I was going to call these Winter Scones but then I realised that, in reality, scones are not necessarily seasonal. They can be made more seasonal with a few additions but there is absolutely no reason why you can’t eat whatever type of scone you like whether it be summer or winter. Scones are a year round thing. And if you do a bit of stock-piling, you could make these scones in summer to remind yourself of winters past and winters to come.
Am I making sense? I feel as if I am not quite with it at the moment. I hadthe procedure that I mentioned in this post done on Friday and I don’t know if it is just a case of horrid, horrid coincidence or whether it is because it but the next day I started to suffer from a nasty bout of sinusitis. So far my addled brain has tried to put the milk away in the dishwasher, the butter away in the dining room (which is not even next to the kitchen let alone the fridge), got distracted whilst feeding the cats and started to make cups of tea (two seriously unimpressed kitties) and several other things that I am in denial about.
I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that it is starting to calm down. Today it doesn’t feel as if someone has punched me on the right side of my face quite so hard. I think this is progress. However I still want to spend all day in my pyjamas and slippers, cuddled up on the sofa under a duvet with no make-up on, rather than having to make myself presentable to the outside world by wearing proper clothes and make-up and washing my hair.
Oh, wait, isn’t that what we would all rather do, whether we are feeling poorly or not?
Needless to say I didn’t really feel up to making anything too involved / complicated over the weekend (also I haven’t had much of an appetite), so these scones were perfect – quick and comforting.
They are adapted from the Strawberry and Chocolate Buckwheat Scones that I made a while back, just made a little more festive with the addition of some chestnut puree and chestnut flour. I was going for a Mont Blanc kind of vibe – chestnuts, chocolate, creamy butter – which is why I spread the left over Creme de Marrons on them. You could really push the boat out and add some whipped cream, like a winter cream tea.
If you can’t get hold of Creme de Marrons (which is pre-sweetened and has vanilla in it) then by all means add some sugar to plain chestnut puree or make your own. Similarly with the chestnut flour (I get mine from Shipton Mill, which can be found in some health food shops or online), if you can’t find any then substitute it with buckwheat flour.
Chestnut & Chocolate Scones
Makes 8 large scones
Ingredients:
- 125g chestnut puree (I used Creme de Marrons)
- 185g gluten-free self-raising flour (I used Doves Farm)
- 55g buckwheat flour
- 55g chestnut flour (substitute with buckwheat flour if you wish)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 110g unsalted butter (cold)
- 70g dark chocolate chips
- 120ml buttermilk
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 celsius / 350 fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put the flours, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Cut the butter into small pieces and add. Using the paddle attachment, beat on a low-speed until the mixture resembles rough bread crumbs. Gentle stir in the chocolate chips.
- In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk and the Creme de Marrons. Add this mixture to the flour, butter, chocolate chip mixture and mix until it starts to form a dough. Bring the mixture together with you hands. Dust the work surface with a little flour and tip the mixture out.
- Split in half and pat each half into a rough round shape that is about 1 inch thick and then cut into quarters.
- Place onto the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until golden around the edges.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve with butter and the left over Creme de Marrons (optional).
The Pink Rose Bakery 