By Sophie Kaftal & Bobby Zielinski

Excerpted from Kitten and the Bear, Inc. Copyright © 2024 Kitten and the Bear, Inc. Photography by Johanna Martin. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved. 

At Kitten and the Bear, we handcraft traditional fruit preserves and buttermilk scones using time-honoured methods. Our years spent learning the art of preserving has given us a great appreciation for tradition, heritage, and the power of the human touch.

Kitten and the Bear is us — partners in every way, as a husband-and-wife team. When we met, we were working long hours in separate industries. Like two ships passing in the night, we barely saw each other. We shared one day a week, eating, creating, and imagining a world that would bring us closer together.

We started down our new path in 2012 with a handful of jars of jam sold at farmers’ markets, and through a homemade website, renting space at a co-op kitchen. Over time, 10 jars became 20, and 20 jars became 40.

Since then, we have been on a journey that has been as personal as it has been professional, an adventure full of “pinch me” moments. Kitten and the Bear started as the little jam company that could, and has followed a winding road from that simple website to a tiny storefront in Toronto’s West End, to a secret-garden-style tea room, a pandemic-era takeout window, to finally arrive at what it is today: a bustling production kitchen brimming with glistening jars of jam and racks of freshly baked scones.

A journey that began as a dream, our story is of a lifestyle reimagined—spending our days together, creating, our children running around our legs, stirring pots of bubbling jam.

In our new book, we strive to pass on an experience that is genuine and true to the timeless practice of jam making, while putting our own contemporary spin on this artisanal inheritance. Refined yet understated, our recipes are written to create beautiful, homespun delights using easily accessible ingredients and equipment you already have in your pantry. We offer a thorough lesson in jam making theory and the art of preserving.

Kitten and the Bear was born as a way for us to create a new story for ourselves—a fairy tale life full of beauty, tradition, and the art of daily ritual. There is no greater joy than welcoming you into our sweet little world and sharing a moment where the smell of butter and strawberries almost feels like magic. Join us in savouring the simple things in life. As they say, the moments in between the moments are always the sweetest!

Raspberry & Rose Scones

Yield 10 scones

Red berry scones are always a crowd pleaser, and our raspberry and rose variety are no exception. Fresh raspberries add a pop of bright fruit flavour, and a delicate dusting of pink icing sugar, made by blending dragon fruit powder and rose petals into icing sugar, gives an ethereal look to these pretty pastries. Don’t forget an extra sprinkle of rose petals, which add a lovely contrast to the blush-pink palate.

Scones

574 g (3¾ cups + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour

38 g (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar

4½ teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

340 g (¾ pound) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

125 g (1 cup) fresh raspberries

335 mL (1¼ cups + 2½ tablespoons) buttermilk

1½ tablespoons rose water

Rose Sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon dried rose petals, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon icing sugar

½ teaspoon freeze-dried dragon fruit (pitaya) powder (optional, for a more vibrant colour)

Method

1. Make the scones: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Drop in the butter and rub into the flour mixture by rolling each cube of butter between your thumb and index finger until mostly incorporated, about 7 minutes. It will have a fine, fluffy texture but should hold together when squeezed.
2. Add the raspberries and toss gently to evenly distribute them throughout the flour mixture. In a measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and rose water to combine. Create a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir quickly with a fork until a shaggy dough forms, 30 to 60 seconds. The buttermilk should be fully incorporated, and there may still be some dry, crumbly bits in the bottom of the bowl.
3. Dust a work surface generously with flour. Stack the shaggy dough, a handful at a time, onto the work surface to form a layered mound. On the final handful, press the dough into any dry mix in the bottom of the bowl to push as much as possible into the dough. Press down on the dough with your hands to shape it into a rough 10-inch circle, about 1¼ inches thick. Cut the dough in half, and then place one half top side down on the other half. Press down on the dough again to form it into another 10 to 11-inch circle, about 1 inch thick. (The stacking and cutting process will create layers within the scones.)
4. Use a 4-inch triangle cookie cutter to punch out the scones, cutting them as close together as possible to maximize the yield. Gather the scraps and press them together (don’t knead or reroll) and punch out more triangles. Transfer the scones to a container in a single layer and chill in the freezer for 6 hours. If you plan to bake the scones later, allow them to freeze, and store them in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. Bake from frozen.
5. Bake the scones: Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Remove the scones from the freezer and arrange on the lined baking sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating the pan after 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the rose sugar. In a small blender, combine the dried rose petals and granulated sugar, and blend until the rose petals are fully broken down into a fine powder. Then, sift the rose sugar through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Add the icing sugar and dragon fruit powder, if using. Stir well to combine.
8. Finish the scones: Using a fine-mesh sieve or sifter, dust the scones with the pink rose sugar and top with rose petals. Store the scones in a vented plastic container at room temperature for up to 2 days