Perfectly moist earl grey scones are brightened with orange zest and punctuated by nibbles of chocolate. These vegan and grain-free pastries are easy to make ahead and perfect for brunch!
I confess that wasn’t always a fan of scones. Before going gluten-free 10+ years ago, I tried my share of conventional scones and they tended to be bland and much too dry! Those days are over in more ways than one: no more gluten and no more dry scones.
In this version, we combine the bold and harmonious flavors of earl grey tea, orange zest, and chocolate. Equally important, the grain-free pastry is always perfectly moist and delightfully crumbly.
We begin with an almond flour base, layer in flavor and texture, form into wedges, and bake. No special appliances are required and patience for the process is rewarded with well-baked treats.
Once the dough is formed, it's important to keep the coconut oil from melting. The freezer is your friend here! You'll want the raw scones to emulate a refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough - at its warmest - and firm to the touch just before baking.
How long the dough needs to chill will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. For example, warmer days might mean chilling the dough longer. Cooler days (or air conditioned spaces) tend to take less time. From our tests, freezing the dough for 15 minutes minimum should work every time.
If you're looking for nut-free scone recipes, check out these pumpkin scones or spiced plum scones!
PrintEarl Grey Scones with Orange and Chocolate
Perfectly moist earl grey scones are brightened with orange zest and punctuated by nibbles of chocolate. These vegan and grain-free pastries are easy to make ahead and perfect for brunch!
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cool/Chill Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
- Yield: 6 scones
- Category: Sweet Bread
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: dessert, vegan
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
1 Tbsp flax meal
3 Tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar*
1 tsp maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil, melted but not hot
Dry Ingredients:
1 ½ cup fine blanched almond flour
½ cup tapioca flour, plus 2 more tablespoon for shaping dough
¼ cup coconut sugar
½ tsp baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp earl grey tea (≈ 3 tea bags)
1 orange, zest only
½ cup vegan chocolate chips (mini chips recommended)
Glaze:
2 Tbsp almond milk
Chocolate Drizzle (Optional)**:
1 Tbsp vegan chocolate chips
1 Tbsp almond milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together flax meal, 3 tablespoons of the milk, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until mixture thickens. Put bowl in freezer for 10 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together almond flour, ½ cup of the tapioca flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, earl grey tea, orange zest, and chocolate chips until combined.
- Remove the flax mixture from the freezer and whisk in coconut oil until no clear oil is seen.
- Blend the wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a spatula until combined. The dough will be thick and fairly sticky.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour on your work surface. Roll dough into a ball in the flour until you can handle it without it being too sticky. Pat dough and form into a 6 inch diameter disc.
- Set oven to 350° F and freeze disc of dough on a parchment lined half sheet pan for 15 minutes (longer is fine if you wish to bake hours later or even the next day.) This allows you to cut the dough cleanly and ensures the scones keep their shape when baking.
- Cut into 6 pie wedge scones and place apart on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Lightly brush the tops and sides with 2 tablespoons of milk (for an extra golden and crisp crust!)
- Bake for 15 minutes, until edges are browned and tops are nice and crackly.
- Allow scones to completely cool on pan before removing and glazing. They are fragile when warm!
- Optional Drizzle: Melt the chocolate drizzle ingredients together in microwave or over double boiler. Using a small squeeze bottle or ziploc with corner cut out, drizzle over the top of scones in a quick zig zag pattern.
- Serve and enjoy! Extra scones can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
*Can substitute lemon juice for apple cider vinegar.
**They're just as delicious without the drizzle!
Hiroshi says
Hello.
Do you think I can use coconut manna instead of the oil, or would I only be able to use the oil?
Thank you,
Hiroshi
Audrey says
Hi Hiroshi. I'm thinking the manna might be a bit too thick / firm for the dough to work properly. But maybe it's worth the experiment :)
Emilye says
I’m a big fan of your recipes but would love it if you could provide measurements in grams. It’s much more precise, especially in baking where accuracy is important. Just a suggestion :)
Audrey says
Hi Emilye. Thank you so much!
I do use gram measurements for any ingredients / recipes where super precision is required. Otherwise I just find them an unnecessary and time consuming added step. I know that some people have the opposite preference, but I can't help it :D. It's just my style -- quick and no-fuss, and cup measurements just do the trick for me just fine.
Janel says
Hi Emilye!
After making batches of these scones for years - sometimes converting to grams and weighing ingredients first and sometimes taking the easy road and measuring by volume - they always come out lovely!
For some ingredients used here, gram to cup measure varies significantly by brand. Converting from volume measurements to grams based on the nutrition label will always provide more precision and consistency - but we don't want to limit which brands you use. That said, I wouldn't recommend calculating gram measurements for this recipe unless you are scaling up for many batches and plan to work with the same brands of ingredients every time.
These scones and most recipes on the blog work beautifully measuring by volume (I've tried at least 100 of them!) The only exception I can think of is this olive rosemary focaccia recipe where we did include gram measurements. Hope this helps!