I'll admit it - I'm not a "vanilla" person. I'm the one who needs a million toppings on my ice cream. I yearn for lots of texture and crunch, and interesting flavor combinations. Given the choice, I'd take chocolate (or caramel, or berry-filled, or dressed to the nines) any day.
But sometimes, I think it's really important to enjoy something plain old "vanilla". Really, truly, enjoy it. Get back to the roots of your confection, to remember how incredible it can be all on its own, without an excessive amount of chocolate, being drenched with some succulent sauce, or studded with this and that. I refuse to say "plain", because "vanilla" should be anything but plain. Personally, I think "vanilla" is the hardest thing to do well - it needs to be exceptionally well executed in order for whatever you make to get rave reviews. So yeah, "vanilla" is a challenge.
I've been on a scone kick lately (but really, what "kick" am I not on, let's be honest). And while the scones I've been making are good, they haven't been GREAT, and we all know that perfection is the name of my game. I've tried leaving chunks of butter, grating the butter, refrigerating all ingredients, refrigerating the scones overnight, etc - and there's always been a little something not quite right. So, I decided to go "vanilla", and go back to square one. No chocolate, no strawberries, no glaze, no nothing. The simplest ingredients, only - butter, flour, salt, leaveners, cream, and creme fraiche. Cream scones.
Friends, these cream scones are really out of this world. Not plain in the least, and they fly directly in the face of dry, dense, overly-sweet, brick-like scones. They are high rising, impossibly light, and quite literally melt in your mouth delicious (really). The simple addition of coarse sanding sugar is the perfect adornment, that adds a slight crunch and a hint of extra sweetness.
Vanilla (and scone!) perfection.
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