Best Cream Scones Recipe & High Tea Places in Chicago

By Lu

Well, my girlfriends and I all love Afternoon Tea. We go quite often maybe once every quarter for an afternoon filled with finger sandwiches, little pastries, and scones. Yes, scones...mh..mh...mh.

From all the places we tried for afternoon tea in Chicago..we love 2 places the most. We love the service and atmosphere at the Peninsula Hotel, and we love the scones at The Four Seasons. Tina, Rebecca, Marilou, Sandrine and I are the afternoon tea posse. We love to go and be girly, and did the hoytie toytie thing for a couple of hours. So much fun! I know most probably prefer going out doing other things, but I always find such pleasure spending time with my girlfriends, talking, and savoring little delicate things in life.
The Lobby at The Peninsula Chicago is really pretty. Tina and Rebecca love this place. Sandrine and I prefer the scones at the Four Seasons :D. The first time I had the scones at The Four Seasons, my eyes were blinking uncontrollably as I chewed on it slowly. I took my sister, Ri there too when she came to visit me last year, and she agreed that the cherry scones were the bomb. That's me below at Four Seasons with Ri last year. Yeah, those beautiful babies on top are the famous Four Seasons' scones.
When Sandrine got pregnant, the only thing she asked me to make for her baby shower is the cream scones with dried cherries or cranberries. I have never made scones in my life but I know I love it. So, I agree to venture into it, and boy am I glad that I did.

We got together for a trial bake off at her house in June. We had a great time baking using the best cream scones recipes, and they are great. Here is the link to the recipe. You guys should try it. It beats any scones at Panera or Starbucks, and it is so easy to make.

http://www.houseofannie.com/the-best-cream-scones-recipe-ever/

The first time we baked it, it turned out so so. It wasn't as leavened as I wanted it to be, and we didn't have the right sugar topper. But it tasted great. We also made lemon curd, but it was too tart.

That night, June 12th, 2010, was a magical night for me. Just like the scones I feel that it is a magical bread...

Scones are made with no eggs..no eggs! Yep, there's no eggs in scones. And if you got confused to see that the recipe is asking for 1 tablespoon of baking powder, uh huh..it is correct! 1 tablespoon of baking powder.

Magic bread...no leavening except the baking powder, you know..no yeast. No egg..but yet it produces the most delectable offering. Cream scones are so fluffy and moist, and so so good.

That night, it was maybe 2 weeks my boyfriend at the time, Jason and I, haven't seen each other. I was starting to go crazy being apart from him. One bad thing about long distance relationship is that the feeling and the yearning builds and builds. I missed him a lot that night and sad we had to be apart on weekends where we could have been doing fun things together. I had a great time with Sandrine, and we went to the Old Town Art fair. I discovered this flash freeze corn kernels at the art fair, and they're so good. I couldn't wait to have Jay tried it. He likes his corn..coming from a corn town. I used to call him the cream of the sweet corn crop out of Mendota. He said to me he's creamed corn and that he was the one that got the cream of the sweet corn crop in me. :D It was a fun time.

That night when we got back to Sandrine's..I got a picture text from Jay. A sexy one. hehehehe..I could only giggle. We ended up texting back and forth being naughty and laughing a lot. We talked on the phone, gigling like crazy, realizing we were like teenage kids, being bad, doing things we weren't supposed to do and how fun it was because he was so naughty. It was magical. I couldn't believe that even though we were states apart, Texas and Illinois, we could spend a magical Saturday night together. It did take a special kind of love to create magic in such little things in life. I still savor the fact I had the chance to feel that some kind of magic. It was one of those priceless moments for me like in the Mastercards commercials. But yeah, it is just a memory now.
When it was time for the baby shower, I was ready to present my scones. I made 3 recipes in an hour. Yes, another magic. I was a machine. I put on my ipod, and I kneaded, rolled out, cut, and baked those scones into yummy little magic goodness. Little presents for Brode, another magic. Sandrine told me the story behind the conception of Brode and how he is a miracle baby. You want to know more, ask her. But he is a miracle about to happen for my dear friends Sandrine and Scott.
I got tons of compliments on the scones at the shower. A lot people said they never had scones so good before. I almost couldn't believe it. Really? That's just magical. Plus, all the guys called the Lemon Curd, from Lemon Curry to Mango Chutney. How in the world Lemon Curd turned to Chutney? Mh..Magic I suppose.

So, if you want a little taste of magic in your life, try making this scone. Hocus Pocus!