Orange cranberry scones are my favorite morning pastry when meeting clients at coffee shops. Crumbly, buttery with a pinch of tartness. I havn’t had a coffee shop meeting in awhile and my cravings have started to hit an all time high. I decided to try my hand at baking my own. YIKES, I know!! I’m CRAZY like that, lol!! I’ve been trying my hand lately at baking and have been having so much fun experimenting through trial and error. I’m happy to say, these turned out great! My kids loved them as well as my parents. This was huge as my parents are not big on whole wheat, however, they didn’t notice or mention a wheat flavor at all. The soaking period really tamed the whole wheat down and the orange zest and juice really knocked these scones out of the park! I hope you enjoy them!!
Soaked Whole Wheat Orange Cranberry crème fraîche Scones
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 6 tbls chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 tbls Raw Honey from Wholesome Sweeteners
- 2/3 cup chilled homemade crème fraîche or sour cream
- 2/3 cup cranberries
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 – 3 tbls fresh grated orange peel (zest)
- 2 farm fresh eggs
- freshly squeezed orange juice from 1/2 of an orange
- Raw sugar to garnish
Method:
The night before baking…
- In a large mixing bowl add the whole wheat flour and with your fingertips rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine meal.
- Stir in the honey, creme fraiche, acid medium and cranberries.
- Soak overnight in the refrigerator. (You want to keep the butter cold)
(I’m definitely going to have to write a post on why I’ve been soaking my whole wheat flour. In the meantime, Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking really does a great job at detailing the value of soaking your grains, according to Sue Gregg.)
The next day…
- Take the mixing bowl out of the refrigerator and break up. It will be hard but as it gets warmer it will start to break down.
- Separate 1 egg; place white in a small bowl and reserve for later. Place the yolk in a seperate bowl.
- Whisk the whole egg, yolk, salt, orange juice, and orange zest.
- Gently add to the flour mixture. You do not need to overmix.
- Turn the dough onto a floured work surface.
- Divide the dough in half.
- Press each half into 6-inch round about 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut each round into 6 wedges.
- Beat reserved white until foamy; brush over wedges.
- Sprinkle with sugar.
- Transfer wedges to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
- Bake scones until pale golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
(I almost forgot to mention. Bake on a baking stone!) - Serve scones warm or at room temperature with fresh jam and crème fraîche.
Diana,
Those scones look amazing!
Erica
http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com
Miam, Diana! These muffins look delicious! I love their flavors, orange and cranberries… yummy!
Besos, Liz
These are exceptionally beautiful! Their flavor must be incredible.
You know what they say…Great mind think alike.
I have a question for you, Diana. (By the way, that is my mothers name too.)
Would you guest blog while I am on vacation?
I would be honored if you could.
One more thing, I made Double Chocolate Scones a few days ago….LOL
The scones look and sound delicious! I'll keep the recipe in case I'll feel ambitious one day… 🙂
Scones are something I've never tried baking before, and also I do want to have my chance of baking it myself, too. I guess I can already smell the orange&cranberry duo!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Cheers from Istanbul,
Banu
These scones look and sound amazing! The process of soaking is very interesting, great recipe!
I am so going to try these the next time I get a baking urge! My hubby would love, love these! Have a great day, Diana!
I'm so interested in the reasons for soaking the grains and will be checking out the link you provided. In the meantime, I'm going to make these scones – they look crumbly, tender, and delicious.
Wowza…I like 'em!!
I was just thinking it was time for me to learn how to make scones. Do you really have to cook them on a baking stone? I don't have one.
left an award for you
I have whole wheat flour in my pantry that I haven't used yet. Now I know what to use it for. Scones!
do you preheat your stone?
What temp do you want the oven? I'm going to try 375. I'm baking this this morning. Thanks for the recipe!
What do you mean by add in an acid medium…it is not mentioned in your ingredients list. Is the creme fraiche considered an acid medium?
thanks so much, Sarah
Hi Sarah, yes the creme fraiche would be considered an acid medium. Any lacto-fermented ingredient such as yogurt, whey, sour cream, creme fraiche, etc.. Also, you could use a bit of vinegar or lemon juice.
I can’t find what temperature to cook these. I may have had it too hot, because they browned on top and didn’t get baked in the middle.
They taste great!
I’m so sorry Jan, I baked these at 375F.