French Accent Friday

Raleigh & I had arranged to have a cup of tea with Racquel today to catch up on life in general. We have been so busy that it was nice to have a relaxing morning. I had planned on a simple pot of tea and some scones but the thunderstorm got me up early and I had baked madeleines and macarons by the time the sun came up. This was shaping up to be a French "accented" tea since I had planned on also trying the new Mariage Freres tea I just got on Thursday.

It is only "accented" since the rest of our tea was truly British, complete with English tea-ware and scones with clotted cream. A proper British tea is off course served in the afternoon so what we really had was "elevensies", but I digress....

 

My standby recipe for scones is from the Savoy Hotel in London, with a few personal modifications. I find the flavor of the scones much improved with the addition of salt and I also work the dough, kneading it more that what is specified in the recipe. I find this helps the scones rise properly. I have in the past made these scones without additional kneading and they spread out like cookies, not a pretty sight.

The original recipe:

Savoy Hotel Scones

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
5 T. butter
5 T. granulated sugar
2/3 c. milk
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten, to glaze

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Rub the butter and sugar into the flour to form a fine crumble. Make a well in the center and add the milk (and optional flavorings such as sultanas, cherries, pecans or apple). Knead gently together, being careful not to overmix. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 3/8-in. thickness. Stamp out 2 1/2-in. rounds with a plain pastry cutter. Place on a greased baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg yolk. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and lightly golden on top. Serve warm, with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

So remember: add salt and knead more than specified

Just about any dried fruit can be put into scones but I chose currants for this morning since they would compliment the marmalade I was going to serve with the scones nicely

Flour, sugar, salt & baking powder is whisked together. then butter is cut in to the dough till it is crumbly. Currants are added , followed by milk.

Scones are then allowed to "rest" for 15 minutes, then glazed with egg yolk and baked in a 400F oven for 15 minutes.

Scones & clotted cream, a magical combination

 avocado from Publix

To balance the sweet treats with tea, I made some avocado sandwiches. I have been very pleased with the quality of avocados from Publix in the last few months.

Silver Tips Earl Grey

mocha macarons, avocado sandwiches & orange madeleines

Tea is served

The Mariage Freres "Silver Tips Earl Grey" is one of the best I have had. It has just the right amount of Bergamot unlike most other Earl Greys.

 

We were having a most lovely time catching up and was also Joined by Joyce and Kathy on their way home after lunch at The Corner Cafe. I made a second pot of tea at this point.

Filbert was enjoying the tea too

not much left..

 

After the leisurely morning, it was on to a quick clean up. I pulled a few weeds out in the garden and then it was on to piano lessons. There was still a few hours of daylight left afterwards and I spent the rest of them in the garden, taking in all the glories of this springlike day.

"Hobbit's Foot" Salvia

Collards

Euphorbia

 

The plants look a lot more alive now that the weather has become milder and the helleborus seems to have doubled in size this week. There are still a few more weeks before frost-free weather is here to stay but today sure was nice.