Vegan scones
Vegan scones
Happy weekend, guys! We are painting this weekend with little breaks for wall paper stripping in another room, but since we’ve only just started we are in high spirits, very motivated and enjoying the ride so far. Once the wallpaper in the study comes off, I’ve decided to learn to plaster the walls myself. It’s like frosting a giant cake, right? What can go wrong 😛 ?! It cannot be that hard, plus I think I will really enjoy the process. Wish me luck!
I’ve been thinking that plastering may be something within my skill set for a while, but what finally motivated me was a rather unpleasant experience. We had a plasterer round our house the other night to get a quote and he was being both racist and sexist to my face. I was so stunned, I had no idea how to react. I laughed it off to diffuse the tension and then I’ve had some time to think about it some more and I got so mad! I should have thanked him on the spot and told him to leave. What an idiot! Needless to say he isn’t getting the job. I am not putting up with this cr*p in my own house!!
Like most women, I’ve had a lifetime of sexism directed at me and I’ve had enough, quite frankly. Racist remarks were even more of a shock, but then that’s the new normal in this Brexit climate, isn’t it? It makes me both sad and mad at the same time. I’ve lived here for over 12 years now and for the first time ever I feel like I do not belong anymore. And I know that so many other people feel exactly the same. Fortunately, there are still some open-minded and welcoming British people around, who treasure diversity, or else I would be off at the drop of a hat.
So while I will probably be up a ladder with a steamer in one hand and a scraper in the other as you read this, I will take a few minutes to share this new recipe for vegan scones with you to sweeten up your weekend. I’ll be the first one to admit that I was a massive scone sceptic for years. I kept on telling Duncan that I hate scones and I do not understand what the fuss is all about. It wasn’t until I learned to make them myself that I’ve become a convert and also realised that the scones I did try must have been stale and overworked. If you take the time to make them properly and eat them while fresh, they are really delicious.
The key to a nice, well-risen scone is handling the dough as little as you can get away with. It may affect the way they look, as the dough will be a bit bumpy and scraggly, but they will taste so much nicer, I promise. So please resist the temptation to knead the dough smooth – this is not bread. Handled correctly, they will end up light and fluffy with a nicely browned, crispy crust. Once the scones are out of the oven, wait for them to cool down a bit and then cut them in half with a serrated knife. Fill with a thick layer of vegan yoghurt and your favourite jam. While strawberry jam appears to be more traditional, I prefer raspberry jam myself so that’s what I used.
Also, if you don’t live in the UK, you might not be aware that the way you fill your scones is a bit of a contentious point between two gorgeous areas of the UK, Devon and Cornwall. While Devon scones feature clotted cream at the bottom and jam on top, Cornwall insists that the reverse order is the only correct way to serve them. I am with Devon on this one, but try both ways and decide for yourself 😛 .
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SCONES
- 500 g / 4 cups all purpose white wheat flour
- 6 level tsp (2 tbsp) baking powder
- 2 heaped tbsp caster (super fine) sugar
- a good pinch of fine sea salt
- 100 g / ½ cup packed fragrance-free (or extra virgin if you don’t mind coconut taste) coconut oil at room temperature
- approx. 320 ml / 1 + 1/3 cup almond milk (or any other thin plant milk)
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
- demerara sugar, to sprinkle (optional)
- thick coconut yoghurt (I like The Coconut Collaborative and Coyo brands)
- quality jam (I like raspberry, but strawberry is traditionally used)
GLAZE
TO SERVE WITH
- Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. This is not strictly speaking necessary, but it helps to get lighter scones.
- Add sugar and salt and mix well.
- Chop coconut oil small and then rub into the flour with your fingers until the flour looks pebbly. Do not rush this step or take shortcuts if you are after light, nicely risen scones.
- Start adding plant milk slowly while bringing the dough together. Start off using a spoon and then just use your hands. Do not handle the dough too much, just until it’s combined and stays together. Do not worry about it being very smooth.
- Place the dough in the fridge for 15-20 minutes (no longer than that as the baking powder will lose its fizz) while you heat up the oven to 220° C / 425° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
- After the dough has had a chance to rest, roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Keep the dough thick (2 cm / 0.75″) for fluffy scones.
