With this Carrot Cake Jam made by Potlicker, we can finally have our cake for breakfast. At long last, someone who gets us.
No matter what comes to mind when you hear the word "Potlicker," this jam will have you scraping the bottom of the jar with a greedy tasting spoon. Made with carrots, pineapple, pears, cane sugar, brown sugar, coconut, raisins, pectin, lemon juice, vanilla and spices, it’s everything you love about moist, sweet carrot cake, but in portable, spreadable form.
Sure, “Carrot Cake Jam” may sound a little offbeat, but it’s just what you want when you’re looking for something naturally sweet, a little earthy and when you know you should eat some vegetables. Frankly, vegetables are much more fun when they’re sweet and you can spread ‘em on a scone.
Nancy Warner, a prolific food blogger turned professional jam and jelly maker, wanted to make "creative food easy." She decided to start selling the unusual jams and jellies she canned in her Vermont kitchen (Strawberry Chipotle Jam, anyone?), while continuing to blog about delicious ways to use them in recipes.
We’re slathering it on toast, dolloping it in the center of thumbprint cookies and muffins (use bran for extra points). But our favorite way to get our Carrot Cake Jam on? By baking it into the scone itself – try this super cozy recipe straight from Nancy:
CARROT CAKE JAM SCONES
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
1 stick cold butter
2 eggs (or 1 extra-large egg)
1 cup heavy cream (or buttermilk)
4 tablespoons Carrot Cake Jam
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Cut the butter into small cubes and, using your hands or a pie cutter, mix into into the flour mixture until the largest chunks of butter are pea sized.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and cream. Work into a sticky dough.
3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and flatten slightly. Spoon small amounts of Carrot Cake Jam onto the dough. Fold the dough in half, sandwiching the jam in the middle and repeat folding the dough onto itself until the jam is ribboned throughout.
4. Shape the dough into a round and, using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 slices.
5. Transfer the scones onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Allow the scones to rest for at least 1 hour or overnight. At this point, the scones can also be frozen and baked at a later date.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
7. Allow the scones to cool on the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Total time: 1.5 hours
Yield: 8 scones
These go perfectly with a dollop of clotted cream and a cup of Dona Chai Tea, or, if your sweet tooth is going strong, a steaming mug of Malted Vanilla Hot Chocolate.
Cheerio.
Recipe courtesy of The Potlicker.