Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

With the arrival of Spring, I'm on a citrus kick.  I have three recipes to share with you, and two of them uses Meyer Lemons.  My husband planted a Meyer Lemon tree for me, a few years ago.  I love the beautiful orange color of Meyer lemons and am always looking for ways to enjoy the flavor of these lovely citrus fruits.

Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin or a common orange; they are a bit sweeter than the more traditional Eureka lemons.They're also pricey to buy! Yikes! Still, they're worth it.

If you've never made scones before, I can assure you that they are very easy to do.  They are virtually fool-proof-- but there are a few important tips that I will share with you.  I was inspired to make these scones when I saw them posted on "Our Best Bites".  My son loves Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, and he used to buy some "pre-fab" scones that are sold in a plastic bucket.  I knew I could make a better version.  I printed the recipe and made a batch in no time at all.

The recipe begins with flour, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest...and (I would find out too late), some sugar.   I rarely do this, but I forgot the sugar!  More on that later....

Tip #1:  Grate frozen butter.  This is much easier than cutting cold butter, and using a pastry blender. You can use a box grater, a micro-plane (for cutting coarser products...yes, I have an assortment of micro-planes) or your food processor with the grating disc.

 

Why frozen butter?  Tip #2: Scones puff up better, and have a very tender texture when there are cold chunks of butter (just like making pie crusts).  The butter creates more steam, they bake.  Add the grated butter to the dry ingredients, and use your fingers to toss and combine-- until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Tip #3: Don't overwork the dough!  Don't squeeze the dough... just toss gently.

For the wet ingredients, whisk one egg with the buttermilk.   I wanted to make sure that the lemon flavor would be the star of the show.  I keep pure lemon oil in my refrigerator, for times like this. I suppose lemon extract could work, but I'm a purist.  A little goes a long way, I added 1/4 teaspoon.

Pour the wet ingredients over the crumbly mixture and gently combine with two forks, or I like to use a flat whisk.  You don't want the dough to be "wet", but more "shaggy".  That means, mix until it's wet enough that any loose flour has been incorporated.  Then, stop!

Lightly flour a surface and dump the dough.  Patiently pat the dough... pat, pat, pat.   NOTE: This is the first batch that I made, and I had to add a bit more buttermilk to it.  It did come together better.

Tip #4:  We are not making bread!  Don't be tempted to knead the dough!  Pat, pat, pat.  Trust me, we don't want to work the gluten in the flour, or we'll have hockey pucks for scones.

When I posted recipes for  my Strawberry Scones or Harvest Pumpkin Scones, I show how I shaped the dough into a circle, and then cut them into wedges. 

This time, I wanted to make mini scones, so I shaped the dough so that I cut squares and then cut each one into a triangle.

A bench scraper makes this easier to do.

Spread each scone, evenly, on either parchment paper or a Silpat Mat.

Tip #5:  Freeze the scones. Yes, freeze them for at least 10 minutes.  Tips #1 & 2 explains why this is a good thing.

I set two timers-- one for 15 minutes, and another for 12 minutes. I wanted to be sure that I didn't burn the scones.  At 12 minutes, they weren't golden brown, yet. So 15 minutes did the trick. Look!  Puffy!

While the scones were baking, I made a glaze of powdered sugar, the juice of the zested lemon and 2 Tablespoons of half & half cream.  NOTE: In my first batch, I made a glaze with melted butter, instead of half & half, but found that the butter muted the lemon flavor.  I prefer a glaze that I can easily drizzle over a scone, so add the half & half (or you can use heavy cream or whole milk) a little at a time.    Here's the COOLEST TIP YET:  Balance a cooking rack over your kitchen sink (carefully, obviously)...

That way, when you spoon a glaze, the mess drips right into your sink-- no tray to wash, no parchment paper to waste.

Easy cleanup!

This is the first batch of glaze, made with melted butter instead of half & half.  It's thick, but as I've said, I felt it muted the lemon flavor. It was good, but...

