Mother’s Day: Baking with Mom
Buttermilk Scones with Blackberry Whipped Cream
By Sara Alexander
I’m the first to admit that I am no food blogger. My kitchen isn’t professionally decorated or styled, and I am nowhere close to a “real” photographer. But none of these things seem matter when it comes to spending time in the kitchen with my kids and their friends. Whether it’s teaching them to make scrambled eggs (Hello, morning breakfast helpers!) or giggling over sticky fingers while tasting homemade marshmallows, the time spent together strengthens our relationship and creates great memories.
So for Mother’s Day, I am teaching some sweet little friends to make light and fluffy, Buttermilk Scones, with a blackberry, fresh whipped cream topping. It’s purely out of selfishness that I am picking these recipes, because this desert happens to be one of my favorites.
Day dream with me for a minute will you…. After a delightful Mother’s Day where your hubby and kids treat you like the queen you truly are, the kids have gone to school the next day, the house is quiet and you are sitting in your favorite chair, enjoying a beautiful plate of scones and cream alongside a cup of hot coffee.
I can feel the tension leaving my shoulders just thinking about it. For a few blissful moments, the piles of laundry fade away, the crusty dishes from last night’s dinner are no longer waiting in the sink where you forgot to soak them, and your same cup of coffee hasn’t been reheated 4 times already. Sounds like a dream to me.
So, let’s make some scones!
We began by slicing 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter and chopping the blackberries into small pieces. Both are awesome lessons in self-control and patience because you have to be careful with a knife! Knife cutting is a first for my little friends, and they are so proud of themselves!
Next, we learn how to correctly measure flour and combine it with our other dry ingredients: sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. We use a whisk to stir.
While one friend is working with the dry ingredients, the other is working with our blackberries. You can use strawberries or raspberries in this recipe. Blackberries just happened to be on sale this week! My friend adds 1 tablespoon of sugar into the berries along with 1 tablespoon of water. The sugar will balance the tartness of the berries and get their yummy juices flowing!
While the berries soak in their sugar bath, pour 2 cups of cold heavy whipping cream into a mixer with the whisk attachment. Then pour in ½ cup of confectioners sugar and turn the mixer on high. The light, decadent, sweet whipped cream will come together in just a couple minutes!
Let’s get back to the scones! Add the chopped, cold butter to the dry ingredients and mix with your fingers to combine. I loved the look of shock and delight when I told my friend to use her (clean) fingers! We all know that most kids love getting their hands dirty! Once the butter/flour mixture looks like coarse meal, add the buttermilk and mix just until combined.
This step can take a while, which can make the scones become slightly dense with that much handling, but you shouldn’t worry too much about it. Working with dough can be tricky for any age baker, so be sure to enjoy the process with your kids.
Now that our dough has come together, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it into a ¾ inch round disk. Remind your child to add flour to their hands and the rolling pin because the dough is sticky. Once the dough is flat, use a butter knife to cut it into 8 pieces. If you have the time and patience, you can use this opportunity to teach fractions. I am too eager to get those scones baking and into my tummy so we are going to skip the teaching moment. Remember to thoroughly coat the baking sheet with cooking spray!
I accidentally deviated from the original recipe in the next step. Instead of brushing the scones with heavy cream, crack an egg into a small bowl and added water to create an egg wash. Brush the wash onto the scones to create a lightly browned top. I keep a 1 inch paintbrush that I bought at our local hardware store in my kitchen for moments such as these.
Bake your beautiful scones for 15 minutes in a preheated 400 degree F oven. If you cut your scones smaller, remember to cut back the cooking time. The scones should be lightly brown.
While the desert is baking, carefully add the macerated berries to the whipped cream. Make sure you don’t over stir, but gently fold them in so your cream looks more streaked and not just solid purple.
Serve the scones warm, split in half with your fresh blackberry whipped cream! Remember to set aside a couple for yourself to enjoy while the kids are at school!
Sources:
- Buttermilk Scone Recipe: Foodnetwork.com
- Blackberry Whipped Cream: thePioneerWoman.com
