Strawberry White Chocolate Scones

An anytime treat to stir up old memories or create new ones!

Hi Bakers!

It feels like Easter and Mother’s Day come early and close together this year. As we slog our way through another wet spring, it’s celebrations like these and the food that accompanies them that help push onward. Making food is my love language after all, and any excuse to bake up something sweet is always welcomed in my kitchen.

I hope you enjoyed our Countdown to Easter series because we have more brunchy recipes coming your way! Over the next few weeks, we will be delighted with sweets and savories to celebrate mom.

Like the Easter series, you can make each recipe on its own or prepare them all for the ultimate spread. First up: Strawberry White Chocolate Scones. 

Back in my hometown in Northern California, there used to be a neighborhood gem called Queen of Tarts. While its cheeky name conjures whimsical vibes and a tea party atmosphere, it was a tired yet beloved mom and pop shop with well-worn furnishings and often barren shelves. But as anyone who ever visited knows, they had amazing scones.

For a few years, my mom would drive me from the suburbs to the city for extra ballet lessons on the weekends. As a middle-schooler, the 30 minute drive felt like a couple hours.

Even though I never planned to be a professional dancer, those Saturdays hugely paid off - both with my technique but even more so in my appreciation for my mom. If I thought the drive was long and the 90 minute wait between classes torturous, surely she could think of better things to do with her time, right? As a mom to my own littles, I totally get it now. 

Between classes we would usually head next door to Queen of Tarts. While they had a variety of pastries and sandwiches, it was the scones that grabbed my attention. Typically stuffed with a variety of fruit and sometimes chocolate, they were always incredibly fluffy inside with a crispy, sugary crust that I still think about. Maybe not the best fuel for ballet class, but it's the scones and deep appreciation for my mom that I remember most 25 years later.

There is something about strawberry pastries that always piques people’s interest. I know when I hear “strawberry,” all other options become inconsequential. 

This recipe pairs fresh strawberries with white chocolate. I baked them both small enough for high tea and as large wedges, just like the ones of my youth. Either way you go, don’t skip the cream and sugar topping. 

Serve with butter, clotted cream, or jam.

Strawberry White Chocolate Scones

The Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups + 3 tablespoons (180g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream, plus more for wash
100g (about 8 small) strawberries, diced
50g white chocolate chips

Turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling 

The Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.

• Stir the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt together in a mixing bowl. 

• Place the strawberries in a separate bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients. Add the white chocolate chips and toss to coat.

• Make a well in the center of the bowl with the dry ingredients and pour in the cream. Begin stirring together with a fork to partially combine. Add the strawberry mixture and fold together. 

• Tip the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and use your hands to fold the dough as needed until it comes together. Sprinkle in a tiny bit more cream as needed (usually the dredges from the measuring cup I initially used are fine). The dough is better off being a little shaggy than over-worked.

• Pat down the dough to about ¾-inch thickness. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter or a small drinking glass to cut out the scones. Press straight down and try to cut out as many scones as possible before refolding the dough.

• Press the scraps together and cut out the remaining scones.

• Transfer the scones onto a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with coarse or granulated sugar.

• Bake the scones for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

For large, wedge scones, pat the dough roughly a 6 x 5-inch rectangle. Cut in half to make two 5 x 3-inch pieces then cut each on the diagonal to create four wedges.

For these larger scones, freeze for 15 minutes first before adding the cream wash and sprinkles sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Serving and Storage:

• This recipe makes 6 to 8 small scones or 4 large scones. They are best served the day they are made. Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

• Freeze baked and cooled scones in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 1 month. 

Baker’s Notes:

• Like many pastries, the less the dough is manipulated the more tender the scones will be. Keep this in mind when mixing as well as reshaping leftover dough. 

• The instructions are short and pretty forgiving. Just keep mixing as lightly as possible, even after you add the strawberries. They can start making the dough feel wet pretty quickly, but just fold together with your hands. It’s better for the dough to be a bit shaggy than totally mixed together and gummy.