These Carrot Cake Scones are wonderfully moist, crumbly and filled with freshly shredded carrots and flavourful ground spices. Topped with a luscious cream cheese icing, this recipe has everything you love about a classic carrot cake!
Carrot Cake Scones
I love making scones that are inspired by other sweet and savoury foods like my birthday cake scones or bruschetta scones. These carrot cake scones are another one to add to the list.
Think of a flavourful, moist carrot cake topped with sweet cream cheese frosting. Now think of all that in scone form. Mouthwatering!
The flavour of these carrot cake scones mostly come from the ground spices and carrots which also provide a bit of crunch and texture with the walnuts. This particular recipe uses a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar so it has a richer flavour.
If you decide to frost the scones with the cream cheese icing, you will also get that sweet tanginess in every bite.
Carrot Cake Scones are delicious year-round but are especially popular during Easter/spring season and the fall season as they are filled with warm spices, too.
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Carrot cake flavours and scone texture. Combining the two, this recipe makes a buttery, moist and crumbly treat.
- Easy to make. It doesn’t take too long to prepare this scone recipe. The most time consuming part is grating the carrots.
- It’s customizable. Experiment with other mix-ins (ie. nuts & dried fruit) to make this how you like it!
- Carrot cake for breakfast? Yes, please! These scones can be served during brunch or just with your morning cup of tea/coffee.
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, ground spices.
- Wet Ingredients: Cold butter and milk.
- Carrots: Wash and grate the carrots using the small holes on a box grater. Usually about 1 large carrot is enough. Grating whole carrots at home is a must because they will be the best for a moist scone. Packaged pre-shredded carrots are more dry so the end results will not be the same.
- Optional: Chopped walnuts for added crunch and texture!
- Icing Ingredients: Cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and milk.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This is just a run through of the recipe. Find the full ingredient measurements and directions in the recipe card towards the end of this post.
To Make The Carrot Cake Scones:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.
Add cold butter to the mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, fork or your fingers, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until coarse.
Add grated carrots, milk and chopped walnuts (optional). Mix until dough begins to form. It shouldn’t be too wet or sticky. If that is the case, you may need a bit more flour.
Place the scone dough onto a floured surface and form it into a disk about 1 ½ inch thick. Cut it into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on the lined baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with more milk.
Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of the scones. They are done baking when a toothpick comes out clean. Let the carrot cake scones cool before icing.
To Make The Cream Cheese Icing:
Beat softened cream cheese and 1-2 teaspoons milk until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until creamy.
Feel free to adjust as needed. If the icing is too thick, add a little bit more of milk, until you reach the desired consistency. If it is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar, until thickened.
Top the scones with the cream cheese icing and sprinkle with more freshly shredded carrots and chopped walnuts, if desired.
Substitutions & Variations
- I love the combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in carrot cake. However, you can use different spices in these scones if you prefer (ie. cardamom).
- Walnuts are optional. You can replace them with pecans or omit nuts altogether to keep the scones nut-free.
- Add raisins to the batter if you love them in traditional carrot cake! I’m not a huge fan of raisins in baked goods, so I leave them out of these scones.
- Instead of topping the scones with icing, you can serve them as is. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of the scones after brushing them with milk before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I store leftover carrot scones?
These scones are best served the day they were baked, however they will store well for 3-5 days in an airtight container. If the scones have icing on them, store them in the refrigerator as they will last longer there. If they are not topped with icing, they can be stored at room temperature up to 3 days.
Can I make these scones ahead of time and freeze them?
Yes. You can store unbaked scones in the freezer for up to a few weeks in an airtight container. Bake from frozen when you are ready. However, do note that you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time in this case.
Can I use a different icing on these scones?
Cream cheese frosting is traditionally used on carrot cake, so that’s why they work so well on these scones. However, you can definitely try these carrot cake scones with vanilla or spiced icing. Alternatively, you can serve and enjoy these scones without any icing, too!
Carrot Cake Scones with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
FOR THE SCONES:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 8 tablespoons butter cold
- ⅔ cup milk
- ¾ cup finely grated carrots about 1 large carrot
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts optional
FOR THE ICING:
- ¼ cup cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
To Make The Carrot Cake Scones:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.
- Add cold butter to the mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, fork or your fingers, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until coarse.
- Add grated carrots, milk and chopped walnuts (optional). Mix until dough begins to form. It shouldn’t be too wet or sticky. If that is the case, you may need a bit more flour.
- Place the scone dough onto a floured surface and form it into a disk about 1 ½ inch thick. Cut it into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on the lined baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with more milk.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of the scones. They are done baking when a toothpick comes out clean. Let the carrot cake scones cool before icing.
To Make The Cream Cheese Icing:
- Beat softened cream cheese and 1-2 teaspoons milk until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until creamy. Feel free to adjust as needed. If the icing is too thick, add a little bit more of milk, until you reach the desired consistency. If it is too thin, add more confectioners' sugar, until thickened.
- Top the scones with the cream cheese icing and sprinkle with more freshly shredded carrots and chopped walnuts, if desired.