Thank you for you kind words, much appreciated 
! I like to think of this as a place for having fun and sharing joint interests. An exchange of ideas is always a plus!
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Madrid, I just added 30 g of pistachio butter, 1/8t. Almond extract and 1/8 of pistachio to the 4” version and it was perfectly pistachio flavored.
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I’m beginning my scone research for the Mother’s Day tea I’m serving at my mom’s church. I don’t have a ton of scone experience, so I’d love to hear if you have a favorite recipe.
Definitely not wanting to make the super-sweet American bakery monstrosities, but also don’t want extremely plain… something in the middle would be ideal.
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Well regarding mixing, I didn’t play by the suggestions. I used a small FP. to smooth the cream cheese with the sugar very well….no lumps. Then added the pistachio butter and ran the FP enough to incorporate it with no streaks, added extracts. I deviated the 4x I’ve made it by using sour cream rather than heavy cream in the same weight, pulsed on/ off. Lastly, the egg. I first mixed it by hand with chopsticks, then distributed it over the contents in the FP and just pulsed a few times to incorporate it without developing bubbles. Slowly poured it into the cake mold and gave it a couple of gentle bangs, I lined the bottom and sides separately as I was using a loose bottom pan. A one piece parchment works fine in a larger pan like the 6” round, but the 4x4” was easier to line separately and I didn’t lose any cheesecake with the smooth sides. And I’ve done it with fridge cold ingredients with no ill effects. The friction of the food processor melded the ingredients quite well. Can’t think of anything else, give a holler if I’ve left anything out.
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Thanks - super helpful. I was thinking pretty much along these lines, using the medium/mini FP that goes with my immersion blender.
Have to wait till I get back.
ETA: The only 4" pan I have is a springform. I may have to rustle around in mom’s kitchen for something to “borrow”
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That should work just fine, considerably more efficient than by hand.
ETA…I chilled it in the garage for 15 minutes, removed mold, then 30 minutes in fridge but I removed it at that point and served it room temperature.
I also chilled dh’s subsequent pieces which firmed up the softer center. I’d shoot for the slightly firmer texture and eliminate any possible problem, it’s still very creamy.
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Probably with a high enough parchment edge it would work but I wonder if a ramekin might also work as long as the temperature, 480* iirc, would be ok…take a wee bit longer. I baked on a thin cookie sheet on a stone.
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In one of the books by Michel Roux Sr. he mentioned a soufflé called “Arlequin”, which consists of two different soufflé mixtures baked in the same dish in some sort of square pattern (implied). Has anyone made this? I was wondering how difficult it would be as I imagine the two mixtures have to be of exactly the same consistency to prevent the soufflé from going lopsided or toppling.
At the restaurant “L’Auberge Chez François” (a wonderful restaurant in rural Virginia), I asked if they would do this for me, when given a choice of chocolate or hazelnut soufflé. It was a busy Friday night, so they declined. I went to the restaurant a few times, after meetings in D.C., and enjoyed it every time.
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As far as a flavored scone goes, my favorite is probably an Epicurious recipe for for lemon-poppyseed scones. If you divide the dough into two portions you can get 6 medium sized scones from each half (total 12 scones). Or, if you bake in one of those mini scone pans (16 scones), there will be just a little bit of the dough left over. Personally, the scone pans are not my favorite because you tend to lose all those laminated edges BUT it does make for many neat and tidy three-bite scones which might suit your purpose.
I find these are best with a thin lemon glaze on top (powdered sugar and lemon juice).
360 g. AP flour
200 g. sugar
3 T. poppy seeds
1 T. baking powder
1 t. granulated salt
10 T. chilled, unsalted butter
1/4 c. whole milk + 1-2 T. more as needed
1 egg, beaten
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. lemon zest
For a non-flavored, more traditional English scone with currants or raisins, the Buckingham Palace cream scone is pretty good. Since it’s a cut scone, you could make them as small as you like.
500 g. AP flour
86 g. sugar
28 g. baking powder
7 T. cold, unsalted butter
2 eggs
175 ml. buttermilk
100 g. currants or small sultanas
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I was hoping you would come to the rescue! My experiences with UK scones were of the small, round type with currants, sounds like the Buckingham Palace recipe would be a great choice!
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Definitely going to take the lemon ones for a test run, thank you! And likely the other recipe as well. Both look great. Appreciate you!
I’m not planning to buy any special pans for this exercise, as I’d be eating the cost for something I never use… there will be a learning curve with producing these at scale. Looking forward to the challenge !
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I happen to have such a cutter! Cute idea.
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I prefer those to the ones where you cut them into wedges, because the wedges have hard points, which I don’t like.
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SCONES/TEA BISCUITS
This is a very versatile recipe. It was originally for scones, but roll it out to half the thickness (1/3"), brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar, and you have tea biscuits. Or, replace the raisins and almonds with a package of chopped chives and 2 oz of grated sharp cheddar, and you have cheddar-and-chive scones, which may be used as a base for Eggs Benedict.
Original scone recipe:
ALMOND AND RAISIN SCONES
6 oz all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp ground almonds 2 oz unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2" cubes 2 oz raisins 4 oz whole milk (1/2 cup) Few drops almond essence
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Triple sift flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add ground almonds and stir to combine.
Drop the butter into the mix and rub it in till it looks like breadcrumbs. To “rub it in” you have to lift the butter with your fingers and slide your fingers gently over the butter; the point is to break down the butter without melting it. Do not press down hard on the butter. You have to keep dropping the butter into the flour mix and lifting it. This process takes about 10 minutes.
Drop in the raisins and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, with the almond essence. With a wooden spoon mix it all together till it forms a loose dough; it will be quite sticky. Turn it out onto a well-floured wooden board and knead gently only until it forms a smooth dough.
Roll out the dough to 2/3 inch thick and use a sharp 2-inch cookie cutter to cut straight down into the dough; resist the temptation to twist the cutter. Place scones an inch apart on a parchment-covered baking sheet in staggered rows. Reroll the dough and cut again till the dough is all used up. Brush the tops with milk and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
Makes about 9 scones. Can be easily doubled.
Split horizontally and serve with clotted cream, preserves, etc.
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Thanks, very helpful!
One more question: which brand of pistachio butter do you use? Melissa Clark had a recent pistachio cheesecake recipe in the New York Times. Lots of discussion ensued about which brand of pistachio butter.
I have really appreciated your advice on Basque cheesecake and taken it all to heart.
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Just curious - how many people are you expecting?
But see, I love those crunchy bits …
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Not your grandmas blueberry muffin from Snackable Bakes by Jessie Sheehan. My daughter is here for one night before her family leaves for the airport at 4a.m. tomorrow. My grandson baked these for tomorrow. Used frozen blueberries. I just stood by. They are jumbo muffins. He baked 8 while recipe says 12 to 15. They are very nice looking.
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We don’t know yet. The event used to be a “banquet” at dinner time; this is the first year where a different time and different meal are being proposed.
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