These honey raspberry scones are buttery, flaky, and perfectly sweetened. They are infused with floral honey and loaded with juicy raspberries. They are great for breakfast, brunch or a snack. While they are delicious smeared with butter and jam, the real magic happens when you enjoy them with the signature honey drizzle.
A few weeks ago, I tried a honey raspberry scone from a local bakery. While it was tasty, I knew I could make it even better. Since I have been focusing my kitchen experiments on science of baking with honey, I took it as a sign to develop the ultimate version.
Initially, I wanted to sweeten these scones entirely with honey, but the results were not quite right. The texture was off, and scones browned too fast in the oven. That's when I decided to use a combination of sugar and honey to achieve the perfect scone architecture. The sugar ensures that traditional, slightly crisp, flaky crust we all love, while honey keeps the interior tender and adds a floral note.
If you are interested in the science of swapping honey for sugar, you should check out my guide on how to substitute honey for sugar in baking.
I'll be honest, getting a punchy honey flavor inside a bake can be tricky. While the honey in the dough keeps these scones moist for days, the flavor is subtle. But do not worry, cause I found the solution. To really make that honey profile sand out, I drizzled the warm scones with the floral honey. The final step is the secret, it brings honey flavor to the forefront and creates and beautiful, professional finish.
Love baking with honey? Try my honey banana bread, honey cookies, honey sponge cake, honey muffins or honey one-layer cake.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: It provides the perfect protein balance for tender crust.
- Sugar: Just a little bit here. While honey adds sweetness and flavor, sugar is essential for achieving that classic, slightly crisp scone texture.
- Baking powder: This the primary leavening agent. It gives our scones the rise.
- Salt: Never skip the salt! It balances the sweetness of scones and balances the brightness of raspberries.
- Cold butter: I prefer using high-fat European butter for a richer flavor, but I have tested this recipe with American butter and it works beautifully as well. The key it must be ice cold.
- Heavy cream: Make sure it is cold too. While heavy cream is classic, you can also use butter milk or even kefir for tangier flavor.
- Egg: One cold egg helps to bind the dough and adds richness.
- Honey: I used local raw wildflower honey. Since honey is the star ingredient, using high-quality honey (especially for the drizzle) makes a difference.
- Frozen raspberries: You can also fresh raspberries, but I highly recommend frozen. They stay intact during mixing and keep the dough cold, which is a secret to a flaky scone.
- Cinnamon: Optional, but I add it to honey drizzle for the warm notes that complements the floral honey. warm" base note that complements the floral honey.
A note on measuring the ingredients: While I have provided cup measurements for convenience, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale and measuring in grams.
How to make honey raspberry scones
Prep dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking power, and salt. Whisking aerates the flour, which is a simple step to make scones lighter.
Add cold cubed butter. You can cube it and place it back in the fridge for 30 minutes or freeze it for 10 minutes. You can also freeze a stick of butter and grate it into flour mix.
Incorporate the butter into the flour. Use your hands to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is about the size of peas. You can also use a pastry cutter.
Whisk wet ingredients. In a measuring cup, add heavy cream, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Add honey. I like to drizzle it on top of all the ingredients so it is easier to distribute.
Hot tip: grease your measuring spoon with a tiny bit of neutral oil and honey will slide right out.
Mix into a shaggy dough. Using a spatula, mix the dough briefly in a bowl. It should look shaggy. Add frozen raspberries. I like to distribute them evenly and push it gently in to the dough.
Shape the wedges. Transfer the dough into he floured surface. Knead it just to get it into the one pile. Form a disk and cut in into 8 wedges. For best results, place the wedges in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes.
Prepare for baking. Transfer the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper, leaving some space in between. Brush them with heavy cream.
Bake and temp. Bake it at 375F for 23-25 minutes at the lowed rack. And the last tip, do not guess if the scones are cooked. Use a food thermometer and if the internal temperature reaches 200F, the scones are perfectly cooked.
Honey finish. Let baked scones cool down for 15 minutes. Warm honey in a microwave for 20 seconds, so it is more liquid. Add a pinch of salt and sprinkle it with cinnamon to the warm honey. Mix it and drizzle the honey over the barely warm scones.
My technical secrets and tips
Why sugar-honey hybrid?
