I inherited a rather large quantity of almond paste last week and, inspired by some late-season cherries, baked some of it into a batch of these dainty scones.
All scones are classy because they'reBritish,and these tidy squares feel even more so, with a pretty finish of sliced almonds and a flavor reminiscent of petit four cakes.They make me want to sip darjeeling in the drawing room with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.
(Admittedly, it doesn't take a batch of scones to make me want that.)
In any case, these are more the sort of treat to be found on an afternoon tea platter of sweets rather than at the breakfast table (though certainly no one would object if they wound up there somehow). They inhabit the opposite end of the scone spectrum as blueberry buckwheat and Irish soda scones, which are a bit more hearty (though still classy, bien sûr).
These cake-like pillows, redolent with almond flavor, retain a bit of dense chewiness from the almond paste. Almond's perfume is perfectly pitched with the sweet cherries that get chopped and sandwiched between two layers of dough. When baked, they soften a bit, but retain their shape and jammy flavor, glistening like rubies as they peer out from the center of each scone. Sliced almonds on top toast in the heat of the oven, and, along with coarse sugar, add a bit of crunch.When served warm and topped with a spot of extra yogurt, they remind me of strawberry shortcake.
These scones are gently sweetened, and the dough is moistened with Greek yogurt. I used low-fat, and the scones stayed plenty rich from the almond paste. The dough comes together quickly in the food processor, and the almond paste makes the dough supple beneath one's fingers, and a pleasure to work with.
To be clear, marzipan is almond paste's sweeter relative, and is mostly used for modeling into tiny replicas of fruit or wrapping cakes a là fondant. But the term "paste" is rarely an appealing way to title a recipe, so please forgive this inconsistency.
In place of cherries, you could use any sturdy stone fruit, such as chopped peaches or apricots. Raspberries or blackberries would be tasty, too.
~ Thanks to my talented sister-in-law Sheila Metcalf-Tobin, whose exquisite line drawings are featured on the placemats above and down below ~
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this cherry marzipan scone recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Cherry Marzipan Scones
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
For the scones:
- 1/2 cup fresh, moist almond paste, crumbled (4 3/4 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2" cubes
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons greek yogurt (I used low-fat), plus extra for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted and quartered (to equal 1 cup)
For the top:
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
- a small handful of sliced almonds (preferably unblanched)
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar
Instructions
- In the body of a food processor, combine the almond paste, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine and break up the almond paste. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles gravel, with a few pea-sized butter chunks throughout. Dollop the yogurt over the top, sprinkle with the almond extract, and pulse until the mixture begins to form large clumps and looks somewhat homogeneous.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the top lightly with flour, and roll into a 12 by 8" rectangle, turning and flipping the dough, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Lay the prepared cherries over half the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the cherries, and press down gently but firmly (this will help the cherries stay in place when you slice and move the scones).Freeze the mega-scone until fairly firm, but not frozen, 20 minutes.
- Position a rack in the upper center of the oven and preheat to 425ºLine a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper, and stack it on top of a second heavy baking sheet.
- Use a sharp chef's knife to trim away the outer 1/4" from each side of the scone, then cut into 12 squares. Brush the tops with cream, sprinkle with the almonds, pressing them lightly into the scones, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
- Carefully transfer the scones to the parchmented sheet pan, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake the scones until they are golden brown on top, 18-20 minutes.
- Let the scones cool to warm. They are best served shortly after baking (with more greek yogurt!) but will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven for best results.
Notes
Nutrition
Cherry Marzipan Scones
I used low-fat greek yogurt here, but any fat content will likely work just fine. Have some extra yogurt on hand for eating with the scones. Tea is the ideal accompaniment, but I won't tell if you have a Sweet Cherry Manhattan instead. These scones tend to darken excessively on their bottoms; to avoid this, double-pan them by stacking two rimmed baking sheets, and bake the scones on an upper rack in the oven. Since ovens often vary in temperature, I highly recommend using an oven thermometer, especially for high-temperature recipes like this one.
Makes 12 dainty scones
For the scones:
1/2 cup (4 3/4 ounces) fresh, moist almond paste, crumbled
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2" cubes
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons greek yogurt (I used low-fat), plus extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted and quartered (to equal 1 cup)
For the top:
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
a small handful of sliced almonds (preferably unblanched)
1 tablespoon coarse sugar
In the body of a food processor, combine the almond paste, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine and break up the almond paste. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles gravel, with a few pea-sized butter chunks throughout. Dollop the yogurt over the top, sprinkle with the almond extract, and pulse until the mixture begins to form large clumps and looks somewhat homogeneous.
