Whenever I feel crappy, I bake. The concentration and effort helps me take my mind off whatever I am stressing about and I feel infinitely better when I am stuffing my face with something warm and delicious afterwards. This morning we lost the house we were hoping to rent in Goa. It had four bedrooms, a garden, a balcony and a terrace! For someone living in a teeny apartment in Bombay, it was perfect! I was already daydreaming about baking in the kitchen and watching my dogs run around the garden. We were flying at the end of the month to close the deal. So fucking close. Gaah!
So I baked instead of yelling at my broker or snapping at my better half. There were pears in the kitchen, some oat flour and a handful of pecans. I threw in the odds and ends together but ended up with a surprisingly tender scone, not too sweet and gently spiced.
Armed with these and coffee, I am going back to find myself a dreamy little house.
Spiced pear oatmeal scones
Yields 8 scones
2 cups oat flour
100 grams granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
90 grams butter, cut into small pieces
3 large ripe pears, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1/2 cup pecans,chopped
1/3 cup full fat milk
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oat flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or your hands until mixture resembles coarse sand. Stir in pecans and pear chunks. Set aside.
In a small bowl, beat together egg, vanilla, and cream. Pour over the scone batter and lightly mix until the dough comes together. The dough will be sticky.
Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface, form a circle, and flatten it until it is about 1-inch thick. Using a sharp knife dipped in flour, cut 8 equal pie wedges (the dough will be slightly unmanageable, but not adding additional flour results in tender scones). Transfer scones to a baking sheet using a flat spatula and sprinkle the tops of the scones with a little granulated sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
