Scones are dense, buttery, flaky biscuit-like pastries often with seasonal fruit. My LFG cherry lime scones have light zesty flavor and lovely texture. Get the recipe.
A great scone is one you remember for a long time. I hope my LFG Cherry Lime Scones make the cut and you love these like I do.
A little drive-through coffee hut called Java Joe's in my downtown Salt Lake City neighborhood bakes very good scones. They're flaky, buttery and feature seasonal fruits like blueberries and cranberries. With a cup of morning Joe, their scones were just the ticket for breakfast on the go. Gone are those days!
But I still love scones. And, Christine, a member of our Lectin Free Gourmet community asked me to make some. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
Lectin-free baking can be tricky. And you really have to understand the chemistry of baking to be successful. Without gluten, your creations can crumble and fall apart before they even reach your mouth. Wheat gluten is beautiful to bake with because when wet, it forms long amino acid chains that bind with carbs and hold our baked goods together like elastic bands.
But, alas, gluten proteins are tight bonds that aren't easily broken by the enzymes in the human digestive tract. The result is the release of pathogens that can lead to celiac disease/allergy in people who are genetically predisposed. Often you don't know you have this gene until you develop CD. If you have 10 minutes, read the scientific study published at NIH.gov entitled Properties of Gluten Intolerance: Gluten Structure, Evolution, Pathogenicity and Detoxification Capabilities. It's an eye opener.
So how do you bake lectin free goods that hold together without gluten? Science baby! I experimented with gelatin because it's a protein that, like gluten, when you add water it forms a chain and holds together. Only gelatin (or collagen) is easily digested and readily bioavailable, meaning your body uses most (90%) of it within 6 hours sending it to cartilage, skin, joints and bones where its needed. Adding gelatin protein (collagen) to my LFG baked goods significantly improves the binding effects and gets a little gelatin in our systems to boot.
In addition to gelatin, my LFG flour blend best mimics wheat flour in carbohydrates, protein and fiber and gives these scones just the right, biscuity texture and flavor. Read on to see how these cherry lime scones are done right.
The Recipe
LFG Cherry Lime Scones
1 1/2 C LFG Flour*
1/3 C Arrowroot Starch
1/2 t Organic Beef Gelatin
1/2 t Xanthan Gum
2 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Baking Soda
1 T Lakanto's Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener
1/4 t Salt
Zest of One Lime
1 C Whole Frozen Pitted Cherries Halved
5 T Very Cold Cultured Butter Cut into Small Cubes
3/4 C a2 Milk
1 T Lime Juice
1 T Raw Local Honey
* LFG Flour Blend is 2:1:1 cassava, coconut, and blanched almond flours
Egg Wash & Sprinkles
1 Egg
2 T Heavy Cream
1 T Xylitol
Try these flavor variations: Cranberry & Orange Zest, Blueberry & Lemon Zest, Apple & Cinnamon, Green Banana & Walnut, Chocolate & Pecan, Plain
Instructions:
Step 1: Mix Dry Ingredients
In a food processor with a dough blade, add flour, starch, gum, gelatin, baking powder and soda, monk fruit sweetener, and lime zest. Pulse about 10 times until well blended.
Step 2: Cut in Butter
Drop in very cold butter cubes and pulse 20 times or until you have large pea size flour- coated butter crumbles. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
Step 3: Fold in Fruit
Dump frozen cherry halves into the bowl. Gently fold them in. Work fast to keep butter cold.
Step 4: Add Wet Ingredients
In a large pourable measuring cup, add goat milk, lime juice and honey. The goat milk will curdle for a wonderfully thick buttermilk-like ingredient. This is good! Whisk it all together. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently mix with a small spoon. You should still see large chunks of cold butter. This is good and is the key to creating flaky, butter pockets in your scone.
Step 5: Shape and Chill
Criss cross two rectangular sheets of plastic wrap on the counter. Lift the scone dough and place it into the center of your wrap formation. Fold the opposite ends of your wrap to meet in the center to encase the dough in plastic. Then quickly shape the dough into a large disk about 10 inches in diameter, like a large brie wheel. Don't handle too much as the heat from your hands will melt the butter. Place the dough wheel in the freezer. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and chill until the over reaches desired temperature.
Step 6: Brush with Egg Wash, Sprinkle and Bake
Take the wheel out of the freezer and place it onto the counter or flat cutting surface. Open up the plastic wrap. With a long knife, cut the wheel in half, then quarters then eighths wedges. Or for larger scones, cut into sixths. In a small bowl, whisk egg and heavy cream together. Brush all sides of the scone with the egg wash. Sprinkle the scones with Xylitol crystals. BaKe for about 25 minutes or until light golden brown.
Enjoy with a cup of espresso in the morning or as at 4:00 tea.
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