Sugar Cube (8 page)

• 2
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  cups cake flour
  
• ¹
  /
  ₃
  cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
  
• Grated zest of 2 large lemons
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  cup (1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  sticks) unsalted butter, cut into
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  -inch cubes and frozen
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  to
  ³
  /
  ₄
  cup cold heavy cream, plus extra for brushing
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  

• LINE A LARGE BAKING SHEET
  with parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder and pulse a few times. Add the lemon zest and butter and pulse until the mixture is pale yellow and the consistency of cornmeal. (If you don’t have a food processor, just whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then cut in the zest and butter with a pastry blender.)
  
• TRANSFER THE MIXTURE
  to a wide mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup of the cream and the vanilla. Using your hand, draw the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until just combined (you don’t want to overmix, or the scones will be tough). If the mixture feels too dry and crumbly, add the remaining
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup cream.
  
• ON A LIGHTLY FLOURED SURFACE
  , form the dough into a patty about 9 inches wide and
  ³
  /
  ₄
  inch thick. Cut into eight wedges. Transfer each wedge to the prepared baking sheet and chill in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. (This will firm up the butter so it will create flaky layers when baked.)
  
• PREHEAT THE OVEN
  to 375°F. Remove the scones from the freezer, brush the tops with heavy cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through, until the scones are golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving … that is, if you can wait that long.
  

VARIATION:

• MAKE AN IMPRESSION, LITERALLY, WITH YOUR THUMB
  (move it around to make the indent half-dollar size), then fill with lemon curd or jam before baking. This is particularly cute if you cut the scones like biscuits instead of wedges. Or try making cherry, chocolate, and orange scones: In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup dried cherries with a liqueur such as kirsch or even simple syrup or juice. When the cherries are plump and moist, drain off the juices and fold the cherries into the dough along with orange zest instead of lemon zest and about 3 tablespoons chopped cacao nibs.
  

•
Zesting the lemon over the bowl is utilizing the entire lemon without losing lemony goodness—a good trick to know.

•
Don’t settle for bargain butter for this recipe. European-style butters, such as Plugrá, or my local fave, Crèmerie Classique, have a higher butterfat content that really makes a difference in texture and flavor.

•
If you don’t want to bake all the scones at once, freeze them until hard and pack them into freezer bags. Brush the frozen scones with cream, sprinkle with sugar, and bake at the same oven temperature but give them a few minutes longer: 20 to 25 minutes.

The world doesn’t need another blueberry muffin. And don’t get me started on bran. But a chocolate muffin moistened with banana purée and sprinkled with sea salt? Hell, yes! These are so moist and tender yet not too sweet, and the cacao nibs add texture and a deeper chocolate flavor. When you have a couple of death-row bananas on your hands, skip the same old banana bread and whip up a batch of these. I adapted the recipe from a great food blog called “80 Breakfasts.” Serve with salted butter or your favorite nut butter, such as fresh almond or peanut.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS

• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped bittersweet chocolate (about 3 ounces)
  
• 2 large very ripe bananas, puréed
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup dutch-process cocoa powder
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoons baking powder
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  cup (1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup (1 ounce) cacao nibs
  
• Granulated sugar for sprinkling
  
• Fleur de sel for sprinkling
  

• PREHEAT THE OVEN
  to 325°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Put the chopped chocolate in a medium metal bowl and put the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring, until the chocolate is just melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool. Stir in the banana purée.
  
• SIFT TOGETHER THE FLOUR
  , cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl.
  
• IN THE BOWL OF A STAND MIXER
  fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, cacao nibs, and chocolate-banana mixture and beat just until combined.
  
• DIVIDE THE BATTER
  equally among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops lightly with granulated sugar and fleur de sel and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. The tops should look crackled and slightly wet between the cracks. Let cool a bit before serving warm.
  

•
This also can be made as a lovely dessert. This amount of batter is perfect for a 4-cup mini-Bundt pan. Generously butter the pan. Baking times will vary, so check after 30 minutes; the top should spring back when touched and a knife inserted into the center should come out clean.

While everyone else eats muffins for breakfast, I cut to the chase and serve cake. Because, really, except for the size, what’s the difference? Actually this petite little Bundt is way more rich and buttery than most muffins could ever hope to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not appropriate for the a.m. hours, especially when you serve it with dollops of thick Greek yogurt and a handful of fresh blueberries. The flavor is so bright, tangy, and passion-fruity, it’s just the thing to wake up your taste buds.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon baking powder
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup unsweetened passion fruit purée
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  cup (1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  cup sugar
  
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
  
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or seeds scraped from
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  vanilla bean (pod reserved for the glaze)
  

• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup unsweetened passion fruit purée
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  vanilla bean pod
  
• 16 ounces plain, whole-milk greek yogurt
  
• 2 pints fresh blueberries