White Chocolate and Raspberry Scones

We have a keeper: You know this recipe is a keeper when Hubby says he would purposely go to a pastry shop to buy these scones. They are buttery and melt in your mouth. I never liked scones because all the ones I have tried were hard and dry. I'm also not a fan of cooked fruits.  There is something about the texture of cooked fruits that I don't enjoy.  Somehow I too enjoyed these scones.  The trick is to not over mix and to grate frozen butter.  Special thanks to Mini Me for bringing these scones into my life!

Ingredients:

250g    all purpose flour
66g      sugar (reserve 1 tsp sugar for end)
1 tsp     baking powder
1/4 tsp  baking soda
1/2 tsp  salt
115g     unsalted butter, frozen
120g    sour cream
1 large  egg
80g       chopped white chocolate

60g       frozen raspberries (or blueberries)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F (375F convection)

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Grate butter into flour mixture.  Use a fork to mix in the butter.  Add in the white chocolate.

Whisk together sour cream and egg.

Using a fork stir / fold sour cream mixture into flour mixture to distribute sour cream. Use your fork to press the dough against the side of the bowl until there are no more flour clumps.  Add in the raspberries, quickly toss in just until distributed and empty bowl on a lightly floured surface.  Gather dough together with your hands and pat down to form a 7 to 8 inch circle.  Sprinkle with reserved 1 tsp of sugar.  Cut into 8 pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.

Bake until golden brown about 15 - 17 minutes.

Tips:

- Freeze the unbaked scones.  The unbaked scones can be frozen and you take out to bake only as many as you want.  This way you can have freshly baked scones whenever you want!  Bake temp and time is about the same.

- Take the frozen fruits out just before incorporating into the dough.  If they thaw or get too soft before adding to the dough they will get mooshed into

- pre-grated frozen butter is something I sometimes keep in my freezer (space permitting) so that I can make scones whenever I have a craving!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The absolute best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had!  I had to digitize this recipe before I lose the paper it is on.  It was on a folded piece of paper and stored in a plastic bag that I had used to bring the recipe, and ingredients, for our annual family get away in Vermont.  

I have made my fair share of chocolate chip cookies over the years.  Some have been thick and cakey.  Some have been thick and hard.  Some have been thin and hard.  Some have been too sweet.  Like Goldilocks I couldn't find the right chocolate chip cookies.  They were never just right until I came upon this recipe.  Once I tried these cookies I knew they were one of the best I ever had.  Do any of you remember the Felix and Norton cookies?  These are like those cookies.  This is a recipe that has been asked by friends, family,  friends of family, and friends of friends!.  They are always a hit whenever they are served.  I think the difference is the quality of the ingredients and chocolate.

If you want to have a batch on hand whenever you have a craving, the unbaked formed cookie dough balls can be frozen.  Take out as many as you want to bake and have fresh, warm from the oven, gooey, chocolatey cookies!!!  Enjoy!!!

Makes 54 x 1 Tbsp cookies

Ingredients:
420g     all purpose flour
1.5 tsp  baking soda
1 tsp     salt

225g     melted butter

150g     sugar (cut from original 200g)
130g     brown sugar
70g       corn syrup
2           egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp  artificial vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (dark and milk mix)

1 Tbsp ground coffee to mix (optional)

Method:
1) Sift dry ingredients together
2) Mix together melted butter with sugars.  Add egg, milk and vanilla.
3) Add wet ingredient mixture to dry ingredients.  Add choco. chips.
4) Form 1 1/4" round balls (approx 1 tbsp).  Place on parchment lined baking sheet 2" apart.  Bake @325F for 8-10 minutes.  Don't overbake!

Adapted from LBPSB Pastry class

Chinese Cake

The perfect sponge cake:  How many of you have had the chinese roll cakes or birthday cakes purchased from an asian bakery?  Aren't they the lightest, softest, most moist, and perfectly lightly sweetened cakes you have ever eaten?  I know that I can eat a huge slice and not feel full.  A buttercream frosting would be too heavy for this cake.  A filling and frosting of whipped cream and fruits is all it needs.  This cake is pretty much my "go to" cake base for all asian birthday cakes and strawberry shortcakes.  It can be flavoured with extracts, fruit purees, green tea or pandan.

For over 30 years I would drive out to the east end of Montreal and purchase a cake for all my special occasions, from birthdays, anniversaries, children's full month, Mother's Day or just because I felt like I needed one.  It was also the same cake that all friends and families bought for their birthdays and special events.  Have you heard of the saying "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing"?  We stopped buying it because it wasn't special anymore.  Fast forward 30 years and I took a baking class from this bakery.  Because of this class, it then motivated me to take a 1 year pastry course!  I now have the coveted recipe for the Chinese cake and can jazz it up with different flavours and decorations to make it special for any occasion or cravings I have.

Such a simple cake can make such beautiful cakes!

Makes 1 x 8" x 14" pan for cake roll or 1 x 8" x 3" or 1 x9" round cake.  I like the resulting height of an 8"x3" round cake pan as it cuts and gives 3 nice cake layers.

Ingredients:

85g    egg yolks (approx 4 XL eggs or 5 large eggs)

25g    sugar

45g    oil

45g    milk

85g    cake flour

1g      salt

1 tsp  vanilla extract (or any other flavour)

170g  egg whites (approx 5 XL eggs or 6 large eggs)

85g    sugar

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 325F

2) Mix egg yolks with sugar.  Mix in oil.  Mix in milk.  Sift in flour and salt and mix.  Mix in any flavouring.

3) Whisk egg whites, adding sugar in 3 batches, at medium high speed until firm peaks.  Lower speed and continue beating for a couple of minutes to medium peaks.

4) Fold in egg whites, in 2 to 3 batches, into the egg yolk batter, until no whites are visible.

5) Bake in a parchment lined pan for 30-40 minutes until inserted toothpick is clean.

Adapted from Patissierie Legault