5/2/2021

It was finals week when I tried this recipe. Young leaves were bursting out and coloring the treetops a bright green. Birds were singing their little hearts out. The spring smell was perfuming the air. I am a spring baby so maybe I’m a little biased, but I can never get over the spring season. It’s pure joy.

But finals week—perhaps many of you recall—tends to be the opposite of joy. I always make sure to treat myself to a little something special at the end. To make up for my rhubarb-less spring 2020, I decided to make rhubarb vanilla bean scones this time.

My father used to come home from the market with a big bushel of rhubarb when I was little and stew it in a pot with a touch of orange zest and cane sugar. That tangy-sweet taste has stuck with me ever since and I’m eager to bring it to life, scone-style. 

Note to my green thumbs and chem nerds: rhubarb is a perennial that grows from thick, short rhizomes. Its leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid, a nephrotoxin, so please don’t eat them! Vanilla originated in Mesoamerica, which includes parts of modern-day Mexico, but today the majority of vanilla plantations are found on the islands of Madagascar and Réunion.

ingredients: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon orange zest (from about 1 navel orange)
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (70 grams)
• ¾ chilled cold heavy whipping cream (175 ml)
• 1 large egg 
• 1 5-inch vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds carefully separated from the stem
• 1 ½ cup fresh rhubarb (150 grams)

Glaze 

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted (227 grams)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • you should have a fair amount leftover

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Chill your butter in the freezer for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Cut your chilled butter and use your finger to lightly work the butter into the dry ingredients until it is roughly the size of small peas.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, and scraped vanilla beans. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until the mixture just begins to come together. Add rhubarb slices and continue to mix until it comes together into a ball. The mixture may still be slightly crumbly, but don’t fret.
5. Transfer the crumbly dough to a lightly floured surface and pat it into a disk about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 triangles and evenly space each scone on the prepared sheet pan. Paint the tops with a little bit of heavy cream and sprinkle with a touch of demerara sugar, if desired. Bake the scones until the bottoms are golden, fr about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack.
6. To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough cream to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle over scones and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
7. Scones are best within the hour they are baked, but they will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them before baking by wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and enjoy them throughout the month.

This recipe was adapted from Bake to the Roots blog.