Whole Wheat Blackberry Ricotta Scones Recipe
Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones - golden-crusted, tender, moist, barely sweet, and streaked with violet swaths and chunks of blackberry. They're beautiful.
You might not think you need another scone recipe, but you do. And, although I would like to think that this is the sort of recipe I might come up with, I didn't. Deb did, it's brilliant, and it was the first recipe I tackled from her blockbuster new cookbook. I did a blackberry twist on her Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones, and might never look back - these scones are golden-crusted, tender, moist, barely sweet, and streaked with violet swaths and chunks of blackberry. They're beautiful.
I feel like I've been waiting for Deb's book for-ev-er - in a good way. Eager anticipation. I had a bit of a sneak peek a few months ago, but that's never as good as holding the fresh-off-the-presses, crisply-bound, heavy-in-hand volume in your actual hands. Aside from the recipes, one of my favorite things about it is the secret cover, under the paper-wrap, I had my copy for days before I discovered it.
Great Scones
The scones come together in a flash, and because they bake at a high temperature, they're out of the oven before you know it. You might not think you can "throw together" scones at the last minute, but as long as you have the ingredients on-hand, you absolutely can. Deb featured these scones in her book with confetti-like flecks of pink, from chopped raspberries. They were the most charming scones I'd seen. The pink! But the blackberries at the weekend market were plump and juicy, and too good to pass up - so, I made a simple swap.
Deb uses a blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flours, which, in combination with the ricotta, keeps these scones from being dense. The one thing I think we would both emphasize is that these are particularly great served warm, after allowing a bit of time to cool and set after baking. They'll lose their magic if you let them sit around all day. If you need to revitalize them, pop them in the oven again for a few minutes.
Huge congrats Deb, I would have loved to have you here to bake these with me last weekend. At the very least, having your book out on the counter felt like you were here in spirit. xo-h
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Whole Wheat Blackberry Ricotta Scones
Deb uses raspberries in her recipe, but I saw some fantastically sweet, beautiful blackberries at my market this weekend, and swapped in an equal amount of those. I imagine blueberries would be a lovely substitute, or strawberries as well! Also, Deb shapes her dough into a square before cutting into individual scones, my dough wanted to go circular, so I went with it - I ended up cutting the disc shape into six large wedges. Either way!
- 1 cup (120 grams) whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) unsalted butter, chilled
- 1 cup (4 3/4 ounces or 135 grams) fresh blackberries
- 3/4 cup (190 grams) whole-milk ricotta
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
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Preheat your oven to 425F / 220C degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In the bottom of a large widish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt together.
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With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first if your blender is sturdy), and use the blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in the blackberries, and use the blender again to break them into half-and quarter-berry-sized chunks.
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Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife, and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Roughly chop the blackberries on a cutting board, and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.
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Both methods: Using a flexible spatula, add the ricotta and heavy cream to the butter mixture and stir them in to form a dough. Then use your hands to knead the dough gently into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl. Don't fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the dough.
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With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter or surface, flour the top of the dough, and pat it into a circular disk about 1-inch high. With a large knife slice into six equal wedges. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until they are golden at the edges (hs: I couldn't help but give them a little sprinkle of sugar and a quick kiss of with the broiler for a bit of color on top). Cool on the pan for a couple minutes before transferring to a cooking rack. Allow to set and cool a bit before eating.
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Makes six extra-large scones.
Adapted from the Whole-Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scone recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman.
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Comments
if you use frozen berries, don't thaw before adding them to the dough......if you don't want to use them and fresh ones are out of season, you can always use currants, which are absolutely delicious or currants plus a heaping teaspoon of grated orange rind. You won't regret it!
HS: Thanks Michelle! Currants are a great call.
this was a great scone recipe! i actually used Sara's recipe at Sprouted Kitchen because I had some persimmons. I had to add a little more ricotta to mine as it wasn't as "wet" as i expected, but they turned out great! the blackberries are great too, i'd imagine!
