I’ve been making variations of this lemon scone recipe for 2 weeks now. The first version had enormous potential but I did not bake it long enough. From then on I committed to taking the scones’ internal temperature when deciding doneness (200 degrees F.). The next batch contained one egg, and they were baked close together in the pan. I found them to be delicious! Even my son’s best friend, George, couldn’t get enough of them. Sure, he kept calling them croutons, but whatever. The only troubling aspect about batch number 2 was its texture. They were far too cakey for my liking. Back to the drawing board I went, and guess what… I think I cracked the code. I decided to omit the egg (which helps the scones rise, but also creates a tender crumb), I lessened the liquid, and I spread the scones out on the baking sheet so that one was not touching the other. What came out of the oven was a lemon scone with a crisp and flaky exterior, and a soft and delicate interior. It was exactly the texture I desired. These lemon scones are a riff on the cranberry cream scones I made for you a few weeks ago. I got it from Karen DeMasco’s great baking book The Craft Of Baking.
Here we go! After barely mixing the dough in a bowl attached to a standing mixer, pat it out to a rough 7-inch circle. Now freeze it for 30 minutes.
Once thoroughly chilled, cut them into 8 slices, spread them apart on the baking sheet, brush each with cream and sprinkle with sugar, and finally bake the heck out of them. In a 425 degree F. oven for about 20 minutes.
While the scones cool whip up a batch of glaze (powdered sugar mixed with a little milk), and drizzle it on top of each.
- 1 and ¾ cups (219 g) All-Purpose Flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 TBS plus ½ tsp. (15 g) Baking Powder
- ¼ cup plus 2 TBS (74 g) Sugar
- ½ tsp. (3 g) Salt
- 6 TBS ( ¾ stick or 85 g) Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces
- Lemon Zest from 1 Large Lemon
- ¼ cup fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ cup plus 2 TBS Heavy Cream
- 1 TBS Demerara Sugar
- ½ cup (62 g) Powdered Sugar
- ½ to 1 TBS Milk
- Lightly flour a baking sheet and set aside. In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the pieces of butter, and place the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. Once chilled and using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the mixture on low speed until it resembles coarse crumbs (about 3 minutes).
- Mix in the lemon zest.
- Pour the lemon juice and cream into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until the dough just begins to come together. Knead the dough with your hands to incorporate any flour left at the bottom of the bowl. Place the dough on the baking sheet and pat out to a 7-inch circle that is ¾ inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Using a sharp knife cut the cold dough like a pizza into 8 slices. Carefully space these slices out on the baking sheet. Brush each slice with the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and sprinkle each with Demerara sugar.
- Bake the scones for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. To be absolutely sure they are completely cooked through use an instant read thermometer. The scones are ready when their internal temperature is at 200 degrees F.
- Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
- Mix the powdered sugar with the milk until you have a nice glaze (not too runny and not too thick). Drizzle the glaze on each scone using a piping bag or a spoon. Enjoy while still warm.
- Standing mixer with paddle attachment
- Baking sheet
- Instant-read thermometer (optional)
- Piping bag (optional)
- Cooling rack
