Pucker up buttercups, Spring is in the air. Here in Berkeley, everything seems to be in bloom and it makes me feel all gushy inside. Even the little Charlie Brown lemon tree residing in the backyard is starting to produce. Despite being nearly eclipsed by the boastful blooming plum tree shading her, the sprite little lemons are working hard to grow up fast. The birds have been busy building their lovenests in the plum trees and the aromatic scents of lilac and star jasmine have me head over heels for Springtime. The beautiful sights, smells and colors inspired me to bake up something just right for a seasonal lazy morning treat. Since Spring is the season of love, a pucker provoking recipe seemed fitting. Nothing says pucker up quite like a sour lemon. So, I came up with a sour lemon scone recipe and threw in tart cherries and sour cream for a triple threat of puckered up sour power. It may seem like an acidic overload but these three puckers make for one magical ménage à trois of Spring flavors. The sourness is balanced by the simple and slightly sweet scone base and pretty much tastes like a spring fling in your mouth. Even if you have the misfortune of living someplace where Spring still seems like a lifetime away (Toronto), get over it and bake up a batch of these sour lemon cherry scones with sour cream, they are sure to bring a little sunshine to your dark days.
Recipe
Sour Lemon Cherry Scones with Sour Cream Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 12
Description
Pucker up. This recipe for crumbly Sour Lemon Cherry Scones is a triple threat of puckered up sour power with lemon, tart cherries and sour cream.
Ingredients
Candied Lemon Peel (optional)
- lemons - 2
- granulated sugar - 1 ¼ cups
- Lyle's Golden Syrup (or light corn syrup - ¼ cup)
Lemon Cherry Scones
- all purpose flour - 2 ½ cups
- granulated sugar - ¼ cup
- baking powder - 1 tablespoon
- salt - 1 teaspoon
- cold unsalted butter (cut into ½" cubes - ½ cup (1 stick))
- dried tart cherries - 1 cup
- eggs - 2
- sour cream - ½ cup
- ground ginger - ½ teaspoon
- lemon zest - ¼ cup (about 2 lemons)
- candied lemon peel (optional - ¼ cup)
Egg Wash
- egg - 1
- milk or water - 1 tablespoon
- salt - a pinch
- raw sugar for sprinkling - ¼ cup
Instructions
CANDIED LEMON PEEL
- Wash lemons thoroughly.
- Peel each lemon into large strips using a vegetable peeler, try not to remove the white pith from the lemon. If you do, you can remove the remaining white pith from the peels with a paring knife.
- Put the peel strips in a heavy-bottomed pot and fill with 1 cup of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and strain. Repeat 3 times.
- Place the peel, 1 ½ cups of water, 1 cup sugar, and ¼ cup Lyle's Golden Syrup in a medium-sized pot. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture becomes a thick syrup and the peel becomes translucent.
- When the syrup has cooled, remove the peel strips and allow them dry on a rack for at least 1 hour.
- Roll the strips in granulated sugar and chop into small (¼"-½") squares.
SOUR LEMON CHERRY SCONES
- Preheat oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
- Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Dice the butter into ½" cubes. Use your hands, a pastry cutter or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on low speed to blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of butter are the size of almonds.
- Stir in the lemon zest, candied lemon peel and cherries until they are fully incorporated.
- Whisk the eggs and sour cream together, then add two-thirds of the mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently mix the dough just until it comes together, then add the remaining mixture, the dough should look scrappy and rough at this point.
- Scrape the dough from the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate floury scraps. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface, it should come out as mostly one big chunk with some scrappy bits.
- Gather the dough ball and bits and pat until it just comes together, you don't want to overwork the dough. The top should be chunky and rough, this ensures the crunchy crumbly character of the finished scones. Gently form the dough into two 4"-5" disks.
- Cut the disk(s) into 6 wedges and spread out evenly on baking sheets.
- Quickly prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg, milk or water and a pinch of salt. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash. Sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The scones should come out a deep golden brown.
- Place the baked scones on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.
- Enjoy with your favorite jam and a cup of joe.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
CakePants says
These look fantastic! I love the combination of lemon and cherries (well, really, lemon and any fruit!), and have had such a yearning to bake scones lately, but couldn't figure out what type - problem solved! Also, I'm so jealous everything is in bloom where you are - I grew up near Berkeley, but now live in Michigan (where precisely nothing is in bloom yet). At least now I'll have scones, though, even if the weather is still chilly 🙂
Becky Sue says
Oh yay! Let me know what you think of the recipe. Sorry about the cold weather up there, it will all be over soon...hang in there. Sending warm sunshiny vibes your way. 😀