Hazelnut Cream Scones with Blackberry Jam (g-free & vegan)

I had a bit of trouble with scones this month.  I've made plenty of biscuits, but never scones.  I've not eaten too many scones either, the only scones I remember eating are the orange cranberry scones at Starbucks (which are very delish).  After reading some history about scones, I wanted to make a simple scone with no added bits, no nuts, no fruit.  A more traditional scone.  Because, I was really interested in making jam (which I've never made before either). 

(beautiful logo designed by Anile Prakash)

The theme of this month's Ratio Rally was Scones - scroll down to the end of this post for a complete list of the offerings.  Lauren at Celiac Teen has done a bang-up job at hosting the whole event this month. 

EZ PZ, biscuits with a bit of sugar...

I made several version of scones that were just okay to awful, awful in the sense of very dry and crumbly (upon removing one batch from the oven, the whole thing fell to crumbs).  I did make a pretty good chocolate scone with dried cherries, but the texture was more like a brownie, which was yummy, but I just didn't like the sound of 'brownie scone'.  I almost gave up, except the blackberry jam was so fabulous! 

(By the way, these are a few pictures of my garden, Spring has finally appeared in the last few days.)

The garden's looking beautiful, but what's to be done about these darn scones?  In desperation, I tried the cream scone method, more liquid, more fat - could work.  Since I was trying to keep it vegan, I used coconut cream in place of the traditional heavy cream.  Finally!  The scones were fabulous, they smelled wonderful and were moist and flavorful and held together.  The hazelnut flour gives a subtle, sweet flavor which goes beautifully with the tartness of the blackberry jam.

In the end, the scones were very good, (definitely best the first day) but the jam was the luscious star of this combination.  I am planning my next batch of jam already.  And, I'm looking forward to trying some of the other gluten-free scones in the ratio rally.  My journey with scones had just began and there are untold mysteries in the baking of scones which still elude me. 

And, one of those mysteries (at least about these particular scones) is the ratio.  I know this recipe was developed for the 'Ratio Rally' - but to be honest, the ratio escaped me.  I think the ratio is close to 3-2-1 (flour, liquid, fat) - to get to this ratio, I counted the coconut cream as liquid, although it was in a solid form, more like a fat instead of a liquid.  Was this correct?  If anyone knows - please let me know! 

I shared a link to this recipe at Amy Greene's Slight Indulgent Tuesdays.

Hazelnut Cream Scones
2 tablespoon golden flax meal
4 tablespoon coconut milk

3 oz hazelnut flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 oz sweet sorghum flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 oz sweet rice flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 oz arrowroot flour (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
zest of 1 orange, very finely minced or use a microplane

2 oz cold earth balance buttery stick (4 tablespoons), cut into pieces

coconut cream from a 15 oz can full-fat coconut milk (just the solid part which sits on top when you open the can)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.

Combine flax meal and coconut milk in a small bowl and mix to combine.  Let this sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.  With machine running, add pieces of the vegan butter one at a time.  The mixture should look a bit like sand at this point.  Add the coconut cream (just the solid part, do not add the liquid at the bottom of the can of coconut milk) and process until mixture starts coming away from the sides of the bowl.  If this does not happen in about 20 - 30 seconds or so, add a bit more sorghum flour.

Spoon dough out of the food processor onto the prepared sheet tray to form a circle about an inch thick.  I just use a spatula (and my fingers) to form the round shape about an inch thick.  With a very sharp pizza wheel (or knife), cut thru the dough from side to side,  making 8 wedges.  The wet dough will immediately come back together, but that's okay.  When baked, the scones will be scored and easier to pull or cut apart.  This dough is too wet to use a biscuit cutter.  You will end up with lovely soft sides, just crunchy on the top.  It seems most people like crunchy all around - I do not!  I'm all about the soft, moist, tender interior (well, there it is, now you know my big secret...). 

Blackberry Jam
4 pound blackberries (or a mix of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), fresh or frozen
1 pound sugar
2 tablespoon bourbon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
juice of 2 small lemons (or 1 large lemon)
1 teaspoon butter

Place a small plate in the freezer.

Place everything in a large dutch oven or saucepan (not aluminum).  Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon.  You can smash the fruit against the side of the pan with the spoon - but there's really no need, all of the fruit will brake down.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  If foam forms on the surface of the jam, skim it off.  After 30 minutes, the jam should have cooked down quiet a bit and be very thick and beautiful. 

Now, retrieve the small plate from the freezer (bet you were wondering about that!).  Use a small spoon to place a small amount of the jam on the plate.  Let sit for about 30 seconds, the jam will thicken on the cold plate - if this is the consistency you want for your jam - you are done.  If you'd like it thicker, simmer gently a few more minutes

Rinse your jars in very hot water (or run thru the dishwasher).  Spoon hot jam in the jars and place lid on (I use jars with rubber seals and clamps, see photo).  Because the jam is hot, this will make a pretty good seal.  However, this jam needs to be stored in the refrigerator. 

You'll notice that I did not strain the seeds out and blackberries do have rather a large amount of seeds - I've eaten lots of blackberries in my life and I like the seeds, they are an integral part of the blackberry experience.  You can smash up the fruit and strain before you start the cooking - entirely too much trouble for me.  If the seeds are going to bother you, try strawberries and raspberries for your jam. 

