Blueberry Scones with Creme Fraiche

I’ve been using this recipe for Blueberry Scones for quite some time and they’re absolutely delicious.

They've always been served with creamy butter until the I discovered Crème Fraiche during a special Mother’s Day Tea last year.

Reluctant to try it at first since its resemblance to sour cream held me back, I was encouraged to at least give it a chance.

Suffice it to say there was no left over Crème Fraiche at the end of our tea.

Since then I've been searching for a Crème Fraiche recipe as it’s not the easiest product to find at the supermarket and a little on the expensive side.

I’ve tried a couple of recipes which were fairly good but yielded a large quantity, too much unless the plan is to host a rather large tea party.

The addition of sour cream in these recipes wasn't the taste I was looking for so the search continued .

Recently I tried a new recipe. The addition of yogurt instead of sour cream made all the difference for me and discovered that using vanilla yogurt instead of plain resulted in a perfect balance of flavour.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you want since it works on a three to one ratio.

On second thought, the best thing about this recipe is that I will never put butter on my Blueberry Scones again!


Blueberry Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
¼ cup butter
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fresh blueberries
Icing sugar (for dusting tops)

1. In a large bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Add lemon zest then with a pastry blender cut in butter unto it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Beat eggs lightly with milk.
4. Add milk, eggs and blueberries to flour mixture all at once stirring with a fork until dough comes away from the side of the bowl.
5. On a lightly floured surface knead dough 5 to 6 times until smooth.
6. Roll dough to 1 inch thickness and using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out scones.
7. Place 2 inches apart on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
8. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Cool on wire rack. Lightly dust with icing sugar.
10. Makes 12 to 15 scones

Crème Fraiche
To make ½ cup (125 ml)
6 tablespoons whipping cream
2 tablespoons yogurt, plain or vanilla (with active culture)

In a small glass jar or container stir whipping cream and yogurt together, cover.
Let sit in a warm place for 12 hours then refrigerate.















Notes, Tips and Suggestions

• Use only fresh blueberries as frozen add too much moisture to the dough.
• Raspberries or cranberries can be substituted for the blueberries.
  
• After cutting out scones, place scraps one on top of the other, pat down with hand, roll again to 1 inch thickness and cut out more scones. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.
  
• The original recipe for Creme Fraiche made a softer consistency spread. Preferring a much thicker consistency I tried whipping the cream until thick before stirring in the yogurt. Perfect results.