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A unique spin on the classic Easter dessert, these Carrot Cake Scones are moist and flavorful! Packed with shredded carrots and spices, these scones make a delicious breakfast or dessert.
If I had to choose only one type of cake to eat for the rest of my life, it would absolutely be carrot cake.
I've preached before about my love for scones before, but possibly none are as delicious as these carrot cake scones. Filled with shredded carrots and a variety of spices, these scones have all the delicious flavor of my favorite cake.
They couldn't be easier to make, so I hope you give them a try!
Helpful Tools for Making Carrot Cake Scones
To make these carrot cake scones, there are a few tools I recommend picking up:
- Handheld pastry cutter — Personally, this is my go-to tool when it comes to making scones. After whisking together the dry ingredients, I like to use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter. While you can do this with a fork or food processor, I find that a pastry cutter helps make sure you don't cut the butter too small.
- Stainless steel box grater — If you don't have a box grater already, you will definitely want one for this recipe. With a box grater, you will be able to easily grate the carrot in minutes, and it's also helpful to have on hand for other items like cheese.
- Bench scraper — For this recipe, I like to use a bench scraper like this to cut the dough evenly into eight scones. Plus, it's such a multipurpose tool—you can use it later for scraping food scraps off the table or even cutting the butter.
Tips for Making Carrot Cake Scones
Here are a few tips to get perfect scones every time:
- Keep your butter as cold as possible. When you cut cold butter into your mixture, it stays solid until it goes into the oven. Once the scones start to bake, the butter melts and creates those flaky layers that we all love. When making your scones, keep the butter in the fridge (or even freezer) right up to the moment that you need to use it.
- Don’t overmix your dough. Overmixing your dough leads to tough and chewy scones, which nobody wants! After adding in your liquid ingredients, make sure to only mix until just combined.
- Chill your scones in the freezer before baking. Chilling the scones in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before baking lets them firm up and helps the gluten relax. This also helps keep the butter cold, which enhances those beautiful layers.
- Drizzle the glaze on the scones while they’re still a bit hot. Don’t drizzle the glaze immediately after the scones come out of the oven, but don’t wait too long either. If the scones are still a bit warm, they will soak up the glaze and taste just that much more delicious.
Carrot Cake Scones FAQ
Yes—when making scones, it’s essential that the butter is as cold as possible. By using very cold butter, it stays solid until it hits the heat of the oven. Then, it melts in the oven, creating flaky layers and helping the scones rise.
For this recipe, I highly recommend shredding the carrots yourself. The pre-shredded carrots you get from the grocery store are usually hard and dry, so they won't produce soft and moist scones.
After they’ve completely cooled, you can keep these scones in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days at room temperature. You can also wrap them in plastic and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Watch Our Video on How to Make Carrot Cake Scones
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Carrot Cake Scones
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: British
Description
A unique spin on the classic Easter dessert, these Carrot Cake Scones are moist and flavorful! Packed with shredded carrots and spices, these scones make a delicious breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Scones:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (320 g)
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed (64 g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (6 g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (5 g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (3 g)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (1 g)
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger (2g)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (1 g)
- 1 ⅓ cups roughly grated carrot (133 g)
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed (113 g)
- 1 large egg (50 g)
- ¾ cup heavy cream + extra for brushing (180 g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (6 g)
- Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar (60 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (2 g)
- 3 tablespoons milk (45 g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204.4°C). Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the scones: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and grated carrot. Then, use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut in the butter until the butter is about lentil-sized. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, ¾ cup heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Add the liquids to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Transfer the dough to the parchment paper-lined sheet tray and pat into a circle. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle a bit of flour on the dough. Continue patting the dough until it is about an 8-inch disk. Then, use a bench scraper or knife to cut the circle into 8 wedges. Pull the wedges out a bit so that there is space in between each scone.
- Freeze the scones for at least 30 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax and helps them firm up before baking.
- After the 30 minutes, remove the scones from the freezer, then brush the tops with heavy cream. Sprinkle the tops liberally with turbinado sugar.
- Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.
- Make the cream cheese glaze: When the scones have just come out of the oven, whisk together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. While they are still warm, drizzle the glaze over the scones and serve.
- Wrap any leftovers in an airtight container, and store at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Keywords: carrot cake scones, scones, carrot cake
I made this recipe Gluten Free by substituting Gluten Free flour for the regular flour. I also used coconut sugar and did not have cream on hand so used milk - and they still turned out great. I agree about the spices - so yummy smelling while baking and delicious!
★★★★★
I'm so glad you enjoyed it (and that the substitutions worked well)! I love how the house smells while the scones are baking 🙂
Delicious! Carrot cake is my favorite. I added a little bit of diced pineapple, about 1/3 cup, it is a very subtle flavor, but adds to the fullness of the taste. I loved the use of all the baking spices. Thanks for being so creative.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it, Yvonne! There isn't anything quite like carrot cake. Adding pineapple in is such a great idea as well - I'll have to try that soon. I hope you are staying safe and healthy!