These adorable fig scones feature buttery, ginger-flecked scone dough with fig halves baked into the dough. Make them GF by using my gluten-free scone dough recipe!
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 20 minutesminutes
Total: 40 minutesminutes
Servings: 30scones
Ingredients
3/4cupwhole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour
1 1/4cupsall purpose flour
3tablespoonssugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1tablespoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
2.5ouncescold butter, diced(5 tablespoons)
1/4cupcandied ginger chunks, finely chopped
3/4 - 1cupheavy cream, plus extra for brushing
1 to 1 1/2baskets ripe figs, halved lengthwise
Instructions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450ยบ.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.