October 13, 2021

Orange Cardamom Scones

Scones are, in my opinion, a very underrated pastry, and don’t often get the love they deserve. They’re thick, flaky, buttery, and pretty close to dessert for breakfast. My Orange Cardamom Scones combine warm, floral spice notes with zesty citrus flavors for a fall treat that takes breakfast (or dessert) to a whole new level.

First of all, I totally blame Great British Bakeoff for introducing me to the orange-cardamom flavor combination. It’s appeared in every season, usually paired with white chocolate or some other spice, and has stuck with me. I tested a few recipes with the combo last year, and these scones were far and away my favorite.

Cardamom is a really unique spice. It’s a pod spice in the ginger family, and is frequently used in Indian cuisine. There are two types: green cardamom and black cardamom. Green cardamom is used more often in sweeter recipes. Its flavor can be described as floral, citrusy, herbal, warm, and spicy, which makes it a great spice for baking, and an even better companion flavor for orange.

Tips for Making Tall, Flaky, Delicious Scones

No one wants a flat, dry, crumbly scone! Here are some tips for avoiding that and making tall, delicious scones.

Keep your ingredients cold. Even the dry ingredients! Cold butter, buttermilk, and eggs will result in a good rise when they’re baked. I even like to refrigerate the dry ingredients in their bowl after they’re combined, while I’m mixing the wet ingredients.

Grate the butter. Cutting in butter with a knife or pastry cutter is one of my least favorite baking tasks. It’s just tedious. Instead, I keep a stick or two of butter in my freezer and grate it into the flour with a coarse cheese grater. So much easier and faster!

Handle the dough as little as possible. The more you pat, press, and shape the dough, you warm up the butter flakes inside. That will not result in a tall, flaky scone. Instead you’ll get sad, flat scones because the butter melted.

Chill the sliced scones before baking. Noticing a pattern with the cold? This step is optional, but according to this guide from King Arthur Baking, chilling the sliced scones helps the gluten in the dough relax and re-chills the butter flakes. Both of those result in taller, tender, flaky scones.

Sprinkle them with sugar before baking. Right before they go in the oven, brush the scones with milk and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top for a crispy layer on top. You could even add an extra pinch of cardamom to really bring that flavor home!

Enjoy the scones warm. These babies are at their best when they’re fresh out of the oven. They’re perfect just the way they are, but a pat of butter never hurts. Apple jelly, apple butter, or orange marmalade would even be a tasty touch.

Head to my recipe for Easy Chocolate Chip Scones for even more tips and tricks.

Baked scones will keep at room temperature wrapped in plastic for a few days. Warm them in the microwave, or for 10 minutes in a 350ºF oven. For make-ahead scones, after the 30-minute pre-bake rest in the freezer, store them in an air-tight bag or container until ready to bake. Then just bake as directed in the recipe!

I hope y’all give these Orange Cardamom Scones a try this fall! If you make them, I’d love to know how it went and how you like them. Tag me in your photos on Instagram, tweet them at me, or share them on my Facebook page!

Thanks so much for reading and following along! Keep scrolling for the full recipe.

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