In KISSING FROGS brunch is a prevalent setting. Brunch with girlfriends, brunch with family. And the food is always changing - sometimes baking at home, sometimes out at a cafe, often a picnic in The Public Garden. For Elliott Roux, the story's narrator, when it comes to comfort it's always tea and scones - something her grandmother is famous for.
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (cold, this is important)
1/3 cup chocolate pieces (I bought a bar of good dark chocolate and cut it into pieces)
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup creme fraiche (or plain yogurt)
2 Tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture. I used a fancy schmancy butter cutter (really good idea to get one if you make biscuits and scones regularly) and you blend together until it gets to be a consistency like crumbs. Meanwhile combine egg, vanilla and creme fraiche. Set aside.
Stir the chocolate pieces and raspberries into the flour and combine. Then add in the egg-creme fraiche. Combine gently and just until all the ingredients are equally dispersed - ie. don't over combine because the dough can get tough and dense. If dough is too dry then add a tablespoon of milk at a time until everything comes together. Then pour dough onto a floured surface and pat into a circle. I probably could have patted it thinner but I left it at about 3/4 inch thick. Then cut into pieces (like a pie) and place onto a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. I'm impatient so I usually check at about 15 minutes to see if a fork will come out clean after sticking it in a scone. If it doesn't then I'll let it cook another 4-5 minutes and check again. I let them cool for about ten minutes before serving just so no one burns their mouth, but I highly suggest serving them warm. What's better than melted chocolate?
Happy eating and happy reading!
~Stephanie
PS. Have you bought your copy of KISSING FROGS yet?
These were so outrageously delicious! The baked to an odd color, but the taste was sublime. Also, I MUST get new glass bowls. The color of my mixing bowls always distracts from the beautiful mixtures within them!
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