Scones with jam is classic. But in most cases the jam is served alongside; here, we’ve baked it right into the pastry. This recipe calls for a whipping up a quickly made plum and honey jam scented with bay leaf (you can substitute a rosemary sprig or cinnamon stick if you’d rather). If that seems like one step too many, use any prepared jam you like, though something on the less sweet side works best. Or bake the cornmeal scones unfilled. They are moist, lightly sweet and perfectly satisfying all on their own.
03Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
04In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the cream and egg.
05In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt (or you can do this in a food processor). Using a fork, pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut butter into flour until the mixture forms coarse crumbs (or pulse in a food processor). Drizzle in as much of the cream mixture as you need to make a smooth, moist but not wet dough. Save remaining cream-egg mixture for brushing.
06Turn dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Pat into a 1 1/4-inch thick round. Using a paring knife, cut 8 wedge-shaped scones (as though you were cutting slices of pie) and push them apart on the baking sheet to separate them 1/2 inch apart. Brush dough with remaining cream-egg mixture, or use more cream if you’ve run out of the mixture.
07Using your fingertips, make a deep indentation about 1 inch in diameter in the center of each scone. Tuck some plum into the hole. Transfer pan to oven and bake until uniformly golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve scones with extra plum compote and butter on the side if you like.