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Monday, April 30, 2012

Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter

Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter
My love of scones is well-documented. But one thing has always irked me about my homemade scones; they're not very photogenic. In fact, the lumpiness and uneven shape of my original CWA scone post makes me cringe so much that I keep wanted to redo the photos. But then I made this batch of Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter, and I realised that all my scones look pretty lumpy and uneven. It's my fault, I'm terrified of over-working the dough because there is nothing worse than a tough, rock-hard scone. I want my scones to be fluffy clouds of deliciousness. So I guess I still have a way to go before I improve the look of my scones to the level that you see from the CWA ladies.
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter
So I may not be 100% happy with how these look, but I do love how they taste. It's a great way to use up those bananas that are too ripe, and that extra cream you might have in your fridge (I always have extra cream but that's me). The scones are super soft and light, and they are really meant to be served with some kind of sweet topping, like the whipped honey butter and strawberry jam, or cream & jam. The scones themselves are not sweet at all, so you'll have to add some icing sugar and spices to the scone mixture if you plan on eating them on their own.
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter
Originally I was planning to make some honeycomb butter to go with these scones, but I was too lazy to make my own sugar honeycomb, and I managed to eat the two Crunchie bars that I bought for it. Chocolate bars do not last very long in my house. But this fluffy honey butter works just as well with the banana scones, with the added sweetness and just a hint of cinnamon. It's so good melted on a warm, freshly baked scone.
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter\
My favourite part about making these scones was opening up my oven to be greeted with the smell of the warm banana in these scones. It smells amazing! Because the scones are so light the flavour is not super intense, but it's definitely noticeable. I'm quite happy to eat these for breakfast, brunch, tea or dessert. In fact I've been slowly making my way through a batch over the last day, zapping them in the microwave until they're piping hot, slathering them with the honey butter and strawberry jam and enjoying them with a giant steaming mug of tea.
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter
(makes 9-10 scones, adapted from my plain scone recipe)
300g (about 2 1/3 US cups flour, closer to 2 metric cups) self-raising flour, sifted
1 over-ripe medium banana, well mashed (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
100ml (about 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) pure/pouring cream (min 35% fat, heavy whipping cream in the US)
160ml (about 2/3 cup) milk
Note: if you are not planning to make the butter or to serve with jam, I recommend you add about 2 tbsp sifted icing sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to the flour mixture

For the butter: (Alternatively you could make Bill's honeycomb butter)
115g (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room-temperature
4 tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
To serve: strawberry (or any other flavoured) jam, can replace butter with clotted cream

Remove the butter ahead of time to allow it to soften. Preheat oven to 230°C (445°F), 220 °C (430°F) fan-forced. Sift flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre, place the mashed banana in the centre. Gradually pouring the cream into the bowl, begin to cut cream and banana into dry ingredients with a flat bladed knife so that it starts to come together, then gradually add milk (using the same cutting motion with the knife to combine the ingredients) until there is enough to form a soft dough. (I usually save a small amount of milk to brush the tops of the scones)

Working quickly and gently, gather dough together on a floured bench. Try to handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 3-3.5cm thick. You can lightly knead the dough with your hands for a smoother appearance but overknead it and your scones will be tough and hard. 
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter
Cut out round using a 5-6cm scone cutter (push the cutter into the dough, don't twist) and place next to each other in a lined/greased heavy based baking dish that has sides (scones baked close together will rise higher and thus be lighter). I usually manage to cut about 5-6 scones, then I pat the scraps together and cut out another 2 and finally pat the scraps from that together into a ball to form the final scone. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with some extra milk using a pastry brush.

Bake for 10-15 mins, until scones are cooked through and tops are lightly browned. While scones are baking, prepare the butter; chop the softened butter into small cubes. Place the butter, cinnamon and honey in a large mixing bowl and beat well on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Place in a serving dish and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Cover with a clean tea towel to keep scones soft, serve immediately with honey butter. Strawberry jam is also a great addition to the butter. You can substitute the butter with clotted cream. Store leftover scones in an airtight container, warm up in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Best eaten on the same day but scones can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. 
Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter

48 comments:

  1. Oh my word. These look absolutely scrumptious!!! I love scones and I can't wait to give these a try!

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  2. Oh yum!! Never thought of Banana Scones. But I wonder what they would taste like with real creamed honey instead?

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    1. Ooh I bet creamed honey would be great with it!

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  3. Hey hey! I made these for breakfast this morning - literally read this post in bed on my phone, realised I had all the ingredients and jumped out of bed and baked them! Mine were very, er, rustic looking! But they tasted amazing, with lots of Crunchie butter! Thanks for a great recipe! :)

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    1. Your crunchie butter looked amaze! I want some! Hehe yeah these type of scones usually end up being rustic-looking type :D But at least it's better than super neat scones that are hard as rocks!

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  4. Despite the fact of scones being not very photogenic, you have done a wonderful job of making these look incredibly delicious! I don't usually like bananas, but these scones look so good! Your blog is my favourite food blog ever, and it would mean so much to me if you took a look at mine some time! x

    Kate {Something Fabulous}
    http://thesomethingfabulous.blogspot.com

    {BESO HANDBAGS GIVEAWAY ON MY BLOG!}

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  5. I love banana everything and wow, how awesome would this be for breakfast on a cold morning? Love the sound of whipped honey butter. Mmmmm. Wish my monitor could let me smell those scones!

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  6. You never fail to please Steph! Well done. I can imagine the smell of them now....

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  7. Wonderful scones. Love the banana that has been added to the pastry.

