Summer Raspberry Cream Scones

I just ate two of the above pictured scones... I.am.in.heaven ....This is what summer is all about. When perfectly ripe and delicious farmer's market raspberries are crafted into a light and fluffy treat.

I live in Madison, WI. And, it's generally accepted in this city that Lazy Jane's Cafe & Bakery makes the best scones in the entire city. I've made scones in the past, but they've always been dry. A bit boring. And, nothing like Lazy Jane's. Theirs are moist and light, and packed with flavor. But, I don't live anywhere near Lazy Jane's. So, naturally I scoured the internet for their recipe. Given that they don't appear to even have their own website, my attempts at locating a Lazy Jane's Scone recipe were unsuccessful. But, I figured that if anyone in the blog world had a great scone recipe, it was the Smitten Kitchen.

Clearly she had made other scone recipes too. But, the Dreamy Cream Scone stood out as a clear favorite of hers, and a potential contendor for a Lazy Jane's competitor. Simple ingredient list, simple directions. Oh yeah, and the use of cream (hello!).

This recipe is phenomenal. I followed this recipe almost to a T, only tweaking the fruit. My farmer's market berries were certainly delicious, so I added a whole cup. Thinking that through a little better would have been a good idea. The berries added a significant amount of liquid to the batter, making them tough to shape and handle. Next time around I'll lower the amount of cream and/or increase the amount of flour. But, that aside, this recipe is extremely easy. Just work quickly to keep that butter chilled, don't handle the dough too much and you'll get a light, fluffy scone.

I just might have to make these tomorrow...since they're clearly not going to last much longer in this house!

Ingredients for 8 scones, via the Smitten Kitchen:

• 2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably a low-protein brand such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup currants (I used fresh raspberries, rinsed clean)
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F.
2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.
3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.
4. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by quickly pressing into a circular shape and cutting into 8 wedges with a pizza cutter or pastry scraper. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.