Amie of The Healthy Apple - http://thehealthyapple.com/2011/05/04/gluten-free-rice-crispy-scones/
Britt of GF in the City - http://www.gfinthecity.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-scones.html
Brooke of B & the Boy - http://bellwookie.blogspot.com/2011/05/coconut-scones.html
Caleigh of Gluten-Free[k] - http://gluten-freek.blogspot.com/2011/05/jam-on-top-or-cream-on-top.html
Caneel of Mama Me Gluten-Free - http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2011/05/savory-jalapeno-cheese-scones.html
Caroline of The G-Spot - http://thegspotrevolution.com/?p=3228
Charissa of Zest Bakery - http://www.zestbakery.com/ingredient/almond/amaretto-soaked-cherry-and-almond-scones/
Claire of Gluten Freedom - http://www.thisglutenfreelife.org/2011/05/ratio-rally-strawberry-banana-scones.html
Erin of the Sensitive Epicure - http://thesensitiveepicure.blogspot.com/2011/05/millet-scones-gfree-rally.html
Gretchen of Kumquat - http://kumquat-blog.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-maple-oat-nut.html
Irvin of Eat the Love - http://www.eatthelove.com/2011/05/spotlight-on-savory-green-garlic-bacon-thyme-scones-with-white-pepper-maple-glaze-gluten-free-ratio-rally
Jeanette of Jeanette's Healthy Living - http://www.jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2011/05/glutendairyegg-free-coconut-pineapple.html
Jenn of Jenn Cuisine - http://jenncuisine.com/2011/05/banana-apple-and-currant-scones-gluten-free
Karen of Cooking Gluten-Free - http://cookingglutenfree.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-oat-scones-with-currants/
Kate of Katealice Cookbook - http://katealicecookbook.com/2011/05/04/cinnamon-fruit-scones/ 
Lauren of Celiac Teen - http://www.celiacteen.com/2011/scones-ratio-rally/
Lisa of Gluten-Free Canteen - http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2011/05/03/gf-ratio-rally-bisconies-actually/
Lisa of With Style and Grace - http://withstyle.me/2011/05/04/gf-lavender-earl-grey-lemon-scones
Marla of Family Fresh Cooking - http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2011/05/02/avocado-scones-vegan-and-gluten-free-recipe/
Meaghan of Wicked Good Vegan - http://www.thewickedgoodvegan.com/2011/05/04/gf-scones/
Melanie of Mindful Food - http://mindfulfood.blogspot.com/2011/05/hazelnut-cream-scones-with-blackberry.html
Meredith of Gluten Free Betty - http://glutenfreebetty.blogspot.com/2011/05/cinnamon-raisin-scones-for-gluten-free.html

Morri of Meals with Morri - http://mealswithmorri.blogspot.com/2011/05/yerba-mate-chai-scones.html
Mrs. R of Honey from Flinty Rocks - http://honeyfromflintyrocks.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/classic-cream-scones-gluten-amp-dairy-free/
Mrs. R of Honey from Flinty Rocks - http://honeyfromflintyrocks.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/almond-fig-scones-gluten-amp-dairy-free/
Peter and Kelli of No Gluten No Problem - http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-mesquite-scones.html
Sea of Book of Yum - http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/may-ratio-rally-gluten-free-classic-dairy-free-scone-recipe-6823.html
Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef - http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-scones/
Silvana of Silvana's Kitchen - http://silvanaskitchen.com/2011/05/gluten-free-pecan-streusel-scones-with-cinnamon-drizzle
Tara of A Baking Life - http://abakinglife.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-ginger-scones.html
TR of No One Likes Crumbley Cookies - http://tcrumbley.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-cinnamon-pecan-scones.html
Wendy of La Phemme Phoodie - http://laphemmephoodie.com/2011/05/red-velvet-scones-for-the-gluten-free-ratio-rally.html
Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen - http://www.healthygreenkitchen.com/coconut-raisin-scones-gluten-free-and-vegan.html

David's Favorite Banana Bread

What is there to say about another banana bread recipe?  This one is gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free.  That's pretty special.  I can take or leave banana bread myself, but David keeps asking for it and I feel badly about pitching the old, spotty (or worse) bananas in the food waste bin - so I keep making it.  This is David's current favorite:

Flax Meal Slurry:

4 tablespoons golden flax meal

6 tablespoons coconut milk (or other liquid)

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour

3/4 cup tapioca flour

3/4 cup blanched almond flour (ground super fine is best)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

1/2 cup agave

4 tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups diced bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)

handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

handful of vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare glass loaf pan by lining with parchment paper (or brush with oil).

Mix together flax meal and 6 tablespoons coconut milk and let sit. 

Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  

In a second bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup coconut milk and the apple cider vinegar and let sit for a few minutes (this is a substitute for buttermilk).  Mix this mixture with the remaining wet ingredients and the flax meal slurry.  Whisk until thoroughly mixed.   Add the bananas, walnuts, and chocolate chips.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. 

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes.  Test for doneness with a toothpick.

Note:  if you over do it with the bananas (which I usually do), your bread will be part cakey and part pudding-like (because there is so much banana) - it will be very moist.  And, David says its very good this way.