Gluten Free Almond Croissant Scones

• portioner: 8 servings
• aktiv tid: 30 minutes
• total tid: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredienser

70 g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

100 g (½ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

¼-½ tsp almond extract

1 US large/UK medium egg, room temperature

150 g (1½ cups) almond flour (or almond meal or finely ground almonds)

¼ tsp salt

210 g (1¾ cups) plain gluten free flour blend, plus extra for flouring the surface

35 g (⅓ cup) almond flour

50 g (¼ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)

¼ tsp salt

115 g (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

115 g (½ cup) cold plain or Greek-style yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

70 g (¾ cup) flaked almonds

powdered/icing sugar, for dusting the baked scones

Instruktioner

Almond frangipane:

In a bowl using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, mix together the softened butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extract until well combined and smooth.Tip: Don't cream or otherwise aerate the mixture, you don't want to incorporate too much air into it.

Add the egg and mix until well combined.

Add the almond flour and salt, and mix well until smooth. The mixture should have a thick but easily spreadable consistency. Set aside until needed.

Making the scone dough:

Note: It's very important that the scone dough stays cold at all times if you want to get the perfect scone texture and appearance. So, make sure that your butter and yoghurt are cold (straight from the fridge) and work quite quickly – don’t overwork or over-handle the dough, as that can make the butter start to melt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.

Add the cold cubed butter and work it into the dry ingredients until you get a mixture resembling breadcrumbs, with a few pea-sized pieces here and there.

Add the cold yoghurt and vanilla, and stir everything together until all the flour is fully hydrated and the dough starts clumping together – but it’s okay if it’s still quite shaggy and uneven.

Turn out the dough onto a generously floured surface and give it a few quick, gentle kneads – you want it to be slightly smoother than the average scone dough, as you’ll be rolling it out in the next step. (But don't go overboard, give the dough just 3-4 kneads, you don't want it to be perfectly smooth.)

"Laminating" the scones & chilling:

I recommend rolling out and laminating the scone dough on a sheet of parchment/baking paper. That’ll make it much, much easier to transfer the laminated and assembled scone dough onto a baking sheet and then into the freezer to chill.See the blog post for detailed step-by-step photos of the assembly process.

Lightly flour a large sheet of parchment/baking paper, place the scone dough in the centre and roll it out into a 10x12-inch (25x30cm) rectangle.

Dollop about ⅔ of the almond frangipane filling evenly over the rolled-out dough, then spread it out into an even layer all the way to the edges.

Carefully roll up the dough into a 12-inch (30cm) log. You can use the paper underneath to help you, or use a bench scraper to fold the dough over itself – using the bench scraper is especially useful if the dough has stuck in places. Don’t worry if the dough cracks slightly as you’re rolling it – it’s quite fragile but the finished scones will look absolutely gorgeous.

Use the palms of your hands to pat the log down into a roughly 12x4-inch (30x10cm) rectangle.

Slide the scone dough rectangle, along with the paper underneath, onto a large baking sheet. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap/cling film (to prevent it from drying out) and freeze for at least 30 minutes or until very firm.While the dough is chilling, start pre-heating the oven.Tip: This chilling step sets the butter in the dough and it prevents the scones from spreading too much during baking. This way, they'll puff up in the oven but still retain their pretty wedge shape.

Cutting & baking the scones:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a large baking sheet with parchment/baking paper.Tip: I like to transfer the chilled scones onto a new, room temperature baking sheet (not the one they've been chilled on). That ensures that their bottoms start baking straight away and further prevents spreading.

Once the scone dough is cold and firm enough to cut into neat slices, use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to divide it into 8 equal scones. The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough rectangle first into four equal parts and then each part into two roughly equal triangles. (See blog post for photos.)

Place the chilled scones onto the lined baking sheet, spaced apart as far as possible, as they will puff up during baking.

Transfer the remaining almond frangipane filling to a piping bag with its end cut off (or you can use a large round piping tip), and pipe it on top of each scone. Make sure to divide it evenly between all the scones, you shouldn't have any left over.

Sprinkle the tops of the scones generously with the flaked almonds.

Bake them at 400ºF (200ºC) for about 20 minutes or until they’re deep golden brown and the flaked almonds on top are nicely toasted.

Once baked, cool them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool – they’re amazing both warm and cooled completely to room temperature. Before serving, dust them with some powdered/icing sugar.

Storage:

The gluten free almond croissant scones are at their best on the day of baking, but you can store them in a closed, air-tight container in a cool, dry place for about 2-3 days.