2 1/4 cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar (I used 1/4 C)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 C creme fraiche
1/4 C fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 oz (113 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
heavy cream for brushing
Position a rack in the center of the oven and the preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, zest, and chocolate together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the creme fraiche, juice, vanilla, and egg. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the wet mixture to the flour, and mix until combined. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough 6 to 8 times (add more flour if the dough is sticking too much).
Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough in thirds (a business letter fold). Lift the short ends of the dough and fold into thirds again, making a 4-inch square. Transfer dough to a baking sheet or plate dusted with flour, and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Bring the chilled dough back to your floured surface, and roll into a 12-inch square again. Fold business letter style one more time, and then turn the dough over so it is seam side is down. Gently roll/pat the dough into a 12-by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into four equal rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally to form two triangles. Transfer the triangles to the baking sheet.
Brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let cool a bit.
Marilyn's Note: When I first mixed up the batch, I cut off a tiny piece to test them, wasn't all that thrilled and tossed the dough into the freezer. Then a few days ago, I pulled the frozen block of dough out of the freezer and baked some for the library. Holy cow, what a difference in taste. On that first taste test, the orange hadn't been obvious at all and I thought freezing it would make it even less so. But the orange-i-ness of it just popped. I did have two problems. You can't cut tall skinny scones and expect them to stay upright with this laminating method. And when I say skinny, I mean they were taller than wide (I wanted little scones for the library treats). They started out like little soldiers and ended up sprawled on their flat little sides when baked. Tasted great: looked terrible. Also, the chocolate pieces were hard to cut through when frozen. I'd suggest cutting out the basic scone shape and then freezing them to avoid this problem.
Oh, I also sprinkle the heavy cream with either demerera or turbinado sugar...whichever I grab out of the pantry first. Just prefer that crunchiness on the top.
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar (I used 1/4 C)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 C creme fraiche
1/4 C fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 oz (113 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
heavy cream for brushing
Position a rack in the center of the oven and the preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, zest, and chocolate together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the creme fraiche, juice, vanilla, and egg. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the wet mixture to the flour, and mix until combined. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough 6 to 8 times (add more flour if the dough is sticking too much).
Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough in thirds (a business letter fold). Lift the short ends of the dough and fold into thirds again, making a 4-inch square. Transfer dough to a baking sheet or plate dusted with flour, and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Bring the chilled dough back to your floured surface, and roll into a 12-inch square again. Fold business letter style one more time, and then turn the dough over so it is seam side is down. Gently roll/pat the dough into a 12-by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into four equal rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally to form two triangles. Transfer the triangles to the baking sheet.
Brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let cool a bit.
Marilyn's Note: When I first mixed up the batch, I cut off a tiny piece to test them, wasn't all that thrilled and tossed the dough into the freezer. Then a few days ago, I pulled the frozen block of dough out of the freezer and baked some for the library. Holy cow, what a difference in taste. On that first taste test, the orange hadn't been obvious at all and I thought freezing it would make it even less so. But the orange-i-ness of it just popped. I did have two problems. You can't cut tall skinny scones and expect them to stay upright with this laminating method. And when I say skinny, I mean they were taller than wide (I wanted little scones for the library treats). They started out like little soldiers and ended up sprawled on their flat little sides when baked. Tasted great: looked terrible. Also, the chocolate pieces were hard to cut through when frozen. I'd suggest cutting out the basic scone shape and then freezing them to avoid this problem.
Oh, I also sprinkle the heavy cream with either demerera or turbinado sugar...whichever I grab out of the pantry first. Just prefer that crunchiness on the top.