You might wonder why we do no use 100% honey to bake these scones. In baking chemistry, granulated sugar and honey serve different purposes. The sugar keeps the crumb short and flaky, and provides that classic slight crisp interior. Honey on the other hand draws moisture, so the inside stays moist, tender and fresh for days. It also adds flavor and sweetness, of course. By using both, you get the structure of traditional cone with the honey flavor and longer shelf life.
Why frozen raspberries are better?
Cold everything is very important for making scones. So frozen raspberries will act like ice packs for the dough, keeping it cold. Fresh raspberries are also very delicate and will more likely break during the folding process. Frozen raspberries stay intact and will less likely make the whole dough pink.
Why everything should be cold?
If you want your scones to have craggy, flaky layers, everything must be cold. It includes eggs, butter, heavy cream. I even place my measured flour in to the fridge in the bowl I make the scones in for an hour. If the butter reaches room temperature before it gets into the oven, it will melt into the flour and your scones will be flat and greasy. That's why you want those pea-sized chunks of butter remain cold and solid, so when they are in the oven, they create steam that lifts the dough into layers. I like to pop formed scones in the fridge for 15 minutes before I brush them with cream and place in the oven.
Why drizzle honey over the warm scones (not hot)?
If your drizzle honey over hot scones, it will become too thin and soak into the scones, making them soggy. Wait until they are barely warm, so the honey remains thick and glossy, giving your scones floral honey aroma and shine.
Making ahead
Store baked scones will last at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can also refrigerate them for up to 7 days. Warm them up in the microwave a little bit if straight from the fridge.
You can also freeze unbaked scones for up to 3 months. Bake them straight form the freezer. You will need to increase the baking time slightly.
You can also store unbaked scones in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Great way to have fresh scones in the morning.
📖 Recipe
Honey Raspberry Scones
Equipment
- 1 large bowl
- 1 Baking pan
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Measuring Cup
- 1 kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 240 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 113 grams (1 stick) cold butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream for brushing
Honey drizzle
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Prep the oven and the pan. Preheat oven to 375℉. Adjust the baking rack to the lower position to prevent the honey from browning the bottoms of the scones too quickly. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Chill the butter. Cube the butter into small pieces and place it back into the fridge for about 30 minutes or in the freeze for 10 minutes. It must be iced-cold. Alternative way: You can freeze a stick of butter and grate it directly into the flour.
- Mix dry ingredients. In large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisking well aerates the flour for a lighter texture.
- Cut in cold butter. Add cold cubed butter to the flour. Using your hands or pastry cutter, rub or cut the butter into flour. Aim for pea-sized chunks. They butter should be visible and not fully disappear into the flour.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a measuring cup, add ½ cup of heavy cream, one cold egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine.
- Form a shaggy dough. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and add 2 tablespoons of honey. I like to drizzle it evenly over the ingredients for easier distribution. Using a spatula, quickly mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Add frozen raspberries. Gently add the frozen raspberries, distributing them evenly and pushing them lightly into the dough.
- Fold and knead. Transfer the dough into a lightly floured surface. Fold and knead it gently a few times until it barely comes together. It should still look rough and shaggy.
- Shape and cut. Form the dough into disk (about 1 inch thick). Using a shark knife, cut the disk into 8 wedges, just like a pizza or a pie.
- Bake the scones. Arrange them carefully on a prepared pan, living some space in between and they will expand and grow in size. Brush the tops with heavy cream. Bake at 375℉ for about 23-25 minutes until golden brown on top. Tip: Scones are ready when internal temperature reaches 200℉.
- Drizzle with honey glaze. Let the scones cool down for about 15 minutes. Drizzle the with just honey or my signature honey drizzle.
Honey drizzle
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of honey into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for about 20 second or until honey becomes thin. Add a pinch of salt and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Drizzle over barely warm scones. Do not drizzle over hot scones, because it will absorb into the scones, making them soggy.
Notes
- Add white chocolate chips: raspberry and white chocolate go so well together. Since these scones are not overly sweet, adding white chocolate chips will make them sweet but balanced.
- Use different berries: if y0u have blueberries or blackberries, you can use them in place of raspberries. For strawberries, cut them in smaller pieces.
- Use dried fruit instead: Fold in some dried cranberries or raisins in place of fresh berries.
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