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    Home / Biscuits, Scones, and Pastries / scones

    Fig and Ginger Scones

    Published Aug 22, 2010

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    delicious fig and ginger scones on a plate

    My first job out of pastry school was at a renowned San Francisco restaurant in the dessert kitchen.Everyone who worked there (especially Sabrina) had a dour demeanor, including a fellow pastry cook. One day, in an attempt at camaraderie, I asked her if her friends and family thought she had the coolest job ever. I certainly thought we did.

    figs in a bowl

    She frowned, (actually, her facial expression probably didn't change as she was likely already frowning) and told me that, on the contrary, her people were all 'intellectuals' and looked down on her chosen profession as lowly, manual labor.

    crystallized ginger

    This struck me as very sad. I, on the other hand, take a probably indecent amount of pride at what I do. But I've practiced lowering my eyes demurely and murmuring 'Pastry chef' when asked. I've never had someone not respond in an excited manner when they find out that fact, including my entire post-doc holding family. (Even my raw-foodist mother is very supportive.)

    pastry rolled out

    People sometimes go on to inquire after my favorite thing to bake, or my 'specialty.' I am always at a loss for a good answer, as I really like baking pretty much everything. If it goes into an oven, you can bet I like making (and eating) it. As for my specialty, this somehow implies that I am better at making some things and suck at making others. I like to think that everything I bake turns out perfectly all the time, so how could I possibly have a specialty? (Kidding!) The reality, though, is that I am quite flighty, and very rarely make the same thing twice, which I think is a requisite to having a 'specialty.'

    close up of scone

    After several dead-end attempts at answering this question, I decided to start telling people that scones are my specialty. Which isn't a complete lie. Scones are one of my favorite things to bake, the sort of thing I can throw together even when half asleep, early (ok, at 10am) on a Sunday morning. I have two basic scone recipes taped to my refrigerator: buttermilk-oat scones (by Romney Steele via Heidi Swanson) and Cook's Illustrated's cream scones. From these two recipes I have made many variations over the years: apricot sage, blueberry buckwheat, maple bacon apple, huckleberry, poppyseed lemon curd, cherry-marzipan, Irish soda scones with currants and caraway, orange-coriander, bacon beer cheddar scones, strawberry basil..

    Did I mention I like scones?

    rows of fig and ginger scones

    When I woke up this morning I couldn't stop thinking about baked figs, so sweet and jammy, but I didn't want to hide the pretty pink and green of the Calimyrnas I impulse-bought the other day.After a bit of obsessive pondering, I decided to perch the fig halves atop the scones and bake them that way, almost like really easy mini tarts.

    scones pre baking

    I worried that the scones would puff in the oven and throw off the figs into dejected heaps, but was pleased, after much hovering around the oven, to find them resolutely intact. With a dollop of creme fraiche and a drizzle of local honey, they made a tasty breakfast.

    fig and ginger scones on a baking trat

    Were I the sort of bojon gourmet to keep pretty teapots, fine china and frilly tablecloths, these little scones would be just the thing to serve to my upper-crust friends while discussing philosophy and high society during teatime.

    honey poured onto fig sonces

    Sadly though, most of my friends are just manual laborers (or computer programmers) so we settled for faux fiestaware and gawking at funny dogs out the window.

    close up of ginger sonce

    For more fig recipes:

    • Fig Flatbread with Goat Cheese and Arugula
    • Berry-Fig Financiers (pillows of vanilla brown butter almond goodness)
    • Huckleberry-Fig Crumble Tart
    • Ginger Fig Tart with Chestnut-Almond Crust {vegan & gluten-free}

    *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 fig and ginger scone recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

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    Fig and Ginger Scones

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    These sweet scones are perfect for breakfast.
    Alanna Taylor-Tobin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total: 40 minutes
    Servings: 30 scones

    Ingredients

    • 3/4 cup whole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour
    • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
    • 3 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 2.5 ounces cold butter, diced (5 tablespoons)
    • 1/4 cup candied ginger chunks, finely chopped
    • 3/4 - 1 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing
    • 1 to 1 1/2 baskets ripe figs, halved lengthwise

    Instructions

    • Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450º.Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt to combine. Work the butter in with your fingertips, rubbing it between your hands, until it has a sandy texture with some pea-sized buttery bits remaining. Stir in the ginger. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, tossing the mixture with your free hand or a rubber spatula, until it begins to clump together and no dry, floury bits remain.
    • Gently press the dough into a ball and plunk it down onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a round 3/4" thick (about 10 inches in diameter). Using a biscuit cutter (or glass) about 1 1/2 - 2" in diameter, dip the cutter in flour and tap off the excess, then cut out rounds as close together as possible until you've used up all the dough, placing the rounds on the parchmented sheet pan, 2" apart, as you go. Press the scraps together and repeat until you've used up all the dough.
    • Use your thumb or the back of a teaspoon to make a fig-sized indentation in the dough rounds. Brush the tops with a bit of cream, and place a fig, cut-side-up, on top of each, pressing the fig in gently. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of sugar.
    • Bake the scones one pan at a time on the upper rack of the oven (so as not to burn their bottoms) for 15 - 20 minutes, until the scone part is golden and juices run from the figs. Cool 10 minutes. Serve with creme fraiche and a drizzle of honey.