- Use a fluted cookie cutter that is 5 cm / 2″ in diameter and cut circles out of the dough. Do not twist the cutter as that inhibits rising, simply apply a lot of pressure to the cutter and then lift the cutter with a scone inside. Place over the baking tray and gently pop the scone out onto the tray. I found that dipping the cutter in flour and then shaking the excess off helps a lot when it comes to releasing the scones onto the tray.
- Bring any dough leftovers very gently into a ball and cut out some more – they won’t be as good as the first batch, but if you handle the dough super gently, they will still be very tasty.
- Place the scones on the prepared baking tray, making sure there is some space around each one. Mix all the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and glaze the tops of the scones with a pastry brush.
- Sprinkle each scone with some demerara sugar (if using) and bake for 12-15 minutes. My oven heats the right hand side more than the left so after 12 minutes the ones on the right were done, but the other ones needed another 3 minutes. I rotated the tray before baking them for the last 3 minutes so that they are evenly browned on all sides.
- Let the scones cool down a little before cutting them in half with a serrated knife and filling them with coconut yoghurt and jam.
I hope that the scones came out well (I often use Violife in scones so it would definitely not be a problem). Yeah, tell me about. I know, right? and it's everywhere, isn't it? It's hard not to walk around angry in this world designed by men and run by and for men. Sending you virtual sisterhood hugs. Ania
I'm wondering now is it possible to freeze them once baked? If not I guess I will just have to eat them all :D
PS: you may also like my new, ginger and rhubarb version of these :)
I am so sorry, I've only just realised that my reply to your comment has not actually gone through (I had some intermittent internet issues on that day). When you say 'wheaten scones' - do you mean scones made with wholemeal, as opposed to white flour? If so, I would not recommend using 100% wholemeal flour as they are likely to be unpleasant to eat but 50% white and 50% wholemeal should be okay. They will be less delicate and MAY require a little more liquid as wholemeal flour is typically more absorbent than white. Other than that handle gently and you should be fine. Hope this helps! Ania
Yes, that's the same flour. Ania
Fiz 1/2 receita e ficaram perfeitos, iguais á foto. São deliciosos, todos adoramos, o meu preferido é o simples nhum, nhum 😋
Bjs
I'm sorry to hear that but I really don't think that's the amount of baking powder is an issue here - are you sure you used plain (as opposed to self-raising) flour or maybe your baking powder is off? I double checked my recipe notes and I also searched for famous chefs' scone recipes on the Internet to make sure I haven't gone crazy and my ratio of 1½ tsp of baking powder per 125 g / 1 cup of flour is not unusual. See Jamie Oliver's recipe, for example, he uses 6 tsp like me, Paul Hollywood uses 5 tsp, Prue Leith uses 9!!! per 500 g of flour. You are also the first person to have raised this so I wonder if something has gone wrong? I will keep an eye on the reviews and retest the recipe if necessary, of course, but I'm pretty sure that there is no mistake here.
Ania
*Self-raising flour contains approximately 1-1½ tsp baking powder per 1 cup.
the scones look delicious! I tried to make them, but the dough was too gooey and sticky and l had to throw it out. I used 320 ml of almond milk as in the recipe, but after resting in the fridge for 20 minutes the dough was still too wet. I'm a beginner at baking and l would like to ask you a few questions. Is mąka tortowa, typ 450, ok for this recipe? And should the coconut oil be chilled before adding it to the dough? And the last one, what consistency am l looking for?
I'll try to make the scones tomorrow again, wish me luck! :-)
Oh no, I am so sorry you had some trouble. The way to make this dough is like you would make shortcrust pastry - you need to rub the fat (coconut oil in this case, which needs to be solid not melted) into the flour with your fingers until all of the flour is coated in fat. Then you add in liquid, small amount at a time, just until the dough comes together - it's better to add to little than too much so I always advise caution especially that different flours have different absorbency levels. I don't have much experience using this type of flour as here, in the UK, we don't have it. I use regular all purpose flour but the internet tells me that it is a very fine flour suitable to delicate pastries so it should be okay, but you may need much less liquid. Here is a guide to making pastry I can refer you to help with visually. Good luck and don't get discouraged, making pastry is a skill that can take some time to master. Ania
Thank you for this recipe. The scones are fantadtic. My British friend said they reminded him of his childhood and that must mean something, right? :)
I didn't have a round cookie cutter, so I just sliced them with a knife. All my friends approved of the result!
