Scones are frequently seen as dry chunks of pastry, but that’s usually because people are using the wrong recipe. When prepared properly, you’re in for a real delight – a sweet, moist scone with a light, airy centre and an exterior that’s wonderfully crispy and golden.
This wonderful transformation comes down to one secret ingredient championed by baker and content creator Erika Kwee, who goes by the Pancake Princess. She champions almond paste as the secret to “perfectly moist, tender scones”. Almond paste is a thick, sweet mixture made primarily from ground almonds, icing sugar and flour.
Almond paste is beloved by bakers for creating fillings for pies and pastries like croissants, and for baking cakes and biscuits.
You can readily locate tubes or tins of almond paste in the baking section of most supermarkets.
Adding chunks of almond paste into the layers of scone mixture creates wonderful pockets of chewiness that complement the crumbly pastry beautifully.
If you fancy preparing your own almond paste, the method is quite simple.
The high fat content and creamy consistency of almond paste can “protect scones from turning dry and crumbly”.
If they manage to survive that long, these delicious treats will “stay sweeter, lighter and fluffier for days on end”.
Almond paste provides a sweet, rich almond flavour to scones, reminiscent of an almond croissant.
Simply mix almond flour (or ground almonds), plain flour, icing sugar, water and almond extract in a food processor and blend until you have a smooth dough.
To incorporate the almond paste, begin by preparing the dough as per usual, then roll it out and allow it to cool down.
Next, roll out the almond paste thinly and shape it into squares. Roll the cooled scone dough into a rectangle.
Place a piece of the almond paste onto the scone dough and fold it over.
Repeat this step once more, cut the dough using a round cutter, glaze with milk or cream and pop it in the oven to bake.