I don’t say this often, but I am 100% certain this is my favorite recipe to-date. The inspiration behind this idea came from a local bakery in my neighborhood. For those that live in Washington, DC you’re probably familiar with it – Ellë. It was voted #1, Ten Essential Restaurants Across America, Winter 2022 by Resy.

Whenever I feel like splurging, it’s one of my guilty pleasures to order a latte and pastry. You can typically count of finding the classics like croissants and muffins there, but the real stars are the artisan pastries from rotating seasonal menu.

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That being said, I think we can all relate to the notion that when we find something we love, it’s hard to stray away. For me, that’s their blueberry and ginger scone. Prior to tasting this one, I had never tried candied ginger in a pastry and it pretty much changed my life.

So, I’ve had my heart set on testing and trying my own version of the recipe so that I can eat them any damn time I want. Within reason of course.

What makes my scones iconic:

Crunchy, flaky, buttery, moist. Let’s be real, there’s nothing worse than eagerly taking a bite of a scone and quickly realizing it’s repulsively dense and painfully dry. Rookie mistake. Don’t fret, I’ll explain the techniques to avoid this problem.

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How to avoid painfully dense and dry scones:

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1. Use frozen and grated butter. Place the butter in the freezer 15-20 minutes before you start your prep. This will ensure a nice, cold and hard fat to work with. The super cold butter will help the scones retain their geometrical shape while baking instead of oozing all over the place like a pile of flubber. The grating technique will essentially great hundreds of mini butter pockets, touching as much flour surface area as possible, giving your pastry a puffy and flaky texture.
2. Don’t over-mix. This creates a no-no dense texture. Be sure to combine the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. It’s okay if there’s a little flour dust left behind.

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A few tips for gorgeous-looking scones:

• Don’t skip brushing all sides of the scones with heavy cream before putting them in the oven! This will give the pastries a beautiful brown color once they’re baked.

• Be gentle when adding the blueberries to the mixture. They won’t explode if you follow the instructions carefully!

• Opt in for icing? This recipe is delicious either way, but if you’re an icing queen, all the power to you. You probably already have the pantry ingredients!

PSA

For anyone who’s been discouraged by these types of recipes because you’re dairy free, look no further. You can still make these scones with just two alternatives! My friend, Andrea, can attest to this. Simply use Silk’s dairy-free heavy cream and Trader Joe’s vegan butter and the rest stays the same. You’ll be shook it tastes so good.

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Equipment needed:

1. Sifter
2. Large mixing bowl
3. Box grater
4. Bench knife (or sharp knife)
5. Baking sheet
6. Parchment paper
7. Cooling rack