halekulani scones

The Halekulani is a very upscale hotel in Waikiki, on the island of Oahu. There is no hustle or bustle in the lobby area, in fact it is VERY quiet there.

Although, I've never stayed here, I have had a chance to do a site inspection when I was working in the tour industry. And, for our first wedding anniversary, Satoshi and I had the chance to dine at their French restaurant, La Mer. On my recent trip back home, I was pleased to see this article in the Honolulu Starbulletin for the Halekulani's scone recipe, and couldn't wait to try it!

Halekulani Scones
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup currants
1 egg, beaten
» Topping:
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 380 to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Blend in butter. Mix in buttermilk and currants.

Turn dough onto a generously floured surface. Roll to a thickness of 1/2 inch, then cut into 2- to 2-1/2 inch rounds. Place on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Whip topping ingredients together until fluffy. Serve scones with topping and strawberry jam.
Makes 12 scones.

NOTE: I put 4 tablespoons of butter and since I wanted to use up my dried blueberries, I put 1/4 dried blueberries and 1/4 dried cranberries. Also, since I have never seen buttermilk here, I substituted it with plain yogurt. This mixture is VERY gooey, so be ready with LOTS of flour.

It came out light with a biscuit texture. And the cream topping has just the right amount of sweetness, so I didn't use any jam.

Enjoy!