Vanilla Cardamom Scones
Related Post: Scones Primer
A delicious variation on vanilla scones.
Vanilla Cardamom Scones
If you like cardamom, you’ll love these scones. The scone itself is a rich vanilla, but the cardamom icing adds some spice and a lovely scent. (This recipe is adapted from the orange cream scones at A Latte Food.)
Servings: 8 scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, plain or vanilla
- 1/4 cup 35% cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
Icing
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp cardamom, or more, to taste
- 2 tsp milk or cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (See Notes, below.)
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together to incorporate.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, cream, and extract. Set aside.
- Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is about pea-sized. The dough will have the texture of crumbs. (See Notes, below. Or see the Scones Primer for pictures.)
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Gently knead the dough into a ball in the bowl, then turn out and begin patting into a circle until it’s about 1 inch (2.5cm) thick. You may need to squeeze the outer edges a bit to incorporate crumbly bits into the dough.
- Cut the dough into 8 evenly sized wedges and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Brush lightly with 35% cream if desired. (This gives a nice sheen to the finished scones.)
- Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden.
- Let scones cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, then move them to a wire rack. Place the parchment from the baking pan under the wire rack to catch drips when you ice the scones.
- After the scones have cooled for about 10-15 minutes, make the icing by whisking together all of the icing ingredients. If the icing is too thin, add more icing sugar, a teaspoon at a time. (See Notes, below.)
- Drizzle or spread icing on cooled scones.
Notes
- Ovens can vary widely in temperature. For this recipe, I set my oven to 400F and bake for about 11 minutes. Watch your scones carefully the first time you make this recipe to ensure they don’t bake too long.
- The cutting process can take a few minutes but you want to be able to see pieces of butter in the dough, so don’t go too long with this step.
- The thickness of the icing is a personal preference. You can drizzle thinner icings in a nice pattern across all the scones or spread thicker icings across the top. The amount of cardamom is also a personal preference. Taste the icing before putting it on the scones and, if you like, add a bit more cardamom, about ¼ tsp (1.25 mL) at a time.
Image of cardamom pod by Pleshko74 | Dreamstime.com
Nice scone recipe that has become a go-to. I bump the cardamom up to 1 tsp and omit the glaze. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment. I find that scones are infinitely customizable. I sometimes add more spice too and I’ve been skipping the glaze to decrease the overall sugar content.