These rustic, fresh peach scones are made with heavy cream instead of butter. The cream makes for wonderful flavour and texture. I also love that these scones are just lightly sweet, to let the fruit shine!
1 1/3 cupsheavy whipping cream (35% b.f.), cold, plus more as needed to moisten
1 1/4cupsfresh peaches, diced
For topping:
Additional heavy cream, for brushing
White granulated or turbinado sugar
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Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
Peel the peaches, then cut off the sides and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Set aside for now.
Measure out the heavy cream, then stir in the vanilla. Pour half of the cream over the dry ingredients, then stirring gently while adding just enough of the rest of the heavy cream to make a just moist dough. There shouldn't be any pockets of dry flour in the bottom of the bowl, but the dough shouldn't be super sticky, either. Don't hesitate to add an additional tablespoon or so of heavy cream if needed to achieve this. Gently and quickly stir in the diced peaches.
Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Gently gather the dough into a rough ball, then using the palms of your hands, gently press into a 7-inch round, even-height circle. (Press in along the sides, as well, to ensure the sides are not crumbly).
Transfer the dough round to the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut the round into 8 even wedges. Separate the wedges and arrange on baking sheet with at least 1 inch in between. Place the baking sheet with the dough wedges into the freezer for 15 minutes. **If you don't have room in your freezer for the whole baking sheet, you can just transfer the whole dough round (before cutting into wedges) to a plate or a piece of parchment paper to the freezer, then cut into wedges when you remove from the freezer instead. Leave the larger round in the freezer a few extra minutes - about 20 minutes.
Remove from freezer and brush the tops of scones with additional heavy cream. Sprinkle tops generously with white granulated or turbinado sugar. Work quickly so the scones don't warm up too much.
Bake the chilled scones in preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the are nicely golden on top.
Remove the scones from the oven and immediately remove to a cooling rack. Allow the scones to cool almost completely before serving. Store at room temperature for several days or these scones can also be frozen for longer storage.
Notes
Be sure to read the Ingredient and Baker's Notes above the Recipe Card for more tips on making this recipe. You will also find Step-by-Step photos there, which you may find helpful.