by Coyle, Cleo
¾ cup whole milk (for a richer scone, use half-and-half or light cream)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw), for dusting, optional
Step 1—Prepare the dry ingredients: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Place a sieve in a bowl and measure the flour and baking powder into it and then lift the sieve and sift the two together into the bowl. Add the (softened) butter. Use your fingers to work the butter completely into the flour until the mixture is mealy and crumbly. Fold in the granulated sugar and chocolate chips.
Step 2—Prepare the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Reserve 4 tablespoons of this mixture and place it in a separate cup. (You’ll use this reserved liquid to coat the scones before baking.) Whisk the vanilla into the remaining egg mixture.
Step 3—Marry the dry and wet: Using a fork, begin to combine the egg mixture with the dry ingredients, a little at a time. A sticky dough will form.
Step 4—Knead gently and stamp out your scones: Form the dough into a ball and move it to a floured surface. If the dough is especially wet or sticky, add a bit more flour until you can work with it. Using floured hands, shape and pat the dough into a very thick circle of about ¾- to 1-inch thick. Stamp out the scones with a round biscuit (or cookie) cutter that’s around 2 inches in diameter. For best result, dip the cutter repeatedly in flour between applications to the sticky dough. Gather up the scraps and repeat until all the dough is used up. Using a pastry brush, coat the top and sides of each scone with the milk-egg mixture that you reserved in Step 2. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar (optional).
Step 5—Bake: Place your pan on the top rack of the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of your scones. To ensure even browning, rotate the pan once during baking. They are done when the tops have turned a golden brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack. (To reheat scones, wrap loosely in foil, and warm in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.)
CLARE’S BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE (FOR MIKE)
WHEN Mike had to become untraceable for his own safety, Clare went a little crazy. To keep as busy as possible during this blackout period, she decided to make her Blackout Cake.
The Blackout is a rich and decadent chocolate cake with fudge pudding slathered between each of the three layers. The entire cake is then frosted in chocolate and covered in cake crumbs. The original recipe was developed in Brooklyn, New York, during World War II, and is named after the blackout drills performed by the Civilian Defense Corps.
Because the dessert is time-consuming to make and complicated to assemble, Clare found it the perfect distraction from her continual worries about Mike’s safety. Even better, when Mike finally appeared, safe and happy, she had this incredible cake ready to help them celebrate.
The recipe for this cake, along with photo illustrations on how to make it, can be found at my Coffeehouse Mystery Web site. Visit me there at www.CoffeehouseMystery.com to download a free PDF of this recipe. If you have any questions, I also have a message board.
Cook with joy!
—Cleo
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Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle
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For more information about the
Coffeehouse Mysteries
and what’s next for Clare Cosi
and her baristas at the Village Blend,
visit Cleo Coyle’s Web site at
www.CoffeehouseMystery.com
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Cleo Coyle
Coffeehouse Mysteries
ON WHAT GROUNDS
THROUGH THE GRINDER
LATTE TROUBLE
MURDER MOST FROTHY
DECAFFEINATED CORPSE
FRENCH PRESSED
ESPRESSO SHOT
HOLIDAY GRIND
ROAST MORTEM
MURDER BY MOCHA
Haunted Bookshop Mysteries
writing as Alice Kimberly
THE GHOST AND MRS. MCCLURE
THE GHOST AND THE DEAD DEB
THE GHOST AND THE DEAD MAN’S LIBRARY
THE GHOST AND THE FEMME FATALE
THE GHOST AND THE HAUNTED MANSION