I have been wanting to make scones for so long. this recipe looks delicious. I was wondering if it is possible to substitute heavy cream & ricotta for something elsE? any recommendations?
I have been wanting to make scones for so long. this recipe looks delicious. I was wondering if it is possible to substitute heavy cream & ricotta for something elsE? any recommendations?
Scones cut in wedges and baked w/ a touch of rough raw organic cane sugar on top sounds really good. I have a little buttermilk in that fridge of mine, so maybe I'll add that instead of the cream, w/ a touch of baking soda, and since I have no ricotta, I think I'll try the cottage cheese that someone else wondered about. Orange or lemon zest would add another layer of flavor. Cranberries and blackberries or blueberries. Fun. Hazel's Tea Shop in Portland serves a Bleu Cheese scone that I'm also going to try to make some time... I love that Heidi uses such simple wholesome ingredients, and gives us hints like "non-aluminum baking powder".
Can I substitute yogurt for ricotta? I must have lactose free products and I can get lactose free yogurt and cream, but not ricotta.
HS: Report back if you give it a go Jan, you might need to make some other little tweaks depending on how fluid your yogurt is.
Just beautiful! Can't wait to try these. Her peach and sour cream pancakes (first recipe in the book) are fantastic, too!
If one were to substitute something for blackberries (totally out of season on the east coast) do you think a frozen blueberry or dried cranberries would require altering the recipe? If so, how? More/less flour perhaps? Thanks! PS-more of a question than a comment I s'pose...:)
HS Give it a try Caroline - someone else suggested currants and orange zest. Just add as many as you think you'd like in your scones, and go from there. If you use frozen you might need to adjust the baking time a touch.
I had the same question as Julie - I want to make these in the winter, without readily available fresh local berries. My thinking is to keep the berries frozen until the last possible moment, add them and work quickly, with few movements, etc., to keep them from mushifying too much.
This makes me all sorts of happy. Scones are the best, for any occasion. Blackberries are the best for occasions as well.
I eyed up the scone recipe in the book. Can't wait to try them. There are so many great looking recipes in the book, we have already started making our way through them.
Your kitchen was MADE for beautiful food - totally gorgeous subway tile and counters. The scones look amazing and I'm equally excited over Deb's book - thanks for sharing!
I LOVE scones and noticed this recipe in the smitten kitchen cookbook (along with so many more!) I will definitely be cooking my way through Deb's recipes. As usual, beautiful pictures!
I love them cut large like that! So pretty, as usual. Love these shots.
Looks awesome! Can frozen berries be used instead?
Yes yes and YES! Blackberries have been my recent craving, so very exciting. Thinking of adding a bit of an orange puree (1/2 orange, with the rind too) into the mix to give a bit of a floral flair. I did this recently with a dark chocolate scone recipe, totally rocked my family's world. Thanks for yummy comfort foods this time of year. I find that scones are a perfect freeze-friendly recipe, so you can haul them out during holiday season when you need sweet treats. Thank you for your beautiful, inspiring food journal. Can't say enough. Best to you!
You know how when you learn a new word you suddenly hear it all the time? That's what's happening to me with blackberries! I have been reading Nigel Slater's "Ripe" and have been exploring his beautiful blackberry recipes, and here you are with blackberries too. I LOVE (and have "planted" all over the world) your mega-scone recipe and look forward to trying this one too.
These look wonderful! I've never made scones with ricotta before, but I prefer scones that are not too dense, and I can imagine the ricotta makes them that much fluffier... Now I'm even more excited to get my hands on the Smitten Kitchen cookbook! I already cherish the one cookbook I have of yours... It feels a bit like worlds colliding to see one of you writing about the other! :)
I actually do a 'similar' recipe that is vegan and using half buckwheat flour and half unbleached. Seriously good stuff that raspberries and blackberries add to scones. I hope to get my hands on Deb's book soon, so many recipes look amazing
I'm so fond of the dark blackberries, and the blackberry ricotta scones look delicious!