double chocolate scones

Who’s in the mood for chocolate scones? Me! 

Actually, no, I lie. After multiple trial bakes of the same recipe, I’m a little sconed-out . . . but hopefully you’re not!  

I got my inspiration for this recipe from my aunt. When we stayed at her house last month, she made chocolate scones for breakfast.

The scone from my aunt. (Hers had dried cherries, too.)

She’d dry mised the ingredients prior to our arrival and then assembled and baked them while we chatted. When I asked after her recipe, she said it was the one in her cookbook but with a few changes which she then spelled out. I tried the recipe with her adaptations, but mine didn’t turn out anything like the scones she’d made for us — but that didn’t stop me!

Four bakes later (the photos are a mash-up from the various bakes), I landed on a pretty basic cream scone recipe, but with loads of chocolate chunks and chips, and then a ganache that gets layered in, like so:

first rectangle: spread with ganache and cut

stacked

smooshed back down into a rectangle again

spread with ganache

cut and stacked (you get the idea)

the layering complete: shaped into a circle and cut into wedges

It looks complicated, but it’s not. Just, a little messy — but the ganache is surprisingly satisfying to work with. Don’t be scared.

This wasn’t the first time I saw this ganache-layered effect. One of the bakers at Magpie had done something similar, but if I remember correctly, she used a single layer of ganache, and it wasn’t pressed down so, in the heat of the oven, the top layer often slid off. These scones don’t have this problem and there’s a lot more chocolate marbling, which I love. 

I think there’s still room for improvement (a bit of buckwheat would be a nice addition, yes?), but when I sent some over to my mom with the kids, she emailed back, “What worries you about these scones? They’re lovely.” So perhaps I’m just getting silly obsessive? I am sconed out, after all. 

Anyway. I’ve decided they’re plenty good enough, but if you find a way to make them even better, do tell.

Double Chocolate Scones

For some of the variations, I subbed in a little whole wheat or rye, and I think buckwheat might be good here, too. For the ganache, use semi sweet chips — not melting wafers, which don’t pack the necessary chocolate punch. And while I made one batch with mini chips in the dough, I like it better with larger chunks of chocolate, even bigger than regular sized chips.

for the dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter
¾ heavy cream
½-¾ cup chocolate, chunks and/or chips

for the ganache: ½ cup of chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons cream
for the garnish: pearl (or sanding) sugar and a little more cream

to make the scone dough:
Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter, making sure to leave some chunks. Gently stir in the cream. Toss in the ¾ cup of chocolate chips. The mix should still be a little dry (the ganache will add some moisture) — take care not to overmix. 

to make the ganache:
In a small bowl, heat the ½ cup of chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of cream in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, just until melted. Stir well.

to assemble:
Dump the dough onto a work surface and shape into a rectangle. Spread a third of the ganache on two-thirds of the rectangle. Cut into thirds and stack, with the UN-ganashed portion ending up on top. 

Gently press down the dough into a rectangle and repeat the process.

Aaaand repeat one more time, using up the last third of the ganache. (I’m writing this recipe with three ganashings, but sometimes I did it with two. Do what works for you.)This time, shape the dough into a circle instead of a rectangle and cut into 8 wedges.

Place the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and the middle feels firm when pressed.

This same time, years previous: currently, the quotidian (5.11.20), Thursday snippets, prism glasses, the quotidian (5.11.15), immersion, happy weekending, one more thing, lemony spinach and rice salad with fresh dill and feta.