Honey Lavender Scones

Growing up, I always viewed lavender as an aromatherapy herb, definitely not an herb that belonged in my food. Somehow, lavender worked its magic on me, as over the last few years I've completely bought in to the idea that it does belong in my kitchen, or at least in baked treats and cocktails. Among the intriguing scone flavors in Little Flower Baking, this honey lavender scone seemed like a perfect choice for testing recipe number two. I already had everything I needed to make them, which was not the case for the delicious-looking strawberry basil, strawberry rose, peach ricotta, or curry pineapple scones (it's not quite the right season yet for strawberries nor peaches and I was out of curry powder). As a bonus, I could gently test my co-workers' boundaries for non-traditional baked goods.

As scone recipes go, this one is fairly typical once you move past the first step of steeping some dried lavender buds in scalded cream. After that cools a little, bring together your dry ingredients, cut in your butter, add the wet ingredients, then very gently fold together. The dough is patted into a 1-inch thick rectangle and cut using a 3-inch round cutter, then frozen for an hour to re-chill the butter and let the dough rest.

I did run into some trouble with this recipe. The cup amounts and gram weights didn't necessarily correspond to one another. In the case of the cream and flour, they differed by 50 grams or more. I've found this mismatch to be present for most of the cream, sugar, and flour quantities called for in every recipe I've tested from Little Flower Baking. I used my judgement and erred on the side of the gram quantity for the cream and the cup quantity for the flour. Another struggle I had in making this recipe was the instruction to cut the butter in via low-speed mixing with the paddle attachment. This took ages to accomplish and the butter warmed up. I don't condone relying on a stand mixer for making scone dough. The time-honored approach of cutting the butter in by hand or a pastry cutter is worth the messy hands. One additional glaring problem with this recipe was the baking time. First of all, Christine instructs the reader to pre-heat their oven at the beginning of the recipe, but you'll be making the dough and then freezing it for an hour, so there's no reason to start pre-heating so early. Also, she doesn't explain whether the scones should go straight from the freezer into the pre-heated oven or if they should warm up slightly first. I opted to let my scones and sheet pan defrost a little while the oven pre-heated, and that worked well for me. But a baking time of 30 minutes was specified, and my scones were perfectly baked after 20 minutes. I don't think the defrost-while-preheating or not question accounts for those 10 extra minutes, but maybe. All in all, I've been underwhelmed by the clarity and accuracy of the recipes in Little Flower Baking. That being said, everything I have made from this cookbook has been great. However, I've been baking for a long time and I like to think I know what I'm doing. If I were blindly following these recipes, I'd be one very unhappy baker.In the end, I (and my co-workers) liked these scones quite a bit. They weren't my favorite scones in the universe, but they're quite good, and I would happily eat them again. The lavender flavor is very delicate; in most bites, it was difficult to tell I was eating anything other than a honey scone. I expected more lavender flavor, although the amount was probably just right. Next time I make them I will try increasing the amount of dried lavender steeped into the cream by another teaspoon, just to see if I prefer these with a little more lavender flavor to balance out the honey. The honey glaze is very sweet. I love honey, but for me this glaze was tooth-achingly sweet by itself. However, it complements the scones beautifully. So, while I don't recommend you eat the glaze by itself, don't worry if you make it, taste it, and wonder about whether you should modify the glaze. It's perfect for these scones.

Honey Lavender Scones

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 15

Ingredients

Scones

• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (210g) heavy whipping cream*
• 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds divided
• 4 ½ cups (540 g) all-purpose flour*
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 scant cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (171g or ¾ cup) unsalted butter the freezer for 15 minutes cut into ¼-inch cubes and chilled in
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup (112 g) buttermilk
• For brushing tops: 1 egg yolk lightly beaten or ¼ cup whipping cream

Honey Glaze

• ¼ cup (72 g) orange-blossom (or other floral) honey
• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2-4 tablespoons dried lavender buds for garnish

Instructions

• In a small saucepan, scald the heavy cream over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add 1 ½ teaspoons of the dried lavender buds. Cover to infuse, let steep at least 10 minutes. Strain the lavender cream, removing the buds and reserving the cream. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining 1 ½ teaspoons lavender buds.
• Using a pastry blender or your hands, cut in butter until pea-sized lumps form. Make a well in the center of flour mixture.
• Whisk egg and buttermilk into the cooled cream. Add to flour mixture, using a fork or your hands to gently stir until just combined. Dough should be shaggy with some dry bits.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat into a 10x4-inch rectangle that is 1-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, form 12-15 scones (depending on how well you maximize your surface area when cutting). You will need to reshape the rectangle at least once or twice more to form all the scones.
• Transfer scone rounds to a parchment-paper lined sheet pan, with 1 inch of space between each scone. Freeze until firm, at least one hour. If freezing longer, transfer after 1 hour to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag.
• When ready to bake, remove scones from freezer and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Using a pastry brush, brush rounds with the beaten egg yolk or whipping cream.
• Once the oven is pre-heated, bake scones for 19-21 minutes, rotating pan after 10 minutes. Scones are done when they are golden brown around the edges.
• While the scones are baking, make the honey glaze. Place the powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed, then stream in the honey and water slowly. Continue mixing until the glaze becomes smooth and lump-free. Consistency will be that of thick glue. The glaze will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Spread 1 teaspoon glaze over each (warm) scone, sprinkle with lavender buds, and serve.

Notes

*These flour and cream cup amounts weighed out differently for me than the gram quantities listed in the cookbook. The recipe I've posted here is updated with the amounts I used: flour amount by cup and cream amount by gram.