The tradition of afternoon tea began in nineteenth century England. With long time expanses between formal meals, the Duchess of Bedford created a miniature meal to fill the time between when her high society lady friends and she were getting hungry and the late hour of dinner.  The mini meal consisted of tea and an array of breads and butter. Through the years, the tea tradition evolved to include many more foods such as pastries, finger foods and the ever popular scone.

Savory Raisin Scones with Bleu Cheese, Pecans, and Caramelized Onions 
 
Scone Filling 
Ingredients: 
Raisins, bloomed 30 g 
American Almond Pecans 30 g 
Caramelized Onions 60 g 
Bleu Cheese 60 g 
Total Weight 180 g 
 
Scone Dough 
Ingredients: 
King Arthur Pastry Flour 400 g 
Salt 4 g 
The Spice House Sarawak Pepper 2 g 
Sucrose 55 g 
Baking Powder 24 g 
Plugrá Butter 82% Fat, cubed 150 g 
Fresh Whole Eggs 80 g 
Greek Yogurt 230 g 
Total Weight 945 g 
 
Method: 
Sift all the dry ingredients together. Cut in the cubed butter. 
Whisk together the yogurt and the eggs. 
Create a well in the butter-flour mixture. Then, pour in the wet ingredients. 
Mix until the ingredients are about 75% incorporated, and then add the raisins, 
pecans, and caramelized onions. Gently finish incorporating all of the 
ingredients, taking care not to over-mix.
Roll out the dough using some flour and cut it into rounds.
Transfer the scones to a baking sheet and allow them to rest 20-30 minutes before egg-washing.
Add bleu cheese on top of each scone and sprinkle with pecans.
Bake the scones at 350 F for about 15 minutes.

Find out more about The French Pastry School at www.frenchpastryschool.com.