San Pellegrino Scones

These fluffy-in-the-middle scones turn out beautifully when using natural sparkling water. Normally milk or cream is used , but the San Pellegrino not only supports an even rise and airy texture, it also produces a natural and subtle savory flavor. 

Accompany these delicious scones with sweetened whipped cream and homemade Japanese pear compote, as it is now the season of Japanese pears. The hints of pear and cinnamon greatly reinforce the feeling of autumn approaching – my favorite season in Japan! 

Quick and easy to make, enjoying these scones first thing in the morning is the perfect way to start your day. Autumn has never tasted sweeter! 

As always, BUON APPETITO!!

SCONE INGREDIENTS:

325 g flour 

3.5 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

80 g unsalted butter (cubed and chilled)

100 ml san Pellegrino 

70 ml pouring cream 

1 egg (beaten – glaze for the tops of the scones)

ACCOMPANIMENTS:

Whipped cream or butter 

Japanese pear compote (see recipe further down below)

  1. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse 5-6 times until well blended.
  3. Open food processor and add chilled butter to the flour mixture. Pulse 8-10 times until a crumb-like consistency is achieved.
  4. Turn on the food processor, open the feed tube and begin by pouring in the San Pellegrino sparkling water, followed by the cream until a ball of dough forms – around 5-7 seconds. Do not over mix or the scones will become dense.
  5. Tip out the dough onto a floured surface and flatten the dough into a 15 cm in diameter circle. Fold the circle in half, and flatten gently a little more, and fold into half again, flatten a little, and fold one last time. Gently reshape the dough into an even-shaped disc and flatten gently with your palms into a 20 cm in diameter circle, with a thickness of around 2 cm.
  6. Dip a round cookie cutter with an 8 cm diameter, into a bowl of flour and cut 6-7 scones from the circle and place on the baking sheet with a space of 4-5 cm between each one. You may need to re-roll the dough into a ball gently, with as little manipulation as possible, flatten and cut out remaining scones. Cover baking sheet with a kitchen towel or Saran Wrap and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill the dough (or if you are short on time, 10 minutes in the freezer). During this time, preheat the oven to 210 C.
  7. Remove scones from the refrigerator (or freezer), brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg and place in the oven for 15 minutes until they have risen and are golden on top.
  8. Remove from the oven once they are properly cooked (tap tops of the scones with the back of your middle finger – if a hollow sound is produced, they are ready), and using tongs, transfer scones to a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes or until fully cooled.
  9. Serve with Japanese pear compote, butter or cream.

Video Preparetion for Muffin

Pear Compote:

500 g Japanese pear (w/ skin)

20 ml. San Pellegrino Sparkling water

30 g sugar

1/2 lemon juice 

1/2 cinnamon stick

Japanese pear compote:

Peel the pears, Cut them in half and remove the core. Cut the halves into quarters and then slice quarters into thin slices.

Add the pear slices to a bowl, add the sugar, the juice of half a lemon, 20 ml of San Pellegrino sparkling water, and mix everything with your hands squeezing as much of the juice out of the pears as you can. Allow the pear pieces to macerate for 20 minutes.

Place pears and the accumulated juices in a small sauce pan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes until the pear’s water has been absorbed and / or almost evaporated. Remove from pot and place in a small jar.

The compote can be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container.

Published by Salvatore Cuomo

Salvatore Cuomo was born in Naples, Italy, in 1972, son of an Italian father and Japanese mother. Cuomo was first inspired by his father who also was an Italian Chef in Naples. He began at the young age of 11, where he trained himself in the kitchen and traveled frequently between Italy and Japan. He gradually learned how to blend the traditional Italian art of cooking with the Japanese art of perfection. A few years later he traveled to Japan with his father who opened an Italian restaurant in Chiba in 1984. About those early years Salvatore told the press that it wasn't a good starting experience: "I didn’t like Japan at all, so after one year, I went back to Italy and spent 2–3 years studying at a culinary school. When I was 18, I returned to Japan after my father became terminally ill and I have been here ever since."[3] Cuomo said that Italian Cuisine was just starting to get popular in those days. He and his two brothers decided that in order to succeed in the restaurant business in Japan they would have to understand the Japanese food mentality. They spent a couple of years researching the market before opening a new restaurant in Tokyo with what Cuomo calls "Original Neapolitan pizza." Since that time, Cuomo has been credited with catapulting Neapolitan pizza to fame in Japan, and today in all Asia with over 100 restaurant.

Leave a Reply