Earl Grey Blackberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Made with earl grey tea and fresh blackberries, these Earl Grey Blackberry Scones with Lemon Glaze are an awesome treat for any earl grey tea lover! These lemon glazed scones are unbelievable soft, flaky, and moist, and have a ton of rich bergamot and fruity flavor! Serve with a cup of tea or coffee! Perfect for visiting with a friend, or reading your Bible.
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Okay, I’m going to be honest, these might be my favorite scones ever. I know, I say that about every scone, but for real this time haha. I don’t know what it is about these scones, but they have such a unique twist to them. It’s like every ingredient has its own subtle, but bold flavor. I truly can’t explain, but it just works! From the zesty lemon flavor, to the rich earl grey tea, to sweet (kinda tart) blackberries. Every bite will leave you wanting more!
What is a scone?
I always like to tell people it’s like a mix somewhere in between a biscuit and a muffin. It’s texture is somewhat like a biscuit (minus the flaky layers), but I say it’s a little more moist, and crumbly like a muffin. It’s one of those things you just need to try to understand. I really prefer a scone because it is not too sweet, but really the perfect amount of sweetness.
Tips for making the most delicious scone:
- Do not over mix the dough: The more you stir, mix, and work the dough, the more you activate the gluten, making the dough tough. It becomes more like bread than a light, fluffy, pastry.
- Keep the butter cold: For the best texture, during the baking process, the butter will begin to melt inside the dough. This will create steam and air pockets, giving the scones additional rise and a fluffy, tender texture. If the butter is too soft before hitting the oven, the scone will end up greasy and dense. This is why the step of putting the scones in the fridge is very important – ensuring that you have cold butter.
- Use heavy cream: The additional fat from the heavy cream will keep the scones from drying out and keep the dough moist – leaving you with the most tender scones.
- Do not over bake: The scones are ready to come out of the oven when they are just starting to brown on the edges, but are still light in color. Leaving them in too long will cause them to dry out, and nobody likes a dry scone!
- Half the recipe: If you want less scones (instead of 8 scones), half the recipe and just cut into 4 triangles, this will give less scones!
- Don’t like lemon: Leave the lemon juice out of the icing, and replace with milk. You can also replace the lemon juice with early grey tea if you would like!
- Cut the blackberries: If you like smaller pieces of blackberry in your scone, it’s a good idea to cut them in half. Keep in mind, they will naturally squish a little when incorporating into your dough.
What is the best method for keeping the butter cold?
I personally use a cheese grater, I grate the butter very quickly with a cheese grater so that it stays cold. Some people use a food processor, pastry cutter, or just a sharp knife. I have done it every way, and the cheese grater (in my opinion) is the most effective way to keep the pieces of butter cold. If you are using something besides a cheese grater, make sure you get your butter in small cubes.
How long will these blackberry scones last?
Typically they don’t even last a full day in our house, but when stored in an airtight container, they should stay fresh for about 2 days. You can also freeze this recipe for up to 2 months. Whenever you pull them out of the freezer, take them out of their container and let them come up to room temperature. Once they are at room temperature, you can either eat them, or heat them up in the oven for a little to make them nice and warm!
Scone Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour — plus extra for kneading
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 bags of Earl Grey tea, divided
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, grated
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup cold heavy cream, extra for brushing
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blackberries
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice, fresh
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions for making the scones:
- Add heavy cream to a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until just beginning to bubble. Place 3 earl grey tea bags in, then place into the fridge to steep. Let cool for 1 hour.
- After the 1 hour, remove the tea bags, squeezing them to get all the steeped cream out of them, then place the steeped cream back in the fridge for another hour, or until cold
- Preheat the oven to 400º and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients – flour, sugar, 1 earl grey tea bag, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Grate your cold butter with a cheese grater (use the side with the larger holes)
- To your dry ingredients, add in the cold butter and incorporate with your hands, working quickly, and also without handing the butter too much – the mixture should look like sand.
- Next, in a separate bowl, combine your wet ingredients – whisk the egg, earl grey steeped cream, and vanilla extract together. Then add to the flour mixture.
- Mix until the ingredients are just combined. Then add blackberries and mix a little longer. Remember to not over mix.
- On a lightly floured surface, pour out the scone dough, and gently form the dough into a ball
- Then shape the dough into a disc, about 3/4″ thick.
- Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into eight even triangles.
- Place the scone triangles on to your prepared baking sheet, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes
- Take the scones out of the fridge and brush some heavy whipping cream on the top of the scones
- Then bake at 400º for 15-18 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Let cool on a cooling rack. Drizzle lemon icing over cooled scones
To Make the Lemon Icing:
- Wash/dry your lemon, then zest lemon using a citrus zester or the small side of a box grater
- Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth. The mixture should be thick but still pour off a spoon.
- Drizzle the icing over the scones and allow to set.
Earl Grey Blackberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
Scone Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour — plus extra for kneading
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 bags of Earl Grey tea divided
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter grated
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup cold heavy cream extra for brushing
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
To Make the Scones
- Add heavy cream to a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until just beginning to bubble. Place 3 earl grey tea bags in, then place into the fridge to steep. Let cool for 1 hour.
- After the 1 hour, remove the tea bags, squeezing them to get all the steeped cream out of them, then place the steeped cream back in the fridge for another hour, or until cold
- Preheat the oven to 400º and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients – flour, sugar, 1 earl grey tea bag, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Grate your cold butter with a cheese grater (use the side with the larger holes)
- To your dry ingredients, add in the cold butter and incorporate with your hands, working quickly, and also without handing the butter too much – the mixture should look like sand.
- Next, in a separate bowl, combine your wet ingredients – whisk the egg, earl grey steeped cream, and vanilla extract together. Then add to the flour mixture.
- Mix until the ingredients are just combined. Then add blackberries and mix a little longer. Remember to not over mix.
- On a lightly floured surface, pour out the scone dough, and gently form the dough into a ball
- Then shape the dough into a disc, about 3/4″ thick.
- Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into eight even triangles.
- Place the scone triangles on to your prepared baking sheet, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes
- Take the scones out of the fridge and brush some heavy whipping cream on the top of the scones
- Then bake at 400º for 15-18 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Let cool on a cooling rack. Drizzle lemon icing over cooled scones
To Make the Lemon Glaze
- Wash/dry and zest lemon
- Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth. The mixture should be thick but still pour off a spoon.
- Drizzle the glaze over the scones and allow to set.
Notes
- Do not over mix the dough: The more you stir, mix, and work the dough, the more you activate the gluten, making the dough tough. It becomes more like bread than a light, fluffy, pastry.
- Keep the butter cold: For the best texture, during the baking process, the butter will begin to melt inside the dough. This will create steam and air pockets, giving the scones additional rise and a fluffy, tender texture. If the butter is too soft before hitting the oven, the scone will end up greasy and dense. This is why the step of putting the scones in the fridge is very important – ensuring that you have cold butter.
- Use heavy cream: The additional fat from the heavy cream will keep the scones from drying out and keep the dough moist – leaving you with the most tender scones.
- Do not over bake: The scones are ready to come out of the oven when they are just starting to brown on the edges, but are still light in color. Leaving them in too long will cause them to dry out, and nobody likes a dry scone!
- Half the recipe: If you want less scones (instead of 8 scones), half the recipe and just cut into 4 triangles, this will give less scones!
- Don’t like lemon: Leave the lemon juice out of the icing, and replace with milk. You can also replace the lemon juice with early grey tea if you would like!
- Cut the blackberries: If you like smaller pieces of blackberry in your scone, it’s a good idea to cut them in half. Keep in mind, they will naturally squish a little when incorporating into your dough.