It’s afternoon in late August and the air is just barely starting to cool, bringing with it reminders of Fall. Oma and I are skipping down her road, each with an empty bucket on one arm in merry pursuit of the blackberries growing wild down around the corner. You can smell them before you see them. The thick, thorny branches hang low and stretch their tendrils out onto the road looking for room to expand, while others bend and support each other under the weight of the plump, black berries hanging everywhere. We both squeal.
Within minutes our buckets are half full, our fingers are stained dark and more than one thorn has caught our clothes and our skin. There are quiet gasps heard from us both as we encounter the biggest berry we’ve found… and then another that’s even bigger. By the time our buckets are ready to overflow, our lips are stained from the sheer pleasure of obeying by the “one for my mouth, one for the bucket” rule. We are careful to keep the buckets level as we walk home so as not to spoil a single one.
As we get closer, I can’t help but break into a run calling at the top of my lungs to my Mom and my Opa who stayed behind. I thrust my bucket towards them with a huge grin of glee on my face. “Look Opa! Here is a huge one, just for you.” He carefully places it in his mouth and makes like it is the best blackberry he has ever tasted. I glow with pride.
This is one of my most treasured childhood memories.
Every Summer Mom and I would visit my Oma and Opa in late August when the blackberries ripened and every Summer Oma and I would pick them to our hearts content. So you can imagine why blackberries have become my favourite berry and why I feel a tinge of excitement when I see them starting to ripen. Although my favourite way to savour them back then (and today) is over vanilla ice cream so I can mash them into a purple pulp, I thought I’d try baking with them again. These Wild Blackberry Whole Spelt Scones did not disappoint.
But believe you me, there is a bucket of blackberries in my fridge right now just waiting to land in a bowl with some ice cream. 😉
Happy baking!
If you liked this recipe you are going to love these ones!
Blackberry Spelt Tart
Blueberry Lemon Spelt Scones
Rhubarb Spelt Scones
Wild Blackberry Whole Spelt Scones
Ingredients
- 3 cups organic, whole grain spelt flour
- 1/3 cup organic sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter cold
- 1 1/2 cups full fat buttermilk, cold or full fat plain yogurt, cold
- 2 cups wild blackberries
Instructions
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Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
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Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices together in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture and then mix using a pastry blender or a large fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the blackberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat the berries in flour.
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Add the buttermilk, then gently fold until the dough starts to come together. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gently bring the dough together with lightly floured hands. Cut the dough in half and then shape and flatten each piece into a disc about 1-1.5 inches high. Cut each circle into 6 scones using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Arrange the scones on the baking sheet and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
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While the scones are in the freezer, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe makes 12 small scones, but you can also cut the dough in half when you transfer it to your floured surface, shape each half into a disk and cut each disk into 4 scones each for a total of 8 large scones.
- To make a vegan version of these scones, use coconut oil cold from the fridge in place of the butter and 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk in place of the buttermilk. The texture and taste is just as delicious!
Hi Sophie! I just stumbled across your blog and everything looks so delicious, and your photos are beautiful! I have many cherished berry picking memories too; it’s amazing how that delight can stay with us even after so many years. 🙂
I was wondering if sprouted whole grain spelt flour can be used in your recipes that call for white spelt flour? Are they interchangeable? Thanks so much! <3
Hi Taylor, thank you so much! I truly am amazed at how smells and tastes can bring back such vivid memories so many years later. 🙂 They are not technically interchangeable as sprouted whole grain spelt flour is more like whole wheat flour whereas white spelt flour is more like all purpose flour. In many of my recipes you can go ahead and swap the white spelt flour for whole grain spelt flour and you will simply need to add a little more moisture (water, buttermilk, etc that the recipe calls for) but keep in mind that the end result will likely be denser than using white spelt flour. I hope that answers your question! Happy baking!