4.28.2011

nutella scones


Where were you on July 29, 1981? I was glued to our 13-inch Sanyo TV, watching Princess Diana's procession to Westminster Abbey.  I do not profess to be an Anglophile, but really, who doesn't love a tale of a young lady marrying a prince? So, I will be up at 5 again, 30 years later, watching the Royal Procession of Kate and Prince William.


In honor of such an historic event, I had to make something British, and since it was breakfast time, I chose a scone. And since it's such a special occasion, the scone needed to have an extra little something.



Yes, Nutella. Spread of the Gods. A wonderful marriage of hazelnuts and chocolate.



The Baked Boys, Matt and Renato, have a great recipe in their book, Baked Explorations. I felt the dough was a little on the dry side, so I added a 1/4 cup more cream to the dough. The scone is not very sweet, balancing out the Nutella, which is spread on the dough just before it's rolled up and formed into a circle.



NUTELLA SCONES
from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Printable Recipe

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (like Valrhona)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup Nutella, divided

Preheat the oven to 375 F° and place the rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub it into the flour until the butter is pea size and the mixture is coarse.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and cream. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together. Gently and briefly knead the dough with your hands. Add the toasted hazel nuts and knead gently to incorporate. Flatten the dough into a rectangle approximately 6 by 12 (it does not need to be precise) and spread ¼ cup of the Nutella on top in a criss cross pattern. Roll the dough up and make a cylinder about 6 inches long, turn it on its end, and gently flatten it into a disk about 1¾ inches high. Do not overwork the dough.

Cut the dough into 6 or 8 wedges and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the scones for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely. Place the baking sheet with the parchment still underneath the rack.

ASSEMBLE THE NUTELLA SCONES

Heat the remaining ¼ cup Nutella in a microwave until pourable, about 10 seconds on high. Pierce the tops of the scones a few times with a fork. Use a spoon (or two spoons-one to scoop, one to scrape) to drip the warm Nutella in a zigzag pattern over the tops of the hot scones. Transfer the refrigerator to set for 5 minutes, then serve immediately.

Most scones have a life span of 24 hours or less; however, these scones taste pretty darn good on day two provided you wrap them tightly and store them at room temperature.

3 comments:

  1. What a brilliant idea, to combine scones and nutella. Two of life's biggest pleasures, rolled into one. :)

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  2. Rebecca - since I didn't have nutella and I just couldn't wait to make these, I used seedless raspberry jam instead. They turned out great! I love the criss-cross way to doing the filling. My husband isn't usually a scone fan and he loved it.

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  3. Rivki- yes, the bakers at BAKED really have a great idea.
    Cathy- glad it worked out, even without Nutella.

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