Not only are scones one of the fluffiest, most delicious baked goods ever to be created to be eaten with a cup of tea, but the possible ingredients and flavor combinations are simply endless. And I love to play with different flavors and spices to see what I can come up with.
This time I had a new ingredient I’d bought on my last UK trip – stem ginger in syrup from Waitrose. Not something one can find in your average American grocery store. So far I’ve only been able to find it online, though there might be some local British specialty stores that may carry it in the US.
Did a little surfing to get ideas for what to combine with the ginger, but in the end I went with ingredients I had on hand that I thought would work well together – including apple, hazelnuts, plums, elderflower, and homemade clotted cream.
I took one shortcut for the scones – used the original Sticky Fingers scones mixture, and chopped up 2 stem ginger pieces, one small apple and a handful of toasted hazelnuts to add to the mix. I thought the apple and ginger would meld well together, and I love hazelnuts for crunch, if not for flavor.
For the liquid in the mixture, I used 2/3rds cups of water, and elderflower cordial for the additional tablespoon of liquid required. I also brushed a little egg wash on the top before baking so they would get a nice golden-brown crust on the top.
For the clotted cream, I followed Sue’s recipe at The View from Great Island to make it in our Instant Pot. I used the non-ultra-pasteurized cream from Costco (it’s simply pasteurized, without the “ultra”), though I think I’m going to have to find another cream to use…it tasted good, but came out a little too loose for my liking.
For me, clotted cream should have more body – I’ve tried it now this way and in the oven (at least 3 times) using this particular cream brand, and still can’t seem to get the texture right. So by now I’m thinking it’s not the method but maybe it’s the cream I’m starting with. I haven’t found simple pasteurized (or even raw) cream anywhere else nearby, not even Whole Foods or Trader Joes, though others have found the right kind of cream there in other locales.
Anywhooo….moving on! I also had a whole bag of small plums, and thought a quick plum compote would go perfectly with ginger, apples, etc. So, basically, I chopped up 400 grams of plums, added 1/4 c. sugar, a splash of lemon and also of elderflower cordial, and let it simmer on low on the stove for about 7 minutes. Let it cool, and I had the perfect compote to go with these scones.
So maybe think about these ingredients to spice up your next batch of scones, or mix it up further with other combinations.
Very Nearly Tea Time 