These Indian flavored Masala Scones bake up light, tall and fluffy, and are a wonderful treat for breakfast or afternoon tea. Spread them with clotted cream, butter, or simply eat them plain. They’re so delicious!
No special tools are required for these simple Cheesy Masala Scones. These delicious savory scones have cheddar cheese, Indian spices for a freshly baked brunch treat!
WHAT IS SCONES?
A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea.
Scones are sweet or savory, perfect with coffee and tea, welcome at baby showers, bridal showers, brunch, snack time, bake sales, Mother’s Day, and wherever muffins or coffee are appropriate.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SCONES AND A BISCUITS?
Southern biscuits have more butter and acidity (from the buttermilk), making them extra fluffy and flaky. While scones rely on richer, denser, ingredients like heavy cream and eggs to get a sturdy, yet crumbly, pastry.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED?
You only need basic ingredients for making masala scone recipe.
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my standard amount, but set extra aside for the work surface and your hands. When it comes to measuring your flour, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Too much flour can lead to a crumbly dough and scones that don’t taste as good.
- Sugar: I typically stick with granulated sugar because I prefer the taste, but brown sugar will work too.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Helps in rising the scones.
- Salt: Adds flavor.
- Cold Unsalted Butter: Besides flour, butter is the main ingredient in scones. It’s responsible for flakiness, flavor, crisp edges, and rise. Also, cold butter is key to creating the perfect scones. As the cold butter melts in the oven, it creates steam pockets that help the scones rise and creates a lighter texture too.
- Cheese: I have add 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese.
- Heavy Cream: When it comes to soft scones that don’t dry out, heavy whipping cream is the best option. For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream. Thinner liquids change the flavor and appearance. A little cream brushed on top of the scones before they go into the oven creates a beautiful slightly crisp and lightly browned exterior too.
- Sour Cream: Adds tangy flavor to scones.
- Spices and Seasonings: I have added turmeric powder, garam masala, pepper powder, chilli flakes for spices and garlic powder for extra flavor.
HOW TO MAKE THIS CHEESY MASALA SCONES?
So now that you understand which ingredients are best, let’s MAKE SCONES!
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients(flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar) a couple times to combine.
Add the cold grated butter and mix 7-10 times until the butter is completely distributed. You shouldn’t see any chunks of butter, and the mixture should have a sandy texture to it.
Then add in the cheese, cilantro and mix it together.
Whisk together the whipping cream, sour cream with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine with a spatula, until a rough dough forms.
Transfer to a lightly floured countertop and knead about 10 times until the dough comes together into a relatively smooth ball. Take care not to knead too much, or the dough will be tougher and not rise as high.
Roll the dough about an inch thick and use a 2.5″ cutter to cut about 7 circles. Re-roll the scraps and cut out another 3.
Place the scones onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg-milk wash.
Bake the scones for 13-15 minutes, until about tripled in height, and golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Enjoy!
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR PERFECT SCONES?
If you take away anything from this post, let these be it!
- When measuring your flour, make sure to spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Avoid thinner or low fate Heavy Cream and Sour Cream which yield a flatter, less flavorful scone. Canned coconut cream makes a wonderful nondairy option!
- Always use cold butter. Use frozen grated butter for best results.
- Cold ingredients are best for this recipe! Make sure your dough is as cold as possible before you place the scones in the oven. I suggest placing the baking sheet with the scones in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking them.
- Brush the top of each scone with a little heavy whipping cream or egg wash before placing them in the oven. This will create a slightly crispy exterior and help them brown too.
ARE SCONES ROUND OR TRIANGULAR?
American scones are often dense wedges or triangles, while British scones are taller and usually round.
WHAT IF MY SCONES SPREAD AND LOST THEIR SHAPE?
The mixture may have been too wet or the baking tray might have been too heavily greased. Twisting the cutter when cutting the scones can also have this effect.
WHAT IF MY DOUGH IS TOO STICKY?
It’s normal for the dough to be a little bit sticky, but it should still be workable. If it’s not workable, this is probably either because there’s not enough flour, or the butter got too warm. So popping the dough into the fridge will firm the butter slightly, and may help you roll it out. Or, you can add just enough flour to the outside to roll it out, then cut the pieces.
WHY DID MY SCONES NOT RISE?
Make sure you’re using fresh baking powder, one that has been opened less than 6 months ago. Also, if you knead the dough too much, the scones won’t rise as tall. Knead gently, and just enough to bring the dough together. Adding more flour also prevents the dough from rising as high, so only dust lightly.
CAN SCONES BE MADE AHEAD?
Yes. Like any baked good, these are best fresh, but they’re still fantastic the next day. Reheat them per the instructions above, or bake from frozen.
HOW LONG WILL SCONES BE STORED?
At room temperature, for a few days. In the fridge, for a couple weeks. In the freezer, a couple months.
HOW TO FREEZE SCONES?
You can either freeze scones baked or unbaked. To freeze baked scones, let them cool to room temperature, then freeze in an airtight bag for up to 2 months. To freeze unbaked scones, make the recipe up to cutting the dough circles, then bake the circles straight from frozen for 5 extra minutes, or until cooked through.
HOW TO REHEAT SCONES?
Bake in a 300F oven for 5-10 minutes, until warmed through. You can also cut them in half and toast them.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SCONES?
You can enjoy the warm scones with sour cream, cream cheese, tahini or butter.
If you recreate this Strawberry Snack Cake recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @blendofspicesbysara, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Masala Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups 240g all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp crushed black pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
- 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cup 125g cheddar, shredded
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tbsp milk
- sesame seeds to finish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the dry ingredients(flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar) a couple times to combine.
- Add the cold grated butter and mix 7-10 times until the butter is completely distributed. You shouldn’t see any chunks of butter, and the mixture should have a sandy texture to it.
- Then add in the cheese, cilantro and mix it together.
- Whisk together the whipping cream, sour cream with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine with a spatula, until a rough dough forms.
- Transfer to a lightly floured countertop and knead about 10 times until the dough comes together into a relatively smooth ball. Take care not to knead too much, or the dough will be tougher and not rise as high.
- Roll the dough about an inch thick and use a 2.5″ cutter to cut about 7 circles. Re-roll the scraps and cut out another 3.
- Place the scones onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg-milk wash.
- Bake the scones for 13-15 minutes, until about tripled in height, and golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Enjoy!
