Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze

5 from 2 votes

Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze

How to make lemon scones with a fresh, zesty lemon glaze. These scones are simple to make and need only a handful of ingredients to produce soft, tender and lemony scones perfect for afternoon tea.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Morning Tea

Cuisine: American, Australian, English

Keyword: how to make lemon scones, lemon glaze, lemon scones, lemon scones with lemon glaze

Servings:

Calories: 184kcal

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour or all-purpose flour plus 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; plus extra for dusting the counter
1 lemon
4 Tbsp butter cold, cubed
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk plus extra for mixing, if needed (if no buttermilk, sub with regular whole milk mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice)
1 cup powdered sugar icing sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For combi steam oven

Preheat oven to 410°F/210°C, 50% humidity. If you can't vary the steam settings in your oven, don't worry! Just set to combi steam/convection steam at the correct temperature and the oven will take care of the rest. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

For regular oven

Preheat oven to 430°F/220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

All methods

Place flour in a large bowl. Zest the lemon directly over the top of the bowl (I use a microplane grater for extra fine zest). Keep the lemon, you'll use the juice later for the glaze.
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour, 1 lemon
Add the butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into flour and zest until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Tip in the sugar and toss this through with your fingers.
4 Tbsp butter, 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
Make a well in the flour mixture, then add buttermilk into the well. Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until the dough almost comes together but is a little lumpy and uneven.
3/4 cup buttermilk
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together gently. Don't knead or overmix it, it just needs to be a single mass - a bit shaggy is fine. Pat the dough into a square about an inch and a half (3 1/2 cm) high.
Using a sharp knife dusted with flour between each cut, cut the dough into 8 triangles. Place scones, almost touching, onto the prepared pan.

Combi steam baking

Bake until light golden, puffed and craggy looking, about 12 minutes.

Regular oven baking

Bake until light golden and puffed; the scones will sound a little hollow if you tap the tops.

Cool and glaze

Leave the hot scones on the baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel to keep the moisture in as they cool.
Make the glaze. Juice the lemon, then mix the powdered sugar in a bowl with enough lemon juice to make the consistency of heavy cream.
1 cup powdered sugar, 1 lemon
When the scones are barely warm, use a spoon to drizzle the glaze generously over the tops