Arizmendi bakery is one of my favorite bakeries ever. They make the best baked goods, fresh every day, affordable and huge. But the star of the place, in my humble opinion, is this currant scone. Luckily for me, Arizmendi has a sister co-op bakery, The Cheese Board, which has a cookbook published with this very recipe. Here it is, slightly modified, ready for consumption in your own home.
This is a single bowl recipe – a rare occurance, I think, that yields something so moist and so fluffy.
- Modified from:
- Cheeseboard’s Currant Scones
- Makes 6-8 medium sized scones
- You need:
- 1 large bowl, liquid measuring cup
- Whisk optional, spatulas, pastry cutter (or forks)
- Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 c all-purpose flour, loose
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/8 c granulated sugar
- 1/2 c unsalted butter, cubed ~ 1/2 inch
- 1/2 c currants
- 3/8 c heavy cream
- 3/8 c buttermilk
- additional 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, to coat
Prepare a single baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix 1 3/4 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 3/8 c sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in your large bowl. Cut in 1/2 c cubed butter with a pastry cutter until the largest pieces of butter could not be called “large” by any definition. Shake the bowl while cutting butter and flour mixture to coat butter evenly. In the absence of a pastry cutter, smash and separate large pieces butter with a fork repeatedly.
Mix in 1/2 c currants, followed by the 3/8 c heavy cream and 3/8 c buttermilk together. Stir together with a spatula until just combined, making sure to mix in the dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. Don’t overmix! The batter will be barely held together and seemingly unmanageable.
Roll roughly into medium sized blobs (approx 1/2 c, they will be unweildy) with gloved or wet hands. Dip one side into sugar and place on baking sheet, sugar side up, about 2″ apart. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until edges are brown and tops are golden.
Cool for just a few minutes before plating and eating, otherwise they’ll fall apart in their moist glory. Scones stay fresh for about 24 hours, after which a quick toast in a toaster oven for a few minutes will bring it back to perfect.