LUCY BURDETTE: Since we've arrived at the end of April, I think it's safe to start talking about Key West food critic mystery #16, A DELICIOUS DECEPTION (coming July 14.)
Hayley Snow’s mother Janet has a bustling catering business in Key West, and these days, she gets lots of wedding and wedding-adjacent party requests. In this 16th book, she’s catering a wedding with a lavender and lemon theme. (Really? In Key West in November?) She made these scones as a practice run and offers one to Hayley with tea at a fraught moment. This would also be a lovely addition to a Mother's Day brunch, or really any special occasion. To celebrate spring and mothers and mother figures and a new book coming in July, I'll be giving away a copy of the new paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS, coming from Worldwide Mystery. Leave a comment here, but also join my mailing list for an extra chance to win!
PS Before baking, I looked at recipes on Sally’s Baking Addiction and Fork in the Kitchen for inspiration. The lime was added at the last moment when I realized I was short a lemon.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
zest of one lemon and one lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
1 large egg
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
optional: coarse sugar for topping
Preheat the oven to 400.
Zest the lemon and lime and rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers. Whisk the lemon-lime sugar together with the baking powder, salt, and flour. Add two teaspoons, more or less to taste, of culinary lavender. Set this aside. (I used one teaspoon because I didn’t know how much I’d like the taste—it was very mild.)
Grate the frozen butter with a box grater and mix this into the dry ingredients. (The secret to light scones is cold ingredients.) Whisk together the cream, the egg, and the vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix lightly.
Scrape the batter onto a surface covered with parchment paper and a bit of flour. With floured hands, shape the dough into a ball and press the ball flat. Cut the disk of dough into triangles. Move the scones to your freezer for 15 minutes, then brush with additional cream.
Bake for about 20 minutes (depending on size) until lightly brown on top. Cool the scones before icing.
Lemon Lavender Icing
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 and 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Heat the cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the lavender to steep for fifteen minutes. Strain the lavender out of the milk and add the lemon juice. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar to desired thickness. Frost the scones and enjoy!
USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join her mailing list right here.
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