Scones with Apricot Jam [Dairy free, Gluten free, Grain free, Sugar free]

I may have mentioned it before in another blog entry or so but I am definitely not a baker!!  If anybody bakes well in our immediate household, then it is indeed Head Chef who turns out amazing treats for our boys, our helper and often those visiting, and himself - way too often.  But I guess, this lifestyle change is challenging me to pick up on the years that I missed out?  My mum used to be an amazing baker, she has recipe book collections from the early 1950s lol and her mum before her made theeeeee most devine scones ever - I have really vivid memories know of Gran rolling out the dough on her OCD clean red panelyte kitchen table and can almost smell the aroma of those fresh-baked-out of-the-oven-scones from my childhood days....sigh, I miss you Dearest Gran Mary-Patricia! (My granddad loved having them with only the small, never big, can of Nestle cream!)

Moving along now, this recipe is an adaption of a scone recipe I came across from  Australian Healthy Chef Guru, Teresa Cutter - to create a totally fructose and sugar free scone mix.  The alternatives for adding a sweeter taste are in the recipe, but I figured that my addition of the apricot 'jam'  and coconut cream will blend in with the scones, which also contains almond flour and coconut oil, providing just the right dose of sweetness for those, like me, not looking for a too sweet scone mixture. 
 
I went a step further in creating an apricot 'jam' with a mixture of chia seeds (which are odourless and tasteless but have a gelatinous effect, in the limited selection of ingredient stash in my home away from home.  Coupled with the jam and coconut cream, this easy to make  scone recipe provides the same satisfaction, I believe, as the loaded, processed flour scones and I am looking forward to adapting this yet again with other ingredient mixes to get my perfect scone dough mix, closest to the real thing.

While these scones are not the soft, light and airy scones that processed flour making with butter and milk result in, due to the density of the almond flour,  nd have the potential to harden to a edible softish biscuit state if not removed timeously from the oven,  it is a good craving saver for those wanting an alternative to regular scones in their Paleo lifestyle.
 
Ingredients

3 cups almond flour or finely ground blanched raw almonds
¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ cup cold pressed coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs 
 

Optional
Replace the coconut oil with macadamia nut oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 tblsp raw honey or 2-3 tblsp date paste
Whole dates and raw cacao chocolate will provide a stickier chocolate scone
 
Here's How

• Preheat your oven to 160 C.
• Melt the coconut oil either in a pan or in the microwave.
• In a large bowl, mix the almond flour and bicarbonate of soda. I sifted these ingredients together first to aerate the flour mix (observed from Gran)

• Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the oil, vanilla and eggs (whisk eggs and vanilla together) and mix thoroughly - beginning with a spoon then using your hands.

 

 

• Turn the soft dough out onto your kitchen surface or a board that you have dusted with almond flour. Press to flatten out to a thickness of 1-1.5cm. Noting that it will not rise very much due to the density of the almond flour - you may cut out thicker scones from the dough to get a fuller looking scone.

• Use a scone cutter to cut into rounds, place those on a baking tray. The dough is an oily one, so no greasing of the baking tray is required.

 

•  Then mix up the remaining dough, re-flatten and cut rounds again until you have used all the dough.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

• Serve warm with jam (and coconut cream) as below.

Apricot Jam

It is encouraged to use fresh fruit in the jam making and having used fresh berries combined with date paste recently, it works very very well!  The cooking process of fresh fruit is a quick one and the effect is better than dried fruit.  Raw honey added will add to the taste of this jam, making it sweeter if you so desire.

 

Ingredients
 

Handful of dried water-soaked Apricots, sugar and preservative free with just enough, about a quart cup, of water to cook.

1 tablespoons chia seeds

1 tablespoon water for the chia seeds

1/4 tsp vanilla

Optional

1 tablespoon raw honey or 2 tablespoons date paste (I didn’t use any as I don't like very sweet tasting foods)

 

Here's How

 

• Place the apricots and water in a small saucepan with vanilla and honey or date paste if using, and cook on a gentle heat until really soft and thickened.
• Blend in a blender until desired consistency is reached.
• Transfer the apricot mixture to a small bowl and add the soaked and swelled chia seeds. Mix thoroughly.
• Set the mix aside to cool. As it cools the mixture should thicken up into a jammy spreadable mix!

You will want to first spread the jam on the scone, add coconut cream which you should chill in the fridge preferably overnight, and whip the thick part of the cream with vanilla extract and add to the jam covered scone.