Teatime Recipe: Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

I love visiting British "tea rooms" not so much for the tea, but to sample their delectable selection of scones. It's not easy to find good quality scones here in the States, so when I find a tea room that does them right, you can bet I'll be a repeat visitor. I love the creative ingredient combinations, the buttery flavor, the way they're dense yet fluffy in texture. If there's clotted cream or lemon curd available, I usually smooth a bit of either on top of my scones... though they're equally delicious on their own! 

Hoping to re-create the joy of scones in my own home, I sought out the best recipe and was thrilled to discover this one. I love white chocolate and raspberries, so throwing them together into scones only made sense. 

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

(makes about 8 scones)

Ingredients:10 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen whole 
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (you can also use frozen, but do not defrost)
1/2 cup whole milk  
1/2 cup sour cream  
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface 
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder  
1/4 teaspoon baking soda  
1/2 teaspoon table salt  
zest of one lemon  
1/4 cup of white chocolate chips

Directions:1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove half of wrapper from two sticks of butter and grate the unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (you should grate total of 8 tablespoons).

2. Place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. If you're using fresh raspberries, place them in the freezer now. 

2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated. 

3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to a work surface that's been covered with flour. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in a ball form, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Roll dough into squares about 12-inches in size. Fold the dough into thirds. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer squares to a plate that's been lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer 5 minutes.

5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into a 12-inch square again. Sprinkle raspberries and white chocolate chips evenly over surface of dough, then press down. Loosen dough from work surface. Then roll it, pressing to form a log shape. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle on some sugar if desired. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

French Pastry Recipe: Macarons with Raspberry Buttercream Filling

The macaron craze is sweeping the nation. This elegant French pastry is gaining ever-more attention thanks to growing macaron bakeries around the US as well as its inclusion in popular cooking shows likeMasterchef. We're happy it's final made its splash across the pond! 

The Macaron is a sweet, meringue-based confection with a smooth, creamy filling in the middle. It's a soft and luxurious sandwich cookie that comes in all different colors and flavors. The stories goes that this pastry has been around since the 1500s. Today's recipe will utilize a delicious raspberry buttercream filling, but feel free to experiment with all sorts of delicious filling combinations-- there are endless possibilities! 

Macarons

(makes about 16 cookies)

Ingredients:

Pastry

• 3 egg whites (room temperature. Achieved by leaving the eggs in water for about 5 minutes before cracking)
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup finely ground almonds (or almond flour)
• A pinch of salt
• Food coloring of your choice (optional)

Raspberry Buttercream

• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 285F and line a backing sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer, or a bowl and using a hand mixer beat the egg whites until foamy, then beat in the white sugar until the egg whites are glossy and hold soft peaks.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and almond flour, then quickly fold the mixture into the egg whites (it should take about 30 strokes).
4. Take a pastry bag (or alternatively use a large Ziploc bag and cut a corner off), and use it to pipe some of the batter onto the baking sheet as a test. If the disc of batter holds a peak instead of flattening, fold the batter a few more times then retry.
5. Once the batter flattens immediately after piping, spoon the rest into the pastry bag and pipe the batter onto the baking sheet. They should form about 16 rounds. 
6. Let the batter rest for about 1 hour or until they form a hard skin on top.
7. Bake the cookies until set, but not browned. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Let them cool before adding the buttercream.
8. To make the buttercream, whip the butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
9. Slowly add sugar. 
10. Add the raspberries to a saucepan with a splash of water and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until raspberries are cooked down.
11. Work the raspberries through a sieve held over a separate bowl to extract the seeds. You want to extract about 3 tbsp of juice. Use more raspberries if necessary.
12. Add the juice to the butter cream, then whip until combined.
13. add the cream to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Reverse the cookie shells onto their backs.
14. Pipe a small mound of filling in the center of one of them, then top with another shell.
15. Serve immediately, or store in fridge until serving time.
16. Enjoy!

Decadent Muffins: Raspberry Cheesecake

Because they sort of count as breakfast and also kind of count as dessert, raspberry cheesecake muffins are the perfect snack to enjoy at any time. And once you have a bite, you’ll probably be nibbling on them throughout the day, anyway!

If you don’t have raspberries on hand or would prefer another fruit, that’s fine too – you can use this muffin base as a foundational recipe and substitute other fruits that’d complement the cheesecake flavors nicely. Blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries are all solid alternatives.  And if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, try one of our favorite kitchen tricks: Put a tablespoon of lemon juice into a measuring cup, and then fill the rest to the one-cup mark with milk. Let it set for five minutes, and voila – homemade buttermilk!

This recipe makes about two dozen muffins, so there will be plenty to share.

Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen; can also substitute other berries)
• Zest of one lemon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl, then beat with a mixer on high speed until well-blended.
3. Add the sugar to the mixing bowl and beat until fluffy; then, add the vanilla, egg whites, and egg and beat well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, gradually add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the cream cheese mixture while beating on low speed. Make sure to start and end with the flour mixture.
5. Gently fold the raspberries and lemon zest into the cream cheese mixture.
6. Place 24 cup liners in muffin cups, then spoon the batter evenly into the liners. Bake them for about 25 minutes, and test them with a toothpick in the center to make sure it comes out clean. (If not, let them bake for a few more minutes.) 
7. Remove the muffins from the pans and let them sit on a cooling rack for several minutes before serving.
8. Enjoy!

Fruit-Infused Dessert: Peach Raspberry Cake

Juicy peaches and sweet raspberries come together in this delicious cake that's extra-moist thanks to a yogurt-based batter. A hint of citrus flavor with the addition of orange zest makes this recipe a real favorite for for fruit lovers. 

If you want to be a little kinder to your waistline, try switching to low-fat yogurt and you can indulge in this tempting treat guilt-free. Serve it for breakfast or dessert-- but don't count on any leftovers! 

Peach Raspberry Cake

(makes about 10 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pan
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 6 Tbs. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature; more for the pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt (low-fat if desired)
  
  For the topping:
• 1/2 large, ripe peach, halved and cut into very thin slices
• 3/4 cup (3-3/4 oz.) fresh raspberries
• 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center.

2. Lightly butter a 9x2-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a parchment circle cut to fit the pan and coat the sides with a light dusting of flour, tapping out any excess. 

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until well blended and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed until just blended, and adding the orange zest and vanilla with the second egg.

5. Use a wide rubber spatula to fold in half the dry ingredients, then the yogurt, and then the remaining dry ingredients.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 15 minutes.

7. Now you're ready to make the topping: In a small bowl combine peaches, raspberries, flour and sugar. Using a fork, coat the fruit evenly with the flour-sugar mixture and lightly crush the raspberries. 

8. Once the cake has baked 15 minutes, pull out the rack and quickly add the fruit topping. Then slide it back in the oven and bake for another 25-30 minutes. 

9. Allow the cake to cool on the rack for about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen it. 

10. Enjoy!