I made a thinner glaze and spooned it over warm scones.  NOTE: I forgot to sift the powdered sugar, for this batch, hence there are clumps of sugar.  Simply esthetic flaws, but the flavor was great.

Once the scones had cooled, I added one more layer of glaze. Perfect!

TASTING NOTES FOR BATCH #1:  As I first mentioned, I forgot to add sugar to my first batch.  However, the thicker glaze saved the day.  I was disappointed, and my son reluctantly said that these were "okay".  Craig, on the other hand, ate them all and said he liked that they weren't sweet.

I couldn't stand it-- I had to make another batch, and tweak the recipe a bit.  I decided to switch sour cream for buttermilk, because I felt that my first batch of scones had a texture that I wasn't crazy about.  This time, I added the sugar, and made the glaze without butter.

TASTING NOTES FOR BATCH #2:   Bingo!  Redemption tastes sweet.  In this case, the sugar made these scones just sweet enough. I loved that the lemon flavor really took center stage.  The scones were tender and I am happy with this version.  That is not to say that Our Best Bites recipes isn't good. It is-- sometimes, a tweak or two is a good thing. In this case, I can say that this recipe is adapted from "Our Best Bites".  Thanks for the inspiration!

By the way, I froze half of my second batch of scones.  The following Saturday, I took them from the freezer into a 400F oven, and they turned out perfectly!  This is a great tip for planning ahead-- or, in my case, not being tempted to eat all of them at once.

A recipe card is at the end of this post.  If you can't "view" the card on this page, please click here.

 

 

                       

Blueberry Crumb Cake

So, how's everyone doing with their New Year's Weight Loss Resolutions?  Me? I'm doing fine. You see, I play it safe. I don't make them.  Well, I do, but they are never food-related.   I make no secret that I have a wicked sweet tooth.   I love dessert. I just try to resist going back for seconds.

So, about that healthy eating thing that kicks into full gear in January...  how about blueberries? They're loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. They're terrific with some Greek Yogurt. Absolutely! But, that's not what I did with the blueberries I couldn't resist buying.   I wanted to bake something for breakfast.  I blame it on the Blue Bottle Coffee that I bought, while we were in San Francisco.  Wow, is that ever great coffee!  So, I decided to bake a crumb cake.  To be on the safe side, I chose a recipe from Ina Garten.  I trust her recipes. 

The streusel is easy to make-- flour, white and brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. Now, we add one stick of unsalted butter that's been melted, and blend it all together.

The cake batter: anytime I see sour cream as an ingredient, I anticipate a really moist cake.  The batter begins with 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter and sugar. Be sure to cream it with a mixer for 4-5 minutes. We want lots of air and fluffy goodness.  Then, we add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and then the rest of the dry ingredients-- flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda. (Don't worry, a printable recipe card is at the end of this post.)   I usually let my husband lick the beater blades. But, this time, I had to dip my fingers around the edges.  This batter tastes great! 

Very gently, fold about a cup of blueberries (I added a bit more).

Evenly spread the batter into a prepared 9" cake pan. I used a Springform Pan with parchment paper on the bottom.

With your hands, mix up the streusel topping, and then evenly spread it on top of the cake batter.

Bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes.  The aroma is so good, while it bakes!  I checked mine at 40 minutes with a toothpick, but the center needed about five more minutes.  Cool.  NOTE: I like to eat my coffee cakes on the warm side, so I let it cool for about 20 minutes.

I'll bet this cake would look pretty with a dusting of powdered sugar. I didn't want to do that, because I prefer to dust by the slice. 

VERDICT:  This is "bakery good".  The cake is really moist. It's not super sweet.  The crumb topping is just how it should be.  Need I say more?  Ina Garten has great quality control in any recipe she posts.  This is a coffee cake I would serve to any guest in my home.  I think this recipe would work as muffins, too.   

I justify fruit and cake for breakfast as perfectly acceptable.  I just have to swim a few extra laps. Next week.  Here's the recipe:

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon-Pecan Filling

October is National Cookie Month.  Tate's Bake Shop is offering a few food bloggers an opportunity to taste their award winning Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Cookies.

