Crystallized Ginger Scones with Sake Poached Asian Pears #SpringSweetsWeek

These Crystallized Ginger Scones with Sake Poached Asian Pears are a refreshing take on traditional shortcake – zesty scones, crunchy spiced pears, and sweet whipped cream.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

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When it comes to spring, the first thing I think of dessert-wise is shortcakes. So naturally when I received a big box of fresh delicious produce from Melissa’s Produce for #SpringSweetsWeek I knew I had to make a shortcake with one of the many options waiting inside. My options included mango, Cara Cara oranges, blood oranges, Butterscotch (Korean) pears, kumquats, Meyer lemons, yellow dragon fruit, carrots, and even a bundle of fresh mint.

As you can already guess by the title of this post, I went with the pears. But obviously I couldn’t just stick to slicing them up and serving on a biscuit with whipped cream. What would be the fun in that?

For starters, Asian pears are crunchier than your “average” pear and I wanted to make sure I maintained that crunch while still softening them up a bit for a sweet treat. As such, I decided to lightly poach them in sake and Chinese five spice. Don’t like sake? Use white wine. Don’t want any alcohol? Use a light colored juice such as apple or white grape.

Once poached, that sake sauce is cooked down even further into almost a syrup which will be use when serving the pears along with the rest of the shortcake ensemble. Of course you could also serve them as is, I have to admit I did eat a few slices myself.

You can’t have a shortcake without the little short cake and in this case I decided to make crystallized ginger scone-cakes. With a little Meyer lemon zest and extra lemon extract to really enhance the ginger, these scones are the perfect pairing for those sake-5-spice-poached pears. They would be great alone for breakfast as well (maybe with some miso butter??).

This scone-cake is assembled by spitting a scone in half, placing the spiced poached pears on top, followed by the sauce, fresh whipped cream, and the top of the scone. Then dig in to enjoy the buttery & zesty scone with tangy sweet sake sauce soaking into it, topped with crunchy spiced pears, and luscious whipped cream. None of that canned/frozen topping business.

Thanks to our #SpringSweetsWeek sponsors that inspired this recipe with their products, including Dixie Crystals granulated pure cane sugar, Anolon cookie sheet with silicone grips, Melissa’s Produce Butterscotch (Korean) pears, and Taylor & Colledge lemon extract paste.

Check out the other recipes shared today for #SpringSweetsWeek listed below and also don’t forget to enter to win some swag from the generous aforementioned sponsors by using the Rafflecopter widget located at the end of this post.

Monday #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes

• Blood Orange Shortbread Cookies from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Carrot Bundt Cake from Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog
• Carrot Halwa Ice Cream from Magical Ingredients
• Coconut Pudding with Dragon Fruit from Shockingly Delicious
• Easter Candy Crack Bars from Cookaholic Wife
• Easter Charcuterie Board from Devour Dinner
• Frozen Lemonade Pie from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Hummingbird Cupcakes from Red Cottage Chronicles
• Instant Pot Key Lime Cheesecake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Key Lime Bundt Cake from Jen Around the World
• Key Lime Pie from Blogghetti
• Key Lime Sugar Cookies from Daily Dish Recipes
• Lemon Blueberry Jelly Roll from That Recipe
• Lemon Crinkle Cookies from Eat Move Make
• Lemon Posset Tart from Art of Natural Living
• Lemon Scones with Lavender Glaze. from Family Around the Table
• Mocha Cream Puffs from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Orange Unicorn Doughnuts from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Strawberry Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake from Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Lavender Muffins from Sweet Beginnings
• Strawberry Lemonade Mascarpone Cheesecakes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

We share recipes from #SpringSweetsWeek on Pinterest! Make sure you follow the board to see all the delicious recipes shared this week.

CRYSTALLIZED GINGER SCONES WITH SAKE POASED ASIAN PEARS

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Yield: 12 Servings Prep Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 1 Hour 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

CRYSTALLIZED GINGER SCONES

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/8” cubes
• 1-1/3 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
• Fresh whipped cream, for serving

SAKE POACHED PEARS

• 4 Asian pears
• 1-1/2 cups sake
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground Chinese five spice
• Coarse raw sugar

Directions

1. For the scones: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone making mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add zest and mix with a pastry cutter.
3. Add butter and cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender until shaggy.
4. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the milk and lemon extract.
5. Gently fold milk mixture and crystallized ginger into the dry ingredients using a spatula just until mixed (if dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until it comes together).
6. Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the dough onto prepared baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with coarse raw sugar and press lightly to flatten. Freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight.
7. When ready, preheat the oven to 425°F.
8. Transfer frozen scones on prepared baking sheet to the oven and bake for for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Let cool on baking sheet. While the scone bake, prepare the pears. 
9. For the pears: Peel, quarter, and core each pear.
10. In a medium saucepan (big enough to hold pears) combine the sake, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and five spice.
11. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Add the pears and simmer, rotating every 10 minutes.
12. Remove the pears from the pan, allowing excess liquid to drip off, and cool them on plate or tray (slice if desired for serving).
13. Bring the sake sauce back up to a simmer and cook until the liquid has been reduced by half. Set aside to cool.
14. Assemble the scone-cakes: Slice a scone in half, place bottom on a small plate, top with one quarter of a pear, cooled sauce, whipped cream, and finish with the top of the scone. Serve immediately.

Source: Scones adapted from Sassafras Bakery via Valerie (friend of The Spiffy Cookie) and pears adapted from The Spruce Eats.

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