Make Ahead

Buckwheat Scones with Cherry Jam

May 13, 2015
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Makes 12
Author Notes

Adapted from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain. The original recipe calls for fig butter, but any flavor jam could be used (apple butter is also very tasty). Do keep in mind that a thicker spread is a bit better for when you're rolling the scone dough. —sarah kieffer | the vanilla bean blog

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup cherry jam
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Rub the butter between your fingers, breaking it into smaller bits. Continue doing this until the butter is in coarse, pea-sized pieces. Work quickly—you want the butter to stay solid.
  3. Add the cream and gently mix it into the flour with a spatula, until the dough is just combined.
  4. Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. The dough will be rather sticky, so flour your hands well and pat the dough into a rectangle. With a lightly floured rolling pin, carefully roll out the dough into a rectangle that is 8 inches wide, 16 inches long, and 3/4 inches thick. Periodically run a pastry scraper underneath to loosen the dough, and flour the surface as you are rolling to help keep the dough from sticking. Flour the top of the dough if the rolling pin is sticking.
  5. Spread the cherry jam over the dough. Roll the long edge of the dough up, patting the dough as you roll, to form a neat log that's 16 inches long. Position the finished log so that the seam is on the bottom and the weight of the roll seals the edge.
  6. Use a sharp knife to slice the log in half. Put the halves on a baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (and up to 2 days).
  7. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  8. After the logs have chilled, take them out of the refrigerator and cut each half into 6 pieces (each about 1 1/4 inches wide). Place each scone flat, with the spiral of jam facing up, on a baking sheet, 6 scones to a sheet. Give the scones a squeeze to shape them into rounds if needed.
  9. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. The scones are done when their undersides are golden brown. They are best eaten warm from the oven or later that same day.

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4 Reviews

Jeanne C. June 27, 2022
I halved the recipe, which affected the size of the scone. I also used gluten free flour in place of AP. It was delicious!

I did not have the sticky dough problem tho and I raised the oven temperature to 400 F and adjusted cooking time to 20 minutes.

I will make again, as I love cherry jam and buckwheat flour! Thank you for the recipe!
embelts May 5, 2019
I just made this with a few adjustments, and it turned out great! I don't have buckwheat flour so I used whole wheat, but adjusted the proportions so there was more WW than AP. I did still have to add more flour as I was rolling, but it worked. Very delicious with half spread with cherry jam, and half lemon curd.
abi June 9, 2015
I really don't understand how this recipe is "rollable." My dough was a sticky mess no matter how much flour I put down on the counter. Is the liquid measurement correct??
sarah K. June 9, 2015
Hi Abi, Sorry you are having trouble! The liquid is correct. It is a rather sticky dough, but I found it to be rollable with enough flour. Did you use buckwheat flour, or substitute something else? I found if I used any other flour it was too sticky to roll, but worked with the buckwheat.