All the best,
Paulina
What a great recipe! Thank you!
I’m making my daughter’s birthday tea party (first time ever baking scones) and tried out 5 different recipes until only with yours, the scones came out the way they look in pictures and oh how delicious!.
Fantastic!
Thank you so much!
Best,
Natasha
I personally topped mine with jam and some vegan butter- absolutely delicious.
Thank you for your wonderful recipe :)
Sure you can, you may end up with tiny specks on undissolved sugar in the scones but that's not really a problem - they will still taste good. Ania
And can I use almond flour or oat flour instead of all-purpose flour?
And when I use almond flour and oat flour, is it different bake time, temperature and so on..?
Yes, halving the ingredients should work fine. The temperature should stay the same but they may bake a tiny bit sooner as due to fewer scones there will be less moisture in the oven. I don't think the recipe will work with non-gluten flour without serious modifications so I would not risk that. Hope that helps! Ania
Boy, they sure do look delicious!
Robert
As these do not rely on gluten development for their texture so much, in fact you do not want to activate gluten too much for these, you MAY (I have not tested this) be ok using a good GF flour mix (one that contains binding starches, like this one) and some xantham gum, psyllium husk powder or a similar ingredient that will stop these from falling apart too much. Hope that helps! Ania
Sure thing, you can also cut them into squares or triangles like they do in the US, it doesn't matter that much. x Ania
Happy Easter and I hope the scones came out well. The trick with the scones is to resist the urge to make them neat and pretty. The more scraggly they look the better they taste usually. x Ania
I have just made your scones and they are amazing! I have made literally hundreds of regular scones due to my catering career and was interested to see how your vegan recipe would work as a comparison. My boyfriend is vegan and I have also chosen to live a vegan life but Often found vegan cakes, biscuits and scones disappointing. However, your recipe works so well you wouldn’t know the difference. Thank you so much for making this recipe available so we can all enjoy delicious scones any time
I knew this recipe was brilliant as soon as I began using the cookie cutter. The dough was so fluffy, upon pressing the cutter down, you hear a sudden 'woooof' of air.
I substituted:
Dough - Coconut oil for Connect Foods, Buttery Spread with probiotics
Glaze - Light Olive Oil
I live in Australia NSW, the butter was bought from Woolworths supermarket.
Thank you for sharing (with the world) the best scone recipe.
I’m definitely going to have a go at making these this afternoon. I can’t wait for the smell to fill the house!
I moved from Cornwall to Australia nearly 40 years ago where I have mostly fitted in and been accepted as an ‘Aussie’. What I find remarkable is that the racism in this country is often directed at our indigenous people, the original inhabitants of this country!! Racism is up there with hatred, jealously, greed, etc, and it’s caused by fear. Where I’m going with this is- don’t let anyone offload their fear on to you. It’s theirs to deal with. Rise above it, and send them healing, loving thoughts.
And I will send you healing, loving thoughts! xxx
Great to hear, I hope you'll enjoy these!
Thank you for your kind words! I try not to let it get to me, but I do sometimes lose this battle. Racism is everywhere these days, with populist ideals taking over one country after another. We should learn from the past but instead we choose re-write history, refuse to acknowledge any wrong doing and continue to prop up systems built on racism, slavery, misogyny etc. We cannot let these things win, but it sure gets difficult to stay hopeful sometimes. x Ania
Thanks for the recipe!
I ‘ve used sunflower oil instead and used milk.
I will let you know how they turned out.
Thanks for the inspiring ideas!
I'm so sorry for your awful experience. I'm furious with Brexit and, quite frankly, the whole world. We all live on one planet for crying out loud so why can't we just all show a little compassion and consideration towards others.
Also I’m so sorry for your experience with the racist plasterer, I hate this brexit Britain attitude that seems to be becoming exceptable . I am British but have never been so ashamed to admit it. Hang in there !
Hope the house goes well.
Definitely cream on the bottom!
Tanya xxx