If you like the crisp edges of lasagne, the soaked croutons, the whipped cream that gets icy around the chocolate scoop - you’re in the right place.
Hi everyone! I went back and forth about whether I should share this recipe for coconut scones. I fed them to my family, and to neighbors on our street out to walk their dogs. Half my tasters said, “nice, but still a scone,” and the rest said “fabulous.”
So I will start by saying, this recipe is for a scone. If you want a mille-feuille or a macaroon or a pudding, make one. A scone is the American answer to an Italian biscotti: it’s something flaky and unsaturated, conceived to eat with—and dunk into—a cup of coffee. And these ones—with two kinds of toasty coconut and a maximum amount of chilled butter, brought together by coconut cream—are exquisite. They don't have that whiff of body lotion that comes with artificial coconut essence, but are still exuberantly coconutty, with a salty-sweet crown of flakes that makes them look rather like hedgehogs.
As ever with scones, use very cold butter, mix the dough as little as possible, and chill again before baking. Minimal touch, maximal shag and cold temperatures make flaky, tender scones.
I’ve included metric units for my British bakers—let me know in the comments if this is something you’d like me to do going forward.
Makes 12 scones
¾ cup (180 grams) unsweetened coconut cream, divided
½ cup (120 grams) sour cream
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (12 grams) baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons (5 grams) kosher salt
1 ½ sticks (170 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (90 grams) desiccated coconut, divided
1 cup (60 grams) flaked coconut, divided
Turbinado sugar, to finish
Flaky salt, to finish
Preheat the oven to 425 farenheit. On an unlined sheet tray begin by toasting ¾ cup coconut flakes. After about 1 minute, sprinkle ¾ cup of the desiccated coconut onto the sheet tray and continue to toast until golden, about 2 more minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix together sour cream and ½ cup of the coconut cream. Keep the cream mixture in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add the butter and squash it between your thumbs and index fingers, rolling your thumbs forward to form flat shingles of butter. Flutter the butter through the flour, as you would do if you were making pie crust. Add the cooled toasted coconut and toss it through.
Pour the chilled creams into the butter-flour bowl, and using your hand with fingers separated, claw it through the flour to form an unruly, butter-flecked mix. Use gentle pressure to bring it together into a barely-cohesive, shaggy ball. If it looks too orderly it’s overworked.
Lightly flour your countertop and tip the dough onto it. Gently press it into a rectangle about ¾-inch thick. Cut into 6 squares, then cut the squares in half diagonally to form 12 triangles. Place the scones on the lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Chill the scones in the fridge for 20–30 minutes before baking.
Brush the remaining coconut cream on top of the scones, then sprinkle with the reserved desiccated and flaked coconut, some turbinado sugar, and flaky salt.
Bake until golden on the top and bottom (check bottoms with a conservative lift-and-peek so you don’t shed any of the coconut crown), around 20–30 minutes.
EAT WITH a cup of coffee, while they’re still warm.
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