Cream Scones and Ginger Cake

Cream Scones

2.25 cups cake flour (280 g)

.25 cup sugar (60 g)

.5 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 TBSP unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1/3 dried currants (optional)

1 medium orange

1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Stir until well blended. Drop the butter cubes into the flour mixture and, using a pastry blender, 2 knives, a fork, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixtures resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in currents, if using.

Remove zest from orange into a bowl.  Add the 1 cup cream to the zest and stir to blend.  Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture.

Form the soft dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured work surface.  With floured hands, knead the dough 4 or 5 times, then roll out until approximately ½” thick.  Use a round cookie cutter to cut out scones and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Reroll and cut out more scones until all dough is used.  Brush tops of scones with cream.

Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.  Let cool for about 5 minutes and serve.  Jam and/or clotted cream make good accompaniments.

Gingerbread Cake

3 cups flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

4 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

.5 tsp ground allspice

.5 tsp ground cloves

.75 tsp baking soda

.75 tsp salt

.75 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

.75 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup plus 2 TPSP dark molasses

4 tsp grated orange zest

1 cup plus 2 TBSP buttermilk

.5 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

Sift together flour through salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in molasses and orange zest until well combined.  Mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the crystallized ginger.

Pour batter into the prepared dish, spreading it evenly and smoothing the surface.  Bake until springy to the touch, about 50 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.