A few months ago, I hurt my back that rendered me useless for a few days.  “Move around”, a friend suggested.  Good advice except that with my tiny studio loaded with all sorts of junk I couldn’t really move around much.  I had this crazy idea to bake – crazy because I could hardly stand up, much less bend.  I did it anyway as I had longed to make some scones with the dried mangoes and candied ginger I purchased a while back.  The scone recipe I learned from a high school friend, now a chef.  It produced scones that are crusty on the outside but light and soft (almost creamy) on the inside.

Quite a versatile piece of cake, bread, biscuit or whatever you might want to compare it with.  While some like it with tea as a snack or dessert, I prefer it with coffee for my breakfast.  Whichever way you have it, there are endless combination you can do with a basic scone recipe, truth be told.  I once combined dried cranberries and chocolate chips.  I have in mind to try it with bacon and cheese for a savory treat someday.

Mango and ginger however, is the best combination I’ve made so far.  Sweet, slightly sour from the mango, hot and spicy from the ginger – a wonderful union, I must say.  Great scones aside, it actually alleviated that nasty ache.

Mango and Ginger Mini Scones

What you need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup dried mangoes, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup candied ginger, cut into small pieces
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 200˚ C
2. Mix all dry ingredients.
3. Add the heavy cream to get a soft dough.
4. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly.
5. Flatten dough to ½-inch thick.
6. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with some sugar.
7. Cut into wedges and transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.