Lemon Scones with Poppy Seeds
These Lemon Scones are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, speckled with poppy seeds, and covered in a tangy lemony cream cheese glaze. They are perfect with coffee in the morning or a cup of tea in the afternoon.
Servings: 12 scones
Calories: 250kcal
Ingredients
Lemon scones
- Zest of 2 medium or large lemons
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50 g
- 2 cup all-purpose flour 270 g
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon poppy seeds 16 g
- 4 oz unsalted butter cold & cubed, 113 g
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup heavy cream whipping cream or double cream, 179 g
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar for topping, 13 g
Glaze
- 1 oz cream cheese softened, 28 g
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ⅓ cup powder sugar 33 g, or more to your taste
- Zest of a small lemon optional
Instructions
- To make the scones: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar turns slightly yellow and fragrant.
- Sift in flour and baking powder, add kosher salt and poppy seeds, whisk to combine.
- Add cold cubed butter to the flour mixture, work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until all the butter pieces are flat.
- Add egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract to a small bowl, whisk to combine. Set aside 2 tablespoons for egg wash. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or countertop, and pat the dough out into a rectangle about ½” thick. Fold the dough over itself and pat it out again, do this 2 - 3 times.
- Shape the dough into a rectangle and roll it out to about 5” x 8” or 6” x 9”. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut in three crosswise to make 6 squares. Cut each square diagonally to make 12 triangles.
- Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
- When the oven is ready, brush the top and sides of the scones with reserved egg wash, and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet 5 - 10 minutes before transferring the scones to the wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze: Whisk together softened cream cheese and lemon juice. Slowly add powdered sugar while whisking until a creamy glaze forms. Stir in some lemon zest at this point. Taste the glaze and add more sugar if you prefer this to be sweeter, this is a pretty tangy glaze. Spoon glaze over the cool scones, as much or as little to your taste.
Notes
- If you’re using homegrown lemons, you may want to increase the amount of lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor. I notice that some homegrown lemons don’t have as much lemony flavor in the zest as the store bought ones.
- Folding over the scone dough will help create flaky layers, but don’t overdo it because overworking the dough could make the scones dry.
- Using a bench scraper while working with the scones can help you reduce the amount of flour you need to add to the scone dough while shaping, keeping it from drying out too much.
- Freezing the scones before baking will help them keep their shape and rise taller.
- For larger scones, you can shape the dough into a circle about 1” thick and cut into 8 wedges. Bake the larger scones for 20 minutes at the same oven temperature.
Nutrition
Serving: 65g | Calories: 250kcal