Chloe and I have been dreaming these up for quite some time now. The inspiration for these scones comes from one of our favorite books to read together, Sophie Mousse. Sophie’s mother Lily owns the bakery in Pine Needle Grove. Lily had an order for a batch of scones for the Mayor’s birthday. She was out of lemon extract for the glaze and asked Sophie to run to her friend Hatties house. Along the way Sophie’s eyes fell upon a patch of wood sorrel. She picked a few leaves nibbling on the fresh lemony flavor and thought it would be a wonderful replacement for lemon extract. She hurried home to see what her mother would say. They ground up the leaves into a powder to make a glaze. Not only was it delicious but Lily happened to know that green was the mayor’s favorite color.
For these scones, I use my favorite sourdough cream scone recipe, massaging lemon zest into the sugar the way Chloe and I imagined Sophie and Lily might. Fresh sorrel is blended into the milk and whisked into the glaze — sweet and tart, with that soft green color that feels like it came straight from the garden.
Variations
Sorrel might be hard to come by. I’ve come across it at the farmers market, and my mother always grew it in her garden. Feel free to remove it from the glaze and replace it with another flavoring: lemon, raspberry or blueberry would all be lovely.
Lemon Poppyseed Scones. Add 2 tbsp poppy seeds to the dry ingredients. For the glaze, replace the sorrel milk with lemon juice.
Lemon Berry Scones. Fold in a heaping cup of berries. Make a berry glaze combining 2 cups powdered sugar + 2 tbsp strained berry juice + 2 tbsp cream, milk or lemon juice.
Ingredients
Butter. Unsalted and cold. I like to freeze my butter ahead of time. Cold butter = flaky scones
Heavy cream. Adds moisture and fat contributing to a tender and flaky scone.
Sourdough discard. Cold from the fridge and no older than two weeks!
Egg yolk. Add richness and help bind the dough.
All Purpose Flour. Hayden All Purpose Sonora is my go to.
Granulated sugar. For sweetness.
Lemon Zest. Rubbed into the sugar for a bright lemon flavor. Meyer lemons are especially delicious.
Powdered Sugar. The sweetener for the glaze. Dissolves easily.
Sorrel. A fresh leafy green with a tart lemony flavor.
Milk. To create a smooth, creamy and pourable consistency.
Sourdough Lemon Cream Scones with Sorrel Glaze
Ingredients
10 tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup (125g) heavy cream , plus more for brushing
1 cup (220g) sourdough discard, cold from the fridge
1 egg yolk, cold from the fridge
2 cups + 2 tbsp (260g) flour
100 g of granulated sugar
Zest of 3 lemons (about 1 tbsp), meyer lemons if possible
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cream and sugar for finishing
Sorrel glaze
(Makes a generous amount of glaze)
1/2 cup milk
1 handful of sorrel (30g)
2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using the large holes of a box grater, gate the butter. Transfer to a bowl and place in the freezer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream or sour cream, discard and egg yolk.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a fork, toss the grated butter to coat. Then stir in the sourdough mixture until just combined. Knead the dough a few times to bring it together.
- Dump the dough onto a clean work surface and use your hands to press and shape the dough into an 8″ disc shape. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on the sheet pan and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. To long-ferment: Store the covered scones in the fridge overnight up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375. Brush the tops of the scones with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until golden and cooked though. Let cool for a few minutes, best eaten shortly after baking.
Make the sorrel glaze.
- Add the sorrel and milk to a high speed blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Strain.
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium size bowl. Add 4 tbsp of the sorrel milk and whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick add a touch more milk, too thin add a bit more powdered sugar.
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