English Scones with Dried Cherries and "Death at a Funeral"

The very first time I saw a scone made was on Ina Garten's Food Network program, The Barefoot Contessa. Seconds after the episode's conclusion, I was searching through my pantry and in no time at all I was removing a freshly baked tray of scones from my oven.Many years have passed since that first batch was made and after developing my own recipe, scones have become one of my favorite things to make. Scones are a very popular pastry in the UK and you'll find many different variations of them - both sweet and savory. For my scones, the combination of lemon zest for a fresh flavor and sweet and tart dried Cherries is the best combo I've come up with so far. Since this is my favorite pastry from the United Kingdom, for this week I wanted to share my favorite movie from there as well. The 2007 film "Death at a Funeral" (Please don't even consider watching the rip off 2010 remake with Chris Rock) is witty, original, and hilarious and one my family and I really got a kick out of. Grab a spot of tea, make a batch of scones, sit back in front of the television, and enjoy a bloody good comedy called "Death at a Funeral". Recipe will yield about 16 scones and total prep and cook time is around 1 hour.

4 cups of all purpose flour
½ cup of granulated sugar (Additional needed for sprinkling)
2 tablespoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of lemon zest 
5 extra-large eggs
1 cup of heavy whipping cream 
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract 
1½ cups of dried Cherries
4 tablespoons of flour

The quickest and easiest way to make a batch of theses scones is in your electric mixer with the paddle attachment equipped. Sift together our flour, baking powder, the kosher salt, and the sugar into the mixing bowl.

The key to the perfect scone is very cold butter. A scone should be flaky like a biscuit and not at all denser and chewy like a cookie like so many store bought scones I've tried. To achieve the perfect scone, we need cut the butter into small cubes and add the butter to the flour mixture. Mix the butter and the dry ingredients together until the mixture looks very coarse and the chunks of butter are about the size of a pea.

Now, crack four of the eggs into a bowl and beat them together. Add the vanilla to the eggs and mix the eggs and vanilla in with one cup of heavy cream. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream and egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. The dough will look very wet and lumpy.

The next step is to toss the dried cherries and the lemon zest with 4 tablespoons of flour. Adding flour to the cherries and the zest will help them stick to the dough. Mix the cherries and zest into the dough just until they are incorporated.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the one remaining egg and beat together with 2 tablespoons of water or milk to make an egg wash. Sprinkle some flour down onto a clean and flat working surface. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and dump the dough out onto the floured area. The dough is going to be wet, lump, and sticky. Using the rolling pin, roll out the dough so that it's about 3/4 inch thick (Just eyeball it). You will still see lumps of butter in the dough but that's what we're looking for. The butter will melt in the hot oven and the steam it releases will give us a buttery and flaky scone. Cut the scones out using a round cookie cutter or you can cut them into squares simply by using a knife.

Place the scones onto the baking sheet and lightly brush them with a little bit on an egg wash and sprinkle the top of the scones with sugar. The egg wash will help give the scones a bit of color and also allow the sugar to stick to the scone. Place the scones into the oven and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes. The tops will be golden brown and the scones will be firm to touch and you should see the bottom edges just starting to brown. Allow the scones to rest for a few minutes and transfer them to a serving tray or a storage container. They'll stay fresh for about 3 or 4 days






Now grab one of those scones and break it open. See how soft and buttery the inside looks? Loaded with dried cherries and you can just slightly pick up the scent of lemon zest we added. This my friend is what a scone should be like and they're a fairly simple pastry to make. You're friends and family will surely enjoy them. They're perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and as a buttery and delicious movie snack. This weeks movie is the outrageous and laugh out loud British comedy from director Frank Oz, "Death at a Funeral".

Daniel (Matthew Macfayden) is dealing with both the loss of his father and the stressful task of planning and paying for his funeral. The day of the funeral arrives and things go insanely and unthinkably wrong from the start. To make matters worse, Daniel's wife Jane is trying to deal with his grieving yet "witchy" mother Sandra. One by one, family and friends begin to gather to remember his father in a proper and respectful way that a funeral should. Of course, nothing about this funeral is going to be proper. Guest include his cousin's boyfriend who has been accidentally given a hallucinogen that has disguised as a Valium, his unbearably miserable Uncle Alfie, a distant family friend who only wishes to rekindle the flame from a long ago one night stand, and a mysterious guest with a secret Daniel couldn't fathom in his wildest dreams.

This is a wildly humorous and original comedy that takes such a sorrowful and depressing topic and twists it into a laugh out loud comedy. Keeley Hawes, Andy Nyman, Alan Tudyk, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, and Ewen Bremner are all a part of the supporting cast of British actors and each of them give solid comedic performances.

"Death at a Funeral" was a film that most of the American movie goers missed out on. The attempt to bring the screenplay to American audiences in 2010 using better known actors was a complete fail. They were unable to capture the humor and the wit of the original and it's a shame that many people saw the remake before they even knew that the original version existed. This is a film that really needs to be seen if you're looking for a few good laughs. Netflix subscribers can currently view this movie instantly online. Check out the link to the trailer for the film below to catch a sneak peak.

"Death at a Funeral" Trailer