Creamy Orange Scones

Unlike most scones, these require no rolling or shaping; simply dollop batter into a cake pan, top with marmalade and sparkling sugar, bake, and cut into wedges.

3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
grated rind (zest) of 1 orange
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia flavoring
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk OR 1 cup (8 ounces) water
    plus 1/4 cup (1 ounce) buttermilk powder

Topping
2/3 cup (7 ounces) orange marmalade
3 to 4 tablespoons coarse white sugar (sparkling sugar)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9" round cake pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, buttermilk powder (if you're using it), baking powder, salt, sugar, and grated rind.

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingers, a pastry fork, or a pastry blender; you can also do this with an electric mixer. Mix till the butter is fairly well combined with the flour; a few lumps remaining are OK.

Whisk together the egg, vanilla, Fiori and buttermilk or water. Add this to the dry ingredients, stirring gently till everything is well moistened and just combined.

Spread the scone batter in the prepared pan. Spread the marmalade atop the scone batter, gently pushing it down with a fork. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake the scones in a preheated 400°F oven for 30 minutes, or till the edges are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out without crumbs clinging to it. Remove the pan from the oven, and after 5 minutes, turn the scones out onto a rack, jam side up. While they’re still warm, cut each round into 12 wedge-shaped scones. Serve with additional marmalade and Devon cream, if desired.

Yield: 12 scones.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of King Arthur Flour.