Carrot Cake Scones with Spiced Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
A simple carrot cake-inspired scone recipe made with fresh shredded carrots and a spiced cream cheese glaze.
Makes8 scones
Prep25 minutes
Cook20 minutes to 22 minutes
Say hello to everything you love about carrot cake, reimagined into a tender, flaky scone. These beauties are packed with plump raisins, warm spices, and freshly shredded carrots, and finished with crunchy sugar and a maple cream cheese icing. Unlike carrot cake, these come together fast — you’ll be sitting down to freshly baked goodness in under 45 minutes.
3 Tips for Perfectly Tender Scones
Achieving perfectly tender, flaky scones is all about technique. Here are three tips for making them at home.
1. Keep your ingredients cold. Using cold butter creates flaky layers and helps give these scones their rise. To ensure your butter is properly chilled, dice it and freeze it while you measure out the other ingredients.
2. Don’t overwork the dough. Stop kneading the scone dough as soon as it comes together, which will prevent too much gluten from developing (less gluten = more tender). This also keeps the butter from getting too warm.
3. Watch carefully as they bake. Scones get a bad reputation for being dry, but a properly baked scone can actually be incredibly moist. Scones can go from perfect to overbaked in very little time, so as soon as your scones develop a light golden color, take them out of the oven. If you’re worried they’re underbaked, just rip one open. The inside should have no doughy or wet spots. If it does, return them to the oven and bake one to two minutes more.
Carrot Cake Scones with Spiced Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
A simple carrot cake-inspired scone recipe made with fresh shredded carrots and a spiced cream cheese glaze.
Prep time 25 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes to 22 minutes
Makes 8 scones
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 12 tablespoons
(3/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 2
medium carrots
- 3/4 cup
plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy cream, divided
- 2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
- 1
large egg
- 3 cups
all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
- 1/2 cup
granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon
baking powder
- 2 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon
ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon
ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 1/2 cup
raisins
- 3 tablespoons
turbinado or coarse sugar, for sprinkling
For the icing:
- 2 ounces
(1/4 cup) full-fat cream cheese
- 1 cup
powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons
heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons
maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the scones: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Cut 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch cubes, then place into the freezer as you prep the other ingredients. Peel and grate 2 medium carrots on the large holes of a box grater (about 1 cup), then squeeze out the excess moisture by wrapping the shreds in a paper towel and squeezing them with your hands over a bowl or sink. Place the 2 ounces cream cheese for the icing in a large bowl and let it sit out at room temperature while you make the scones.
Place 3/4 cup cold heavy cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1 large egg in a medium bowl and whisk until no streaks of yolk remain.
Place 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Scatter the cold cubes of butter over the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives and working quickly, cut the butter into the flour mixture until small, pea-sized pieces remain.
Add the cream mixture, grated carrots, and 1/2 cup raisins and mix with a rubber spatula until just incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough just holds together (be careful not to overwork it).
Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick-round about 8 inches in diameter. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Freeze for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.
Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar over the scones. Bake until golden-brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the icing.
Make the icing: Add 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons heavy cream, 3 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the bowl of cream cheese and whisk until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over the cooled scones in a zigzag pattern and let sit until the glaze hardens, about 10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.