Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones

Sometimes I get fixated on an inspiration or recipe for days. But, like a dog with a bone, I only obsess until I find something prettier and shinier and forget why I wanted it so bad in the first place. This week it was passionfruit curd. I stumbled across the recipe online and could already taste it: wonderfully thick and creamy, tart but slightly sweet passionfruit curd. Oh, how I needed that curd. My humble little condiments shelf would not be complete without it.

I even made it to the market and got me a big bag of passionfruit before I got distracted. You see, I got to thinking: If I’m going to make a batch of passionfruit curd, I have to be able to enjoy it immediately. Cooking is all about instant gratification and I needed something else that would worship my curd the minute it thickened. First thought: swirl it into a loaf cake. Too much work. Second thought: Scones. Yes, this was it. Fluffy buttermilk scones with a big dollop of fresh curd.



At this point I should have known there would be no curd. At least, not this weekend. My buttermilk scones quickly became dark chocolate ginger scones. But, before you get to thinking I completely lost the plot, this was still tangentially related to the curd: a while back I tried a chocolate mousse with a hint of ginger and served with passionfruit syrup. Unusual sounding combination, yes. But it worked. Actually, it shone. And so, the idea for dark chocolate ginger scones was born.



So, the scones. Oh. My. GAWD! The perfectly golden, slightly crunchy exterior gives way to light and fluffy crumb, enrobed with huge molten chunks of dark, dark chocolate and candied ginger that’s been minced to death. I used both candied ginger and ginger powder – enough so you notice it but not so much that it overpowers everything. If you’re a ginger fiend then you can definitely up the amount of candied ginger – perhaps to 3/4 cup. Enjoy!

PS – I still plan to make the passionfruit curd this week so watch this space. I froze some of the unbaked scones so when the curd is done I can just bake them off and enjoy :)

Substitutions:
For a gluten free version, create your own flour mix using 1 part rice flour, 1 part buckwheat flour and 1 part tapioca starch. This will create a delicious, light and fluffy scone.

Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones Recipe
The trick to making any good scone, and especially one with wholewheat flour, is to make sure the dough is wet. I mean it – just when you think you need to add more flour STOP – it should a bit gloopy. The other trick is not to over mix the dough as this will work the gluten too hard and produce a harder scone. Use a knife to mix the liquids into the dry ingredients until they are just mixed.

2 cups wholewheat pastry flour (or all-purpose white flour or gluten free flour mix mentioned above)
½ teaspoon fine ground sea salt
1 ½ tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
100g butter (3.5oz), grated
½ cup quinoa flakes
½ cup candied ginger, finely chopped/minced
1 cup dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), roughly chopped into large chunks
¼ cup unrefined or demerara sugar
1 cup natural unsweetened yogurt
¼ cup milk

Preheat oven to 400F / 200C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl. With clean hands, add the grated butter, and use your fingers to work it into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Mix in the quinoa flakes, candied ginger, dark chocolate, and sugar. Add the yogurt and milk. Using a knife, while turning the bowl, gently mix until the dough just comes together – do not over mix. It should look quite wet.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press (it should be too wet to roll) into a rectangle about 1 inch / 2.5cm thick. Trim the edges and cut into 12 squares. Transfer onto the pre-arranged baking sheet, leaving 1 inch / 2-3cm between each scone. Bake on fan-forced for approx 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Makes 12 scones.