    Natalie

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  8. You are one clever cookie Steph!
    Your scones look scrumptious :)
    Love your blog! Makes my day to receive your post in my inbox :)
    Kate

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  9. How fantastic, I love these scones..... banana is such a great flavour for these!

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  10. WOW! Those look amazing and a must try! I', going to start a monthly link up party "My Sweet party" and I'd love you to join. Check out my blog from 1st of May for more info. Have a great day!

    XXX Johanna

    www.meandmysweets.blogspot.com

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  11. How could u even say that they don't look pretty? I'd be darn happy to get a tall scones like this, and they look utterly gorgeous!I love your honey butter idea, now u get me all inspired.

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  12. Honeycomb butter sounds amazing, I wish you'd made it! never mind, these look pretty good on their own anyway :-) yum!

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  13. I'm a new CWA member but I still have my L plates on when it comes to scones - I make lemonade ones which are more forgiving.

    I think your banana scones look wonderful and I love the sound of the whipped honey butter to serve with them. Great job! I am now craving a cup of tea!! :-)

    Di x

    www.lifeisdi-licious.com

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  14. I am SO head over heels in love with this blog! Amazing.

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  15. The scones look delicious. I am going to give this recipe a try. I hope they come out as good as yours.

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  16. im definitely going to try making some of that butter! :) thanks!

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  17. These look delicious! Realised I had everything I needed to make them in the kitchen so mine are in the oven as I type!!
    Thanks For posting!

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  18. waiting for my bananas to ripen so i can make this :D might give the honeycomb butter a go as well

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  19. i really NEED to make these - yum!

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  20. Mmm - I LOVE scones with honey butter! Definitely something I need to make more of.
    And don't worry if your scones are lumpy... I think they look wonderful! Rustic and scrumptious, they way scones should be. :)

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  21. Hi Steph! Thanks for this post, I tried making your cream cheese scones before : SIMPLY DIVINE ^^

    Anyway just a quick Q, why isn't there any butter in this scone recipe? Will the lack of butter affect moistness/richness if I eat them plain?

    Thanks, LOVE YOUR SITE btw :)

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    1. There's no butter because these are cream scones, a completely different type. It uses cream instead of butter and they are much softer and lighter than butter scones. They won't be as buttery or rich but they are much softer and less dry, and I much prefer to eat these types of scones with jam and cream over butter ones. But as mentioned, they are quite plain on their own, so they'll be a little different to the scones you might be used to.

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  22. It looks completely amzing! You are so talented.
    But do you think it would be alright if I use Silan (you might know this as Rub)- it's a hunny produced from dates. Would it be over-powering?
    Thank you :)

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    1. I am not sure as I've never tried it before, but I'm sure it will be fine, just gradually add it in small amounts until you are happy with the flavour!

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  23. woww its looks so gorgeous¡¡ I loved cinnamon¡¡ and this scones mmmmmmm¡

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  24. No! This is exactly how scones should look! Trying this recipe immediately.

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  25. I would much rather have a tasty scone than a pretty scone! These sound wonderful. Can you post the honeycomb butter recipe sometime? That sounds to die for!

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    1. There's a link to the honeycomb butter recipe in the recipe section of this post

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  26. Came across your post at Tastespotting and I immediately pinned this recipe! The scones sound absolutely declicious and your pictures are gorgeous.

    I also browsed through some of your other recipes and whew, yum! Glad to be your newest follower :)

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  27. bookmarking for breakfast this weekend because i've a couple of bananas ripening a tad too quickly and these look perfect!

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  28. I've never thought about using bananas in scones, such a good idea, may have to try it!

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  29. Amazing!!!! I'm so excited! banana scones with whipped honey butter! I'm considering to bake it know..... hehe I will definitely will try! I'll let you know the results! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  30. Hey Steph, those Scones sound absolutely delicious and I plan to bake them this weekend and eat them with some friends. Do you think a kind of Surprise-Scone filled with a little bit dark chocolate would work too or is that too much? Thanks so much for this wonderful and inspiring blog!

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    1. I'm not sure that would work or how it would affect the cooking time, the centre of these scones takes the longest to cook and you wouldn't want to have any raw scone dough left in the middle! And also I'm not sure if this style of cream scone suits chocolate as well as a butter scone does.

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  31. Absolutely gorgeous! I don't know what is more scrumptious - your pictures or these scones!

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  32. I love all things banana. I just found your blog and I absolutely adore it!! :D

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  33. Beautiful and yummy. Would love to take them to a picnic, do you think they will taste well for a few hours (I know they will be best fresh out of the oven, but still...)

    Happy day and thanks for sharing <3
    J

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    1. Jeanny you can certainly try, but these are best served warm xx

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  34. Your scone pictures are beautiful! I think they are very photogenic :)

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  35. Love this recipe! It so simple and absolutely delicious!
    I made it last weekend and it turned out great. I might put more banana in it though.
    Thanks for posting this recipe:)

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  36. Love this recipe! It so simple and it's delicious.
    I made it last weekend and it turned out quite nicely.
    My sister ate it all so I might make some more tonight:)
    Thanks for the recipe!

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  37. Hi,

    Sorry that I have to ask what can I use if I cant find pure/pouring cream? >_<

    Thank you ^^

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    1. Depending on what country you are in you can use single cream, heavy cream, whipping cream or thickened cream...anything that's minimum 35% fat.

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    2. Hihi,

      Thank you for sharing.. im in singapore.. hees.. love yr recipes!!!

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  38. Hi! I LOVE this recipe. it sounds great! i'm making it tomorrow. but i have one question: can you use thickened cream?

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