Classic Scones with Clotted Cream

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In honor of The Royal Wedding I woke up early this morning to tune into the broadcast and made traditional English scones while I watched the Prince and now Duchess tie the knot. English scones differ from American scones- they are less dense and some describe them as "dreamy" and "pillowy." Also, they are traditionally served with clotted cream and jam. I made my own clotted cream this time and it was outstanding. Although these would be great slathered with any of your favorite toppings (jams, butter, honey, etc.), the traditional toppings are the best. This recipe uses cake flour, which certainly adds to the pillowy texture. I've heard that they come out well with all purpose flour, but if you have cake flour, I recommend you use it. BONUS: they come together incredibly quickly, are so buttery, and melt in your mouth. I highly recommend them. Recipe by Mark Bittman.

SCONE INGREDIENTS
2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar, separated
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/2 cup (plus more) heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Pour the flour, salt, baking powder, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the egg and the heavy cream and mix just until sticky dough is formed. If the dough is too dry add a splash of cream and if the dough is too wet add a bit more flour. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a circle 3/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut into circles or hand cut into whatever shapes you want (wedges, squares work well). Brush a bit more cream on top of each scone and sprinkle with remaining 1 tbs of sugar. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Serve with your favorite jams and clotted cream.

CLOTTED CREAM
There are different ways to make clotted cream if you cannot find it in a specialty grocery store nearby. The traditional way is by heating heavy cream for a long time (12 hours) at a very low temperature in your oven (180 degrees F) and then refrigerating for a while and then separating the clotted cream from the whey. You can find that method by clicking here. Alternatively, if you don't have 24 hours to properly make clotted cream, you can make a non-traditional, but very delicious version, nonetheless, by mixing a few easy-to-find dairy products. Find that recipe here.