Tag: cute food

Lemon Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Lemon Scones

Yellow is the color of happiness and sunshine. These adorable Lemon Scones will bring you a burst of lemony brightness even on the grayest day. The pretty, vibrant yellow sparkling sugar adds a pleasant crunch to the tops. It’s a nice contrast to the soft, tender interior of the scones. These little gems would shine on any breakfast or brunch table. I served them with blueberry jam and green tea, which was so delightful, I’m still smiling.

 

Lemon Scones

by Mari Vasseur
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 12 scones

Ingredients
  

Lemon Scones

  • 1 ¾ cups (223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (50g) sugar
  • 7 tablespoons (99g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • Zest of 2 medium lemons
  • â…” cup (156ml) cold heavy cream plus more for tops
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice
  • Yellow sparkling sugar*

Icing

  • â…“ cup (40g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon heavy cream
  • 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions
 

Lemon Scones

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar until well blended
  • Work the butter and lemon zest into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size chunks form.
  • Stir in the heavy cream and lemon juice until a shaggy dough is formed. If your dough seems too dry, you can add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Do not overwork the dough.
  • Pat or roll the dough into an 8-inch round, about 3/4-inch thick. Cut out rounds using a 2" or 2 1/4" inch round cutter.**
  • Place the scones about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle generously with sparkling sugar.
  • Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 16-19 minutes.
  • Cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate with icing.

Icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and enough lemon juice to form a stiff icing.
  • Transfer the icing to a piping bag or a plastic zip bag. Snip off the tip of the bag. Pipe lines in a spoke pattern onto the scones.

Notes

*To find the sparkling sugar I used, click here.
**To find the cutter I used, click here.
Keyword lemon, scones

Happy Jam Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Happy Jam Tarts

We’ve all needed a little cheering up at times, especially this past past year. These cute, happy tarts won’t take your problems away, but they can certainly make you smile, especially if you make them for someone else. They’re super easy to make and they taste better than the ones in the box we ate as kids. You can use store bought pie dough if you want to streamline the process. Any flavor of jam or preserves you have on hand works too!

Feel free to have fun decorating these little cuties. The possibilities are endless. You can use edible glitter, purchased candy eyes or even add mustaches. Happy baking!

Happy Jam Tarts

Jam-filled tarts with icing
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 8 tarts

Ingredients
  

Jam Tarts

  • 2 9-inch pie crusts, store bought or homemade
  • 1 cup strawberry jam or preserves or any flavor of your choice
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk or water

Icing

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • gel food color * I used Wilton Rose gel food color
  • ½ teaspoon meringue powder ** optional but helps icing to set

Decorations

  • sprinkles
  • black fondant
  • blue fondant or any color of your choice

Instructions
 

Jam Tarts

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Roll pie dough onto lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 6-inch by 4-inch rectangles, re-rolling dough as necessary.
  • Make egg wash by beating egg together with milk in a small bowl.
  • Spread 2 tablespoons of jam onto right half of each rectangle to within 1/2-inch of edges. Brush edges with egg wash.
  • Fold dough in half, left side over right. Seal edges by pressing with a fork
  • Poke several holes in the top of each tart with a toothpick.
  • Bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Icing

  • In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and salt together until smooth.
  • Using a toothpick, add food color a little at a time until desired shade is achieved.
  • Stir in meringue powder, if using.
  • Spoon icing onto tarts.
  • Add sprinkles while icing is wet. When icing has set, add eyes, mouths and bows if desired.

Decorations

  • For the eyes, make 16 1/8-inch balls of black fondant. Flatten slightly. Adhere with a bit of water.
  • For the mouths, make 8 1/2-inch long, very thin strips of black fondant. Adhere with a tiny bit of water, using tweezers if necessary.
  • For the bows, roll out blue fondant to 1/16th-inch thickness. Cut out bows using ***bow cutter. Adhere with a bit of water.

Notes

*To find Wilton Rose gel food color, click here
**To find meringue powder, click here
***To find bow cutter, click here