I just love baking in the morning. Especially when no one else is up yet. These days, the kids don't allow me that alone time because they're up along with me at 5:30am these days. So I had two gorgeous assistants to help me with this recipe.
To be honest, only one was actually assisting me. The other just hung on to my leg as I walked around the kitchen trying to get breakfast together. I wish I had someone to take a picture. She was literally hanging on with her little arms around my leg while I moved around. It wasn't comfortable, but let's just call it weight-training!
Aimee helped a lot with stirring the flour mixture, breaking the walnuts into smaller pieces and of course, doing the all-important sprinkle of sugar. What would I do without her! <3
These scones are really yummy. I was considering throwing in some chocolate chips at first but I'm so glad I went the walnut route. The flavors were just amazing!
Orange-Walnut Scones
Makes 6-9 scones
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup castor sugar, plus 1.5 tbsp extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp salt
Fine zest of 1 whole orange
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
113g/1/2 cup cold butter, cut in small cubes
4 tbsp fresh orange juice
3 tbsp whole milk
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir well to combine.
3. Stir in the zest of one whole orange.
4. Add the cubed, cold butter and work it into the flour mixture using just your finger tips. Working gently, rub in all the butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
5. Gently stir in the chopped walnuts.
6. In a small cup, combine the orange juice and whole milk.
7. Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the orange juice mixture.
8. Mix gently until the dough comes together but is slightly crumbly. Do not knead!
9. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking tray and flatten into a 3/4 inch thick square or circle.
10. Using a damp knife, cut through the scone mixture to mark the pieces. This will make it easy for you to break off pieces when baked. Sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining castor sugar.
11. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the surface of the scone is dry and springy to the touch and the base is golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before gently cutting the pieces apart.
13. Serve warm with accompaniments of your choice.
My choice of accompaniments for this scone would be a thin spread of a nice marmalade and a generous dollop of clotted cream. Now if only clotted cream was easily available here. Sigh.
The flavor of these scones is just right. Strong but not overpowering fresh orange flavor, an amazing buttery flavor that only real butter can give, and toasty walnuts that add some crunch texture to an otherwise melt-in-the-mouth scone. The sugar on top adds a little bit of extra sweetness because the scone itself isn't too sweet.
This makes a small batch and it was just enough for us for one breakfast. We really enjoyed these scones, and I think it will be a hit with your family too!
Until next time... <3
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