This weekend was quite funny. Saturday we had temperatures as in spring and sunday was back to winter. At least I found something consistent to do: baking. After baking all the Christmas cookies and tons of other sweets as gifts I had no desire whatsoever to bake during my holidays, but after a nice three-week-break I was back at it and wanted to try something new. You can always tempt me with a great scone and I am continuously on the search for a great recipe and deliciously crumbly scones. As last week's soup recipe from goop worked quite nicely, I decided to give the Scones recipe from Huckleberry bakery that is featured on the site a try.
Here's the link: http://goop.com/recipes/chocolate-hazelnut-scones/
Here's my slightly adapted version of the recipe with metric and cup measures:
1 3/4 cups + two tablespoons (300g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (50g) ground hazelnuts
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons (40g) sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (255g) cold unsalted butter
6 tablespoons (90ml) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) dark chocolate
1 eggyolk
1 tablespoon cream
1) Toast the ground hazelnuts in a pan, stirring all the time until evenly browned. Chop the chocolate into small pieces.
2) Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and hazelnuts in a large bowl.
3) Cut the butter into 1/2-inch (about 12mm) cubes. Work the butter with your fingertips until the pieces are about the size of peas. Add the buttermilk, vanilla and dark chocolate and lightly toss to distribute.
4) Dump everything on a lightly floured surface. Quickly flatten the dough. Gather the dough back in a mound and repeat. Don't overwork the dough, you should still be able to see some bits of butter.
5) I used a 1/4 cup to measure the dough and formed balls from the dough which I slightly flattened before baking. Feel free to form a large disc and cut triangles if you like your scones better that way.
6) Place the scones on a sheet of baking paper. Freeze for at least two hours before baking or up to 1 month, tightly wrapped in clingfilm.
7) Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Remove the scones from the freezer. Place them on a baking tray with plenty of breathing room. Whisk the egg yolk and cream. Brush the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking. Bake from frozen until cooked trough, nicely browned, and easily lifted off the tray, about 35 minutes.
Yield: 11 scones
Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: about 55 minutes (plus at least 2 hours freezing time)
Here's what mine look like:
Feel free to adapt the size as the scones are quite large. Freezing the scones before baking was new to me. I had never tried a recipe that advised you to. It does make perfect sense though, as cold butter will ensure your end up with fluffy yet flaky scones. These scones perfectly hit the spot - slightly warm and straight from the oven. I followed the recipe and used 1 teaspoon of salt, however, I find them a little bit on the salty side and would advise you to cut the teaspoon in half. You'll still have the hint of saltiness you're aiming for, but the sweetness will be the main component.
Have fun trying!
It's official: the new year has started, it's back-to-work-week and the winter has finally reached Switzerland during the holidays as well. So I figured a soup would 1) be a great way to fight the chill after my way home and 2) help me get back to healthy yet satisfying eating habits. As you know, I am a reader of Gwyneth Paltrow's goop website. I don't follow her tips religiously, but I might take an idea here or there. And so I decided to try some of the recipes from this year's Detox newsletter instead of doing a whole cleanse. I simply don't have the time to get all that cooking in while working full-time. The first recipe I've tried is today's red lentil soup. I instantly liked the idea of brightening the earthy lentil flavour with lime juice and adding a spicy kick from ginger and curry. So here's the link to the recipe:
http://goop.com/recipes/red-lentil-soup/
And here's my step-by-step-guide.
1) Rinse 1 cup of red lentils and set aside. Cut 1 medium onion into fine slices. Mince 1 inch of ginger and slice two cloves of garlic. Mince 1 small handful cilantro stems.
2) Heat two tablespoons of coconut oil (I substituted sunflower seed oil) in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onions for about 10 minutes until translucent and slightly brown.
3) Add the garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander and 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and sauté for two more minutes until fragrant.
4) Add the rinsed lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Gwyneth advises to stir frequently as the lentils tend to stick to the pot. Mine however didn't stick at all.
5) Blend the soup, add the juice of 1 lime and check the seasoning. If you like your soup a little thinner, thin with water for reaching your desired consistency.
Active preparation time: about 10 minutes
Total preparation time: about 35 minutes
Serves: 3-4 (depending on the people you feed)
Here's what my soup looked like:
I really love the different flavours. It's what makes this soup interesting. The lime adds a beautiful zing that nicely balances the rather earthy flavour from the lentils. The curry and ginger add a little spiciness. This soup is well balanced without being boring and the creaminess makes it even more comforting. I served mine along some bread (which of course you wouldn't be allowed to have during detox week).
I hope you are starting your new year in great spirits and have fun trying this warming treat!