Owner Kathleen King made her reputation--and a thriving bakery business-- on her famous chocolate chip cookies.  Her bakery is located in the Hamptons-- a place I hope to visit someday.

Last December , I was one of the fortunate bloggers who was able to taste Tate's Chocolate Chip cookies-- and Tate's Bake Shop offered a giveaway to one of my lucky readers .  My family and I really loved these cookies, that are thin and crisp and buttery.  They disappeared really fast. I also received a signed copy of the Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook, and I  made the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious, but not quite as crispy as the authentic cookies that Tates Bake Shop can ship to you! 

Denielle contacted me, again, and asked if I'd like to sample their Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.   I love cookies, but I asked her if there were any other options.  She cheerfully offered to put together a breakfast package for me, and said that she'd also let me choose a lucky recipient to receive the same.  A week later...

...I received a box with their Sour Cream Coffee Cake and a bag of their Granola.  The very next morning, I opened up the package, and started fresh hot coffee brewing.

The coffee cake was carefully wrapped. Look at all of those pecans!

We each cut a generous slice, and my husband particularly loved all of the pecan-cinnamon. Heaven!

The granola was wholesome, and generously mixed with golden raisins, hazelnuts, almond, and honey...

Here. Take a look!

My favorite way to eat granola is with vanilla yogurt.  It's really delicious!

The coffee cake was gone, by the next day.  I picked up my copy of the Tate's Bake Shop cookbook, and looked through the many recipes I had bookmarked. Aha!  On Page 128, I found the recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake.  I loved that 2 cups of sour cream is used.  I love the moistness and tang of sour cream in cakes.  My mind was made up, that this would be our Saturday morning breakfast treat.

The recipe lists 2 cups of chopped pecans.  I decided to cut it back to 1 cup of pecans.  Your choice.

I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar (rather than white), the chopped pecans and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon.

Mix it up, and set aside.

For the batter, I creamed one stick of room temperature butter (the recipe listed 2 sticks of butter, but I reduced it) with 1 1/2 cups sugar, until it was light and fluffy.  I then added 2 eggs, 2 cups of sour cream, and one tablespoon of pure vanilla.  The dry ingredients were 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. 

I dumped all of the dry ingredients at once, and pulsed my stand mixer a few times...then I folded the batter just until it was mixed.  (I think this method was used, so that the dough isn't overworked. )

I love using Baker's Joy spray.  My cakes no longer stick, and I've had my share of bundt cake disasters. The batter is very thick, and I put half into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.  Then, I layered half of the pecan-cinnamon mixture evenly.  I added the remaining batter and finished it off with the remaining pecan-cinnamon mixture.  Then it hit me... I should have used a spring form pan, so that the cinnamon topping would remain on top!  Too late, now...

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and ten minutes, is what the recipe says. HOWEVER, I could smell the heady aroma of cinnamon wafting from my kitchen, and throughout the house.  I checked the cake at 50 minutes, and a toothpick left just a few crumbs attached. Done!

I waited about five minutes, and placed a wire cooling rack on top of the cake-- then flipped it. The cake slipped right out. I placed another wire cooking rack on top and flipped the cake again.

There. The topping is where it belongs.  The moment has arrived, as I sliced into the warm cake...

The texture looks very promising.

VERDICT:  The cake had a very tender texture, indeed.  It was moist, and the sour cream gave just the right amount of tang.  Reducing the amount of butter, from two sticks, to one worked out fine, in my opinion. We loved the cinnamon-pecan filling, and I don't regret cutting back on the amount of pecans. I love pecans, but I wanted the cinnamon to be equal.  I think using brown sugar was another bonus.  Everyone went back for seconds. This is a great recipe, and I'll definitely make it again.

Thank you, Tate's Bake Shop for your generous gift.  You, too, can have the opportunity to receive the same breakfast treats that I did, plus a signed copy of the Tate's Bake Shop cookbook!  

A printable recipe card for this coffee cake is at the end of this post.