It’s Sant Jordi, or Saint Georges Day here in Catalunya… also known as the day of the book and the rose, when women gift books to men, and men gift roses to women… it’s a very sweet and extremely important tradition here which I think is really lovely of course… And so the colour red comes to mind as you see if everywhere at this time …
So of course, now that strawberry season is upon us, it is fitting to constantly be coming up with various recipes that include them.. my favourites at the minute are the obvious strawberries n cream classic.. just reminds of my childhood growing up in London, when, come Wimbledon season, there was always an abundance of them being sold with a long can of “instant” whipped cream…
So as I was searching for a simple dessert that would showcase these two ingredients, I realized I wanted something like a cake but smaller.. not a cupcake, but even smaller still.. but nothing with frosting.. so I turned to my even more classic favourite, the SCONE!!! and I found Joy the Bakers most amazing recipe for these miniature ones that I thought would be SO SO perfect, as her ideas and recipes usually are… And I am telling you, not only are they easy to make but they are a DREAM…
What I completely love is that the dough for the scones has been invented to make them in the morning when you’r one eye is half open and your senses are only HALF working… it’s such light work… no kneading no resting no rolling… just patting down with chubby fingers (mine, not yours!)– can you see ?
And cutting them out with a cookie cutter, or if you don’t have one, a small glass or even just cut them out into small triangles or squares, anything is fine…
brush them with a bit of cream and top with a sprinkling of golden sugar… I mean… WOW
and 12-14 minutes later…
What I also love is that uneven golden colour that catches in places… you just REALLY want to eat these coz they look so natural—- so please… enjoy…they last for 2-3 days in airtight containers… I suggest warming them slightly… that’s the way I like them…oh… just too good… also, they are eggless for those who are interested!!!! 🙂
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream plus more for brushing the top
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
- 1/3 cup chopped white chocolate (optional)
- brown sugar for topping
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, backing powder, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
- In a liquid measuring cup mix together vanilla extract and 1 1/3 cups cream. Drizzle the cream mixture into the dry ingredients tossing and stirring as you pour in the cream. Add the strawberry chunks and white chocolate chunks (if using). Toss together. Add 2 more tablespoons of cream if necessary to create a moist, cohesive, but not sticky dough.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently gather and knead the dough into a dish and press the disk out into a 3/4″-thickness. It should be a bit dryer at this point but not too dry so that it crumbles.. it should also not be sticky…
- Use a small biscuit cutter to cut small 1 1/4-inch circles from the dough disk. Brush each circle with heave cream and sprinkle generously with brown sugar.
- Place 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
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