I know raspberries aren’t quite in season yet, but I just couldn’t resist picking up a pint when I saw them in the store. They looked so plump and pretty!
In an attempt to continue baking with whole wheat pastry flour, I decided to make some moist Raspberry Ricotta Scones that I saw on Smitten Kitchen. I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of whole wheat flour, and the ricotta makes for a very tender crumb. These would be great with just about any berry, so I urge you to use what you like! I have made these with both raspberries and blueberries, and they were both delicious!
If you have company coming over, be sure to make a double batch because they will go quickly and one batch only makes 8 or 9 scones.
One more thing…I have some exciting news! I think we finally found a house, so soon (but not soon enough, since it will be in 2 months) I will finally have a new kitchen to bake in and have all of my fun baking stuff back! I can’t wait! The house gets a lot of sunlight, so I should be getting some better pictures as well.
Whole Wheat Berry Ricotta Scones
Yield: 8 or 9 scones
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold un-salted butter, cut into very small pieces
1 cup fresh raspberries, blueberries (or any berry you like)
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream
extra sugar for sprinkling
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or Silpat liner. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
2. With a pastry blender, add the butter and cut it into the mixture until a coarse meal forms (the largest pieces should be the size of small peas). If you don’t have a pastry blender, working quickly, you can use your fingertips to work the butter into the flour mixture.
3. Add the ricotta and heavy cream and stir to together to form a dough. Gently toss in the raspberries/blueberries. It’s okay if they get a little squished! Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently form in to a 7-inch square that is 1-inch tall. Divide the dough into 9 even squares with a knife. Alternatively, you can form them into a round and divide into 8 equal wedges. Sprinkle the tops lightly with sugar.
4. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges and set. Cool in the pan for a few minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack. These are best served warm on the day that they are made. I like mine plain or with a little pat of butter!
Tips and Thoughts:
At first I thought the dough was quite dry, since my dough hardly came together, but once I tossed the berries in, it became quite moist! Be sure to use floured hands!
Don’t forget to try out different berries. I think blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries would be great, or any mixture of the above.
The original recipe instructs cutting the raspberries in with the butter, but I preferred to add them last so that there were still a few big pieces.
These can be made ahead: Freeze before baking. When you are ready to bake them, there is no need to defrost them, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time. You can also make them the day before baking. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
