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By Request
To some people, scones are big, baked sponges, designed to suck all the moisture out of your mouth. Secret to a
honey of a sconeBut they don't have to be that way.
M. Gushiken says I Love Country Cafe has the secret to scones that aren't dry. "I especially enjoyed their chocolate chip scones, but I haven't seen them in the restaurant for some time now."
To get her fix, she'd like to make the scones at home.
Dino Amorin, executive chef for the three I Love Country locations (Mililani, Piikoi and Kahala Mall), acknowledges the scones aren't served much in the restaurants anymore, but are relegated to the Mililani breakfast buffet or the occasional catering job.
The scones can be made in several fruit flavors as well as chocolate chip. Amorin says it's the honey and buttermilk that make them special. Honey in place of sugar creates a more moist end product; buttermilk helps mellow the taste and keeps the baking powder and baking soda from corrupting the flavors.
Amorin said his scone recipe is based on his Tennessee mother-in-law's baking philosophy. "Her basic ingredients for any type of cake or cookie is honey, pure butter and whole eggs," Amorin says. "Like she says, 'There's no substitute for the real thing.' " Start deviating, "and that thing just turns out upside-down."
Here is Amorin's right-side-up way, plus another chocolate-chip breakfast idea:
Chocolate Chip Scones
1 pound butterWhip butter and honey together until fluffy. Add eggs, extracts and milk; mix well. Set aside.
1 cup honey
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
6 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1-1/2 cups chocolate chipsSift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold into the liquid mixture, by hand. Add chocolate chips; keep folding by hand.
Scoop dough onto a buttered sheet pan. Each scone should be about the size of a tennis ball. Place 3 inches apart. Bake in a 325-degree oven, 30 minutes. Makes 18-20 scones about the size of softballs.
Variations: Omit chocolate chips. Make a well in the top of each scone and fill with a fruit jam. Try pineapple, apricot, strawberry, apple cinnamon, raspberry or grape. Bake according to directions above.
"Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection: Muffins," Charles Tuttle Co., 1998 Chocolate Chip Muffins
1-3/4 cups self-rising flourSift flours and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and 1-1/2 cups of the chocolate chips. Make a well in the center.
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided use
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
Powdered sugar, for dustingWhisk the eggs and buttermilk together and pour into the well in the dry ingredients; add butter. Stir until just combined. Mixture will be lumpy.
Spoon mixture into a greased 6-cup jumbo muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips, pressing them in gently. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Makes 6 muffins.
Nutritional information unavailable.
While we're on the subject of baking, see if you have the answers to these requests. If you have a recipe, get in contact through the address below: Can you help?
Jeanne Yagi is looking for a recipe for stollen made with cream cheese and almonds.
Food Stuffs: Morsels
Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com
Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the
Body & Soul section indicates calculations by
Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts,
a nutritional consulting firm.
