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Cream scone, lemon curd, and whipped cream on a china plate.

Cream Scones with Lemon Curd

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Nguyet Vo
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: About 20 scones + 1 cup lemon curd 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: British

Description

These light and tender scones topped with a little lemon curd go perfectly with a cup of tea. These scones are also great for strawberry shortcakes.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the lemon curd

  • 1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (I use a microplane to zest the lemons)
  • 3/4 cup sugar or more as needed (see Notes)
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the scones

  • 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for topping
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
  • 3 large eggs

Instructions

For the lemon curd

  1. Process. Combine the lemon zest and sugar in a food processor. Blend until the zest is very finely minced and blended into the sugar, about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, eggs, butter pieces, and salt. Blend again for an additional 30 seconds or until the mixture is well combined. The mixture will look curdled which is perfectly fine.
  2. Cook. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and place pan over medium-low heat. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the curd thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the curd cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the scones

  1. Make dough. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Add butter pieces and process until the mixture is the consistency of fine crumbs. Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and eggs. With the mixer running on low speed, add cream mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until combined and the dough starts to come together.
  2. Cut dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured board and roll dough to 1/2 to 3/4-inch thickness (see Notes). Using a 2½-inch round cutter, cut out circles gathering the scraps and re-rolling as necessary. Sprinkle sugar over tops of scones. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and arrange scones 2 inches apart on top of paper; freeze until the outsides are semi-hard, 15-30 minutes.
  3. Bake. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake scones for 15-25 minutes or until they are pale golden and cake tester inserted into center of scones comes out clean.

Notes

  • For the lemon curd, I highly recommend using meyer lemons if possible. You can use regular lemons if you can’t find meyer lemons. I find that I need to add 1-2 additional teaspoons of sugar when I use regular lemons since they aren’t as sweet as meyer lemons.
  • You can use a double-boiler or direct heat to cook the lemon curd. Either way, you want to use gentle heat and stir constantly. I recommend stirring with a rubber spatula so you can effectively scrape the bottom and side of the pan to prevent any hot spots.
  • When rolling out the dough for the scones, you can roll out the dough to a 3/4-inch thickness if you want tall scones that are easy to split. My daughter actually prefers it when I roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness which makes for a flatter scone that is easier to bite into without splitting.
  • This recipe makes about 20 scones if you roll the dough out 3/4-inch thick and use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter.
  • Recipe for scones adapted from Patisserie Descours Café via the Houston Chronicle.
  • Recipe for lemon curd from White on Rice Couple.
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