Ginger Scones w/ Lemon Curd

I have never made a scone. I don't really think I even know what a curd is. But today, we're making both. The ginger scone recipe is from a user on recipezaar.com. The Lemon Curd is pure Alton Brown (with a couple of my changes). They turned out LOVELY! This has tea party written all over it. Fancypants, indeed!

Ginger Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup half & half (or cream)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

Cut in butter with a mixer (recipe called for a pastry mixer but once again, WHAT is a pastry mixer?). My handheld mixer worked fine. You want to mix it until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea. Be careful not to let the butter get too warm or it will make a paste & ruin your scones!

Chop ginger finely & stir in. Honestly, you could use more than 1/4 cup. They don't come on too strong at all.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the half & half.

Add to dry mix & stir just to moisten.

Gather the dough & knead it against the side of the bowl, collecting loose pieces into the dough.

Continue just until the dough comes together into a ball & cleans the sides of the bowl. Mine were quite sticky but still came out fine.

Transfer to a lightly floured board (I just used my cutting board) & pat or roll into a circle about 1-inch thick. cut into 8 wedges (pizza style cuts).

Place wedges on a parchment covered baking sheet at least 1-inch apart.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until the tops are just golden.

Lemon Curd

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 lemons, both juice and zest
• 1 stick butter, cold

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1/2 inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, combine egg yolks & sugar in a medium sized metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.

Add lemon juice to the egg mixture along with the zest. Whisk till smooth.

Once water reaches a near-boil, reduce heat to low & place bowl in top of saucepan (bowl should be large enough to fit on top of the saucepan without touching the water).

Whisk until thickened, approx. 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow & coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from head & stir in butter one slice at a time (maybe a tbsp at a time), allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.

Remove to a clean container & cover by laying plastic wrap directly to the surface of the curd.

Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks (don't worry, it'll never last that long).

Now, clearly these two would be great on their own, but together - they knock it out of the park I think!

FYI: S: (n) curd (a coagulated liquid resembling milk curd)