- Jas
Chai Scones (Two Ways!)
One thing I've loved, and for a really long time, is mom and pop shops.
Aside from the fact that it reminds me of my own family's hard work in trying to build a life here in the US, there's something really sweet about it.
Every dreamy small town you read about has cute locally owned shops! There are no chains in sight. Even though there's some version of that store in probably every town, with a lot of the same offerings, it doesn't matter. This one is yours and everyone in the town always gathers around to support it. It's a community center in some ways.
This love of mom and pop shops also got a little elitist as I grew up. I don't want what everyone else is elbowing each other to get. I wanted to find what was off the beaten path.
My mom's mantra whenever we found ourselves in India shopping was "show me something different." I channeled that exact energy into so many aspects of my life!
But luckily the elitist feeling took a back seat when I realized how important it was to support locally owned businesses. So for years now, I like to gush about local shops and restaurants. I make it a point to always write a Google review and hype them up because it can really make a difference for that family.
One of the locally owned businesses we fell in love with was a coffee shop that, unfortunately, did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
I think a lot about these delicious chai chocolate chip scones they had, and finally one day, I decided to give it a shot and make them myself. Along with some clotted cream, of course!
As I was playing around I was inspired to make a ginger chai scone with chai glaze. It turned out amazing, so I'm sharing both recipes here!
The chai chocolate chip scones really hit the spot. The warm chai flavor and the subtle sweetness from the dark chocolate chips was perfect. The ginger chai scones used chopped up candied ginger rather than chocolate, and had the perfect gingery chai glaze using concentrate from One Strip Chai Co. The ginger chai scones with chai glaze were an immediate hit with the moms in my life!
So what better time to share this recipe than leading up to Mother's Day. If you're staying in and playing it safe this year, you can keep your celebration low key but still special with an afternoon tea or family brunch. However you choose, a homemade treat is always a great way to go!
Ingredients for Chai Chocolate Chip Scones
2 cups all purpose flower
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp chai spice
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for Ginger Chai Scones with Chai Glaze
2 cups all purpose flower
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp chai spice
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 cup chopped candied ginger
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
A few tablespoons of chai concentrate
Ingredients for Clotted Cream
3 oz cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup of whipping cream
A note on the ingredients, I made my own chai spice blend as I had most of the ingredients in my pantry but you can also get a great chai spice blend from Spicewalla here! You could also probably make your own chai concentrate, but I used the unsweet chai concentrate from One Stripe Chai Co. It worked amazingly and their concentrate has lots of ginger flavor, perfect for the ginger chai scones. You can get it here!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together flour, sugar (not the powdered sugar), chai spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Grate the cold butter using a cheese grater. This is an easy way to get it into small pieces to incorporate in the dry ingredients. Blend the grated butter in with the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or 2 knives. The mixture should be clumpy and look like course crumbs. You don't want to use your hands, because you want the butter to stay cold.
Mix in the chocolate chips or candied ginger, depending on which of the scones you are making.
In a small measuring cup, mix together the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix into the flour mixture until just incorporated. Try not to over mix, as this will lead to denser scones .
Put a small amount of flour onto a clean surface and knead the dough briefly. Shape the dough into a circle that is about 1 ½ inches thick. Cut the circle in half and then each half into 4 wedges.
Put the wedges on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Brush the tops with a little bit of milk and then lightly sprinkle with sugar. You can skip the sugar for the ginger chai scones since they will have the glaze!
Bake for 22-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
While the scones bake or cool, you can whip up your chai glaze and clotted cream! Pour the powdered sugar in a small bowl and using about 2 Tbsp of the chai concentrate whisk the sugar and concentrate into a glaze. You can add more if needed.
Once the ginger scones have cooled, make sure there is something under the wire rack to catch any extra glaze that drips off, and use a spoon or brush to glaze each scone. Give it a moment and the coating of glaze will harden!
To make the clotted cream, I used this recipe I found on Pinterest and it's amazing!
If you end up trying these out this mother's day, I hope they bring a smile to all the lovely moms you celebrate! Bon Appetit!