Cinnamon Scones

The first time I tried to make scones was a total and complete disaster, so I was super determined to try them again and hopefully succeed. I tried scones for the very first time about a year ago, and I instantly loved them and obviously wanted to try and make them myself. I'm really not sure what went wrong on the first attempt, possibly the butter was to warm, but I'm extremely happy with today's results. Scones are a great coffee break snack or just to have them at your house for when you need those little sweet moments or impromptu get-togethers . Hope you try & like these scones!

Let me know what you think!

Xo

Flor

Cinnamon Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks

1 egg, separated

3/4 cup buttermilk 

Steps

Preheat oven to 375F. 

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Add the butter chunks and use your hands to work the pieces into the flour. Keep breaking it down until  the butter pieces are small.

Whisk the buttermilk & egg yolk together and gradually add it to the flour mixture. You probably won't need the entire mixture.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead with your hands until it becomes a ball.

Flatten dough and cut into wedges or desired shape and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush with egg whites.

Bake for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cinnamon Glaze

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons milk

Steps

Combine powdered sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, add milk one teaspoon at a time and stir together. Drizzle over cooled scones

Coffee & Hazelnut Cake

This Coffee and Hazelnut Cake tastes like heaven! Super moist with just the right amount of buttercream to hazelnut ratio. I won't say it's super easy to make just because it's pretty time consuming, but if you have skinned hazelnuts then it's not so time consuming. You can swap the hazelnuts for some delicious macadamia nuts or go for something that you probably already have in your pantry, like some walnuts. This is a nice twist to the more usual chocolate or vanilla cakes, it's always nice to change things up! If you really like a lot of frosting on your cake or you're baking it for someone who does, you'd probably would like to double the frosting recipe, I personally love the look of just frosting the top and the center of the cake, it looks really effortless and homey, Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Let me know what you think!

Xo

Flor

Coffee & Hazelnut Cake

1 cup skinned hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee, cooled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 8x2" round cake pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-1o minutes until lightly roasted, shaking sheet once and watching carefully to make sure they don't burn. Let cool. Finely chop 2/3 cup of the hazelnuts and set aside for the cake. Coarsely chop the remaining hazelnuts and reserve for the garnish.

Sift together flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.

Add eggs very slowly,with the electric mixer running, adding 1 tablespoon of flour during the process to prevent curdling. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the remaining flour, finely chopped hazelnuts, milk, and coffee until well blended.

Spread evenly between the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cakes spring back to the touch or wooden toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool slightly in the pans. Turn out on wire racks and remove paper and let cool completely. 

Buttercream

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee, cooled

Directions

Cream butter and sugar together for at least 5 minutes or until really light and airy, then add the coffee. Mix well. 

Spread half the buttercream on to the base of one cake, lay the other on top and finish with remaining buttercream. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped hazelnuts and voilá!