Thai Tea Cream Biscuits

You may call this a scone, but I prefer cream biscuit. It’s on the softer (less dense) side of the biscuit-to-scone continuum, especially if you take care to use the gentlest mixing possible. The lovely Thai mango scone I had as part of an impressively creative full-service tea at Craftsman & Wolves, a contemporary pâtisserie in San Francisco’s Mission District, inspired this attempt at replication. In addition to mango, I added Arbor Teas’ Organic Thai Iced Tea, unsteeped. Since it’s a mix of black tea, vanilla bean, cardamom and anise seeds, when used dry, the spices in the Thai tea toast in the oven during baking, elevating their flavor quite favorably. I especially like the subtle, fragrant black licorice taste from the anise that comes forth. Green curry adds an usual twist that plays nicely against both the toasted spices and the slight sweetness of the biscuit.

Makes about 10 biscuits

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
• ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (5 grams) Arbor Teas Organic Thai Iced Tea blend
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold, unsalted butter
• ½ cup chopped mango (dried, fresh or frozen)
• ½ cup (50 grams) shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon (19 grams) green curry paste
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In bowl of a food processor, briefly pulse flour, baking powder, sugar, Thai tea, and salt to even distribute. Add the butter to the flour mixture, and pulse several more times until the mixture resembles a crumbly texture with tiny pea-sized bits of butter. Next add the mango and coconut, and pulse to distribute. Dump this dry mixture into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the green curry paste into the heavy cream to create a slurry, then gently fold this into the dry mix with the spatula. Lightly knead the dough just once or twice in the bowl, to bind all the ingredients in one large mass. It’s important that the dough is not overworked, so do not worry about getting it completely mixed. Transfer the dough on a floured work surface. Using your hands, gently press the dough out to a ¾ inch thickness. Cut 2½ inch circles with a floured biscuit cutter or the top edge of a drinking glass. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between each. Reroll the scraps of dough as necessary.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until bronzed at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Olivia May