Banana Butterscotch Scones

My mother had a tea party for her friends and family today, and it was great to see everyone after so long. Although a lot of her friends brought treats, me not baking scones for a tea is impossible. So, I got down to trying a recipe that I have been dying to try for a while. I'm proud to say that the plate was cleaned out and everyone seemed to love them. 

The combination of banana and butterscotch is pure bliss, and even more so once topped with the sweet and tangy clotted cream.

This recipe is adapted from my all-time favorite cookbook, Alice's Tea Cup. 

Makes 10–12 scones (or 36 mini scones)
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 cup butterscotch chips, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream (for brushing)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. With clean hands, work the butter into the dry mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated and has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the banana slices and butterscotch chips and combine well, so that they are evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the buttermilk and vanilla extract into the well, little by little, until a dough is formed. Do not knead! 
5. Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and gather the dough together. Gently pat the dough to make a disk, about 1 1/2-inches thick. Using a 3 or 3 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many scones as you can and lay them on a nonstick baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough together lightly to cut out more scones— just don't knead the dough too much.
6. Brush the top of each scone liberally with heavy cream and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake the scones for about 12–17 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Alice's "un-clotted" cream

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup lemon juice

Method

Pour the heavy cream into a mixer fitted with a whipping attachment. Start the mixer on medium speed and add the sugar slowly, until the entire amount is incorporated into the cream. Then add the lemon juice to the mixture in a slow stream. Turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until it forms stiff peaks— but no longer, or it will turn into butter! The cream will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for a week.