    Notes

    The trick to tender, craggy scones is leaving some pea-sized butter bits in the dough, and handling it minimally once the cream is added. There is really no comparison to the rich creaminess of scones made with heavy cream, but scones made with whole milk yogurt or buttermilk are still better than no scones at all.
    Small apricot halves could stand in for the figs in the springtime.
    Nutritional values are based on one of thirty scones.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 183kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 58mgPotassium: 69mgSugar: 3gVitamin A: 160IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 0.5mg
    Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

     

    Fig and Ginger Scones

    The trick to tender, craggy scones is leaving some pea-sized butter bits in the dough, and handling it minimally once the cream is added. There is really no comparison to the rich creaminess of scones made with heavy cream, but scones made with whole milk yogurt or buttermilk are still better than no scones at all.Small apricot halves could stand in for the figs in the springtime.

    Makes 2 1/2 dozen mini-scones

    3/4 cup whole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour
    1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
    3 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    2.5 ounces (5 tablespoons) cold butter, diced
    1/4 cup candied ginger chunks, finely chopped
    3/4 - 1 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing
    1 to 1 1/2 baskets ripe figs, halved lengthwise

    Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450º.Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

    In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt to combine. Work the butter in with your fingertips, rubbing it between your hands, until it has a sandy texture with some pea-sized buttery bits remaining. Stir in the ginger. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, tossing the mixture with your free hand or a rubber spatula, until it begins to clump together and no dry, floury bits remain.

    Gently press the dough into a ball and plunk it down onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a round 3/4" thick (about 10 inches in diameter). Using a biscuit cutter (or glass) about 1 1/2 - 2" in diameter, dip the cutter in flour and tap off the excess, then cut out rounds as close together as possible until you've used up all the dough, placing the rounds on the parchmented sheet pan, 2" apart, as you go. Press the scraps together and repeat until you've used up all the dough.

    Use your thumb or the back of a teaspoon to make a fig-sized indentation in the dough rounds. Brush the tops with a bit of cream, and place a fig, cut-side-up, on top of each, pressing the fig in gently. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of sugar.

    Bake the scones one pan at a time on the upper rack of the oven (so as not to burn their bottoms) for 15 - 20 minutes, until the scone part is golden and juices run from the figs. Cool 10 minutes. Serve with creme fraiche and a drizzle of honey.

    fig and ginger scone with bite taken out

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jay Doane says

      August 27, 2010 at 8:34 pm

      These put fig newtons to shame.

      Reply
    2. Michelle says

      October 06, 2012 at 9:06 pm

      I have been oogling over these for quite some time and finally made them! They are so delicious.... So, when do I put the ginger in? I started making the rounds and realized that I still had the ginger waiting on the sidelines. I put all the dough back together and mixed the ginger in there, and then cut out the rounds. Is that right?

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        October 07, 2012 at 3:44 pm

        Thanks for catching that, and my apologies for the confusion! Have updated the recipe. Glad you got the ginger in there, and that you enjoyed the scones!

        Reply
    3. Esther says

      July 19, 2013 at 12:40 am

      will this work with dried figs too, or are fresh the best?

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        July 19, 2013 at 4:05 am

        Hi Esther, I think you'd better use fresh figs for the tops. Though if dried is all you've got, you could chop them up, mix them in along with the ginger, and forgo the fig topping. Thanks for the question. :)

        Reply
      • Esther says

        July 23, 2013 at 3:08 am

        thanks alanna! i'll try that!!

        Reply
    4. Mika says

      November 13, 2017 at 10:12 pm

      Wow! I'm drooling. Thanks a lot. Now I want scones and it's all YOUR fault. I doubt if I make these they'll be very layery, or half as delicious as yours look; as laminating dough is something I struggle with greatly . Any tips? I suppose I should just read every post on this blog about laminating, but if there's something that helps you personally with laminating I could really use the advice You should make tarts au citron Beautiful blog, as always, keep the posts coming!

      Reply

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