Baking at Isabelle's: Blueberry Coriander & Orange Buttermilk Scones

An ongoing flavour fixation

Welcome! You’re At Isabelle’s—home to all things tasteful and tasty.

The flavour combination came about last spring because I desperately wanted to make these “Sweet Enough Scones” by Alison Roman. A blueberry scone sounds great, but sometimes I feel like baked blueberries can fall a little flat in flavour, I always want more from them. I started doing a little googling, I stumbled across an Epicurious article suggesting a blueberry-coriander pairing.

To sum up why this works, both blueberries and coriander contain the terpene linalool, which tastes “green, woody, floral, and a little citrusy.” So pairing them together enhances the flavour of blueberries. Maybe it’s the former chemistry major in me, or maybe it’s just because this genuinely makes blueberries taste more like blueberry—but ever since reading that, I've been hooked on adding coriander to anything with blueberries!

I made some tweaks to the original recipe and this is now my go-to scone. Even my boyfriend (who, much to my dismay, typically dislikes baked fruit desserts) absolutely loves these —and I hope you will too!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 70g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, freshly ground

• Zest from 1 orange

• 260g (2 cups) all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt

• 113g (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

• 310g (2 cups) fresh blueberries, washed and thoroughly dried

• 113g (½ cup) buttermilk

• 113g (½ cup) whipping cream, plus extra for brushing

• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, freshly ground coriander seeds, and orange zest. Using the back of a spoon, press and mix until fragrant and resembling wet sand.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the sugar-zest-coriander mixture and whisk again to evenly distribute.

3. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture. Using your thumb and fingers, flatten and squeeze butter into the flour, creating large, flat pieces.

4. Once butter is incorporated, add the blueberries, toss gently to coat in flour.

5. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk and whipping cream. Pour half the cream mixture into the flour mixture. Using a fork, gently mix, then add the remaining cream mixture. Stir until a shaggy dough forms and begins to come together.

6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Gently press dough together using your hands. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough in half, stack the pieces, then gently press down to flatten into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Repeat this stacking and flattening process 3-5 more times.
   Note: If dough becomes sticky, lightly dust with flour as needed. It's okay if blueberries start to break apart!

7. Pat the dough into a circle roughly 2 inches thick. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 triangular wedges (like a pizza!).

8. Place scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F.

9. Once chilled, remove scones from the refrigerator. Brush tops generously with additional whipping cream and sprinkle liberally with turbinado sugar.

10. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are deeply golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.