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the top lightly with flour, and roll into a 12 by 8" rectangle, turning and flipping the dough, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Lay the prepared cherries over half the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the cherries, and press down gently but firmly (this will help the cherries stay in place when you slice and move the scones).Freeze the mega-scone until fairly firm, but not frozen, 20 minutes.
Position a rack in the upper center of the oven and preheat to 425ºF. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper, and stack it on top of a second heavy baking sheet.
Use a sharp chef's knife to trim away the outer 1/4" from each side of the scone, then cut into 12 squares. Brush the tops with cream, sprinkle with the almonds, pressing them lightly into the scones, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
Carefully transfer the scones to the parchmented sheet pan, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake the scones until they are golden brown on top, 18-20 minutes.
Let the scones cool to warm. They are best served shortly after baking (with more greek yogurt!) but will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven for best results.
rcakewalk says
These look lovely, I think I love nothing more than almond anything - and I also love the square shape. Whilst I'm in the loving mode, I also love the placemats, very nicely done all the way around! Your photos keep getting better and better...
Alanna says
Thanks for the love, Rebecca! Your sweet words always make my day. : )
Becky says
I am going to make these, just because they look and sound perfect.
Alanna says
Aw, thanks! Please let me know how you like them. :)
mgncrtr says
Wow! I am going to make these even though it is ten trillion degrees out. Thanks for sharing!
Alanna says
Aw! That's the best compliment - thanks!
Anonymous says
These look like at least one of the answers to the gallon+ of pie cherries that were gifted to me, and are hogging space in my freezer. Sorry if I missed it, can you please clarify if you used sweet cherries or pie/sour cherries? Just pondering if an adjustment may be needed in the sugar amount. Thanks much. Can't wait to dig into the rest of your blog.
Alanna says
Lucky you! I'm so envious - I can never find tart cherries here in California. The ones used here are sweet - I'll clarify that up top. I bet sour cherries will be brilliant if you toss them in a bit of sugar first. Let me know how you like 'em!
Dahlia says
These look delicious! I'd like to make some soon. Alanna, could you please tell if your almond paste contains only almonds, or there are some sugar too?
Alanna says
Hi Dahlia! Yes, there is sugar in my almond paste. Please let me know how they turn out!
Dahlia says
Alanna, thank you very much for the recipe! The scones were awesome - I baked them yesterday late in the evening, now it's dinner time and there are none left)))
The only change I made to the recipe - I took wild cowberries instead of cherries, they are sour and I liked the contrast of tastes they've given. Here's the link to my post, if you'd like to see the result http://orange-dahlia.livejournal.com/140180.html
It's your third recipe I'm cooking and they all were a success. Thank you for your work, Alanna!
Alanna says
Thank you so much for the link! Your scones are stunning - this made my day. Someday I hope to know what cowberries taste like. :) Which other ones did you make?
Dahlia says
Is's so unbelievably pleasant to read - I admire you as a photographer since I found your blog)))))))
I've cooked millet stuffed pupkin (with some changes) and millet-corn chowder, and a couple of days ago I made your persimmon-tangerine smoothie. Thank you for your work, Alanna!
Alanna says
Ooh, millet corn chowder sounds delicious and I sure love that squash and those smoothies. Thank you so much for letting me know! I'm really glad you're enjoying this space. :)
Lauren says
Was wondering if I should defrost frozen cherries or just place them on the dough while still frozen? Thanks!
Alanna says
Hi Lauren, I *think* frozen should work best, but I'm not entirely sure. Let me know what you end up trying!
janice says
Made these for a group over the weekend with some end-of-season cherries and they were a huge hit! Even the Brit in the group gave high praise. The almond paste keeps them from drying out so you don't need to serve with butter or jam like with other scones.
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad they were a hit! Thanks so much for the rating and note!
Inna says
They are awesome! I’ve bakes them twice this week: everybody loves them. Thanks a lot!
Johanne says
This is amazing. I did not have fresh cherries so I used fresh sliced strawberries. This is the BEST scone recipe. Also I made my own marzipan. Thank you. 😋❤️
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Oh wow, homemade marzipan sounds amazing, and I'm glad the recipe worked well with strawberries instead of cherries. Yum!