I had so much lemon curd left over after making several Lemon-Butter Almond Cakes (I made a double batch of curd, which was enough for four almond cakes with about a cup of curd to spare) that I decided to make some scones. Proof Bakery's orange and currant scones have been on my to-bake list since the recipe was featured in the Los Angeles Times Culinary SOS column earlier this year. I've never been to Proof Bakery, but it's not my first experience with a recipe from bakery owner Na Young Ma; a few years ago I tried her recipe for Rolled-Oat Fig Cake after it was featured in the LA Times.
This is a pretty straightforward scone recipe. You whisk together bread flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; cut in cold butter; mix in currants and orange zest; and stir in the liquid ingredients (heavy cream, honey, and an egg). The recipe directs you to form the dough into a round and cut it into eight scones, but I wanted my scones to be a little smaller. I made a double batch of dough, divided it into five rounds, and cut each round into six wedges to get a total of thirty scones. I froze the formed scones for about 30 minutes before brushing them with cream, sprinkling on coarse sugar, and putting them in the oven.
The scones held their shape well during baking. There were a lot of currants poking out from the sides of the scones and some of them got a little singed. At room temperature, these were good scones. Rewarmed in the oven, they were really good. The texture was more tender than crumbly and they tasted great plain -- although the lemon curd was a lovely accompaniment.
I love currants and think they are particularly well suited for baking applications like scones, where their chewy texture shines. The orange zest provided just a hint of flavor in the same way the lemon zest brightens many scone recipes. The Orange-Currant Scones from Sweetie Pies are definitely more orange-y, but without a head-to-head taste test, I can't say which scone recipe I like better between the two. Regardless, with lemon curd or without, these scones get a thumbs up from me.
Recipe: "Proof Bakery's Scones" from the January 16, 2015 Los Angeles Times.
Previous Posts:
The scones held their shape well during baking. There were a lot of currants poking out from the sides of the scones and some of them got a little singed. At room temperature, these were good scones. Rewarmed in the oven, they were really good. The texture was more tender than crumbly and they tasted great plain -- although the lemon curd was a lovely accompaniment.
I love currants and think they are particularly well suited for baking applications like scones, where their chewy texture shines. The orange zest provided just a hint of flavor in the same way the lemon zest brightens many scone recipes. The Orange-Currant Scones from Sweetie Pies are definitely more orange-y, but without a head-to-head taste test, I can't say which scone recipe I like better between the two. Regardless, with lemon curd or without, these scones get a thumbs up from me.
Recipe: "Proof Bakery's Scones" from the January 16, 2015 Los Angeles Times.
Previous Posts:
- "Final Figs of Fall, Part I: Rolled-Oat Cake with Figs," October 16, 2012.
- "Sweets from Sweetie Pies: Orange-Currant Scones," July 19, 2011.
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