In my years running a bakery stand at the Carrboro, North Carolina, farmers’ market, customers clamored for the tender, apricot-hued scones studded with chunks of candied ginger. You can freeze the unbaked scones and bake them directly from the freezer; just add a few minutes to the baking time.
How to Make It
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cardamom. Add butter; cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or a fork until butter pieces are the size of corn kernels. Stir in ginger and zest. Stir together sweet potatoes, buttermilk, and 1/4 cup of the cream in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; place sweet potato mixture in well. Working quickly, stir until dough just comes together.
Step 3
Sprinkle prepared baking sheet liberally with flour. Place dough on parchment, and divide dough in half. With floured hands, shape each dough half into a circle between 6 and 7 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick. Brush circles evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons cream. Stir together turbinado sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon cardamom in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over dough circles. Run a bread knife or bench scraper under cold water, and cut each circle into 8 wedges (like cutting a pie). Carefully pull wedges away from the center to separate them by about 3/4 inch. (Don’t worry about any excess flour on your parchment paper.)
Step 4
Bake on middle rack in preheated oven until golden brown and almost cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to lowest oven rack; bake until bottoms of scones are fully cooked, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Also appeared in: , November, 2016
