diagonal. Flip the scones over and place on the parchment-lined pans (the purpose of this is to add extra fluff, so flip them over for heaven's sake!). Brush with milk, and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until dark golden brown and puffed.
Devonshire Cream
1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
Place the cheese in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or use a large bowl and a hand mixer. Add the sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla and blend well on low speed. Without stopping the machine, stream in the heavy cream. When well blended, scrape into a bowl or ramekin, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use (this will keep for a good week or two in a tightly sealed container).
For the record, I mixed the dough by hand, until I added in wet ingredients and then I used a spoon. I just didn't feel that this warranted getting my Kitchenaid dirty.
Here's what it looked like all mixed up, before the wet ingredients.
I made triangles.
And squares :)
Right?
Can you think of a cuter way to take scones, cream, and jam to a "Downton Abbey" finale get-together?
Recipe Source: "Desserts by the Yard" by Sherry Yard