These Cardamom Vanilla Cream Scones are perfect for serving with afternoon tea or Sunday brunch. No mixer needed, ready in under 30 minutes!
Why is it that when a big snowstorm is on the horizon, people flock to grocery stores to stock up on milk, bread and toilet paper? What is it about these items that are so important?
Especially the toilet paper? Can someone please explain the logic of this one to me? Does the thought of snow make people so nervous that their stomachs act questionably?
You know what we stock up on? Nothing. I hate going to the grocery store when people are freaking out. We have wine, ramen and peanut butter. Assorted perishables and non-perishables. Vodka. Chocolate.
So, I guess I feel that even if we get hit with the 1-2 inches of snow being forecast for DC tonight, things are going to be ok. I stand behind my decision to not stock up on additional milk, bread and toilet paper. More for you!
These cardamom vanilla cream scones. They’re pretty good! I recommend serving them warm with butter but in the event of an emergency, they’re also tasty at room temperature.
Love scones? Be sure to also check out my cranberry goat cheese scones!
Cardamom Vanilla Cream Scones
Ingredients
- 15 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup light cream (half-and-half may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ounce unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and use the flat side of a paring knife to scrape out the seeds.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, vanilla seeds, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger pieces scattered around.
- Add the cream and vanilla to the bowl and use a spatula to mix the ingredients until they are just combined. The dough will look like it’s barely coming together. Kneed the dough in the bowl until it comes together. Divide the dough in half and flatten into two round discs, about 7 inches in diameter. Cut each disc into 6 pieces. Brush melted butter on top of each piece.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Serve warm.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
What a delicious flavor combination for these scones! They look perfect!
Cardamom and scones are 2 of my fav things. Can’t wait to try these!
Yummy! I’m trying it all.
I’ve got a hint for you and for everyone who makes pastries. Put your large grater in the refrigerator and the butter for your recipe into the freezer for a short while. Right when it is tine to add the butter, grate it into your flour mixture. The little end you are holding as you grate can be melted for brushing the top of your pastry. It is so easy to blend in your butter this way!
Mine failed terribly. The dough was like wet sand and they were very crumbly. Any tips?
Hi Whitney, I’m sorry to hear that! It’s always a little hard to troubleshoot from afar. Did you make any modifications to the original ingredients or instructions? Also, did you weigh the flour on a scale or use measuring cups? Sometimes measuring cups can throw things off a bit since the scale is more accurate, but I wouldn’t think it would cause a recipe fail.
I love the cardamom and vanilla combo! Would it affect the baking time if I made round scones?
Hi Sally! It might change the time slightly, but not dramatically if you go for the same total count. Just keep an eye on them through the oven door.
Thanks.
What can I use in place of the seeds from the vanilla beans? I noticed the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Are the seeds for flavor or looks?
Hi Donna! The seeds are mainly for flavor, though they do add that signature speckled vanilla look that I always think makes things taste more “vanilla-y” (I know that’s probably all in my head). If you don’t have the vanilla beans, I would use 2 tablespoons of extract total in the recipe. 1 vanilla bean usually equals around 1 tablespoon. I feel like that much extra liquid *might* make the scone dough a bit heavy, though. I’d say remove 1 tablespoon of the cream and set it aside. You can always add it back in if the dough seems dry. So… to recap: Ignore the 1 teaspoon of vanilla in the ingredient list, remove 1 tablespoon of cream and set it aside after you measure it out, add 2 tablespoons vanilla extract. If the batter seems dry, you can always add in the extra cream. Let me know if that doesn’t make sense!
Flavor combination was delicious (hard to go wrong with vanilla bean and cardamom!) but the texture was more like a buttermilk biscuit. I think the lack of egg makes these a little less dense and rich than the scones I am used to. Tasted lovely, but were biscuits, not the scones I was hoping for!
These were absolutely amazing! I loved the combination of the cardamom and vanilla. Definitely a new favorite in our house and so easy to make. Thank you!
This recipe is absolutely PERFECT! These scones had layers of deliciousness. I served them with clotted cream and ginger marmalade. We also paired them with aged Gouda and French ham on the side YUMMMM. Thank you so much for this recipe
I really loved this combo. I also really liked that they weren’t as dense a typical scone. Very easy to make and I took the tip from someone above. Grating the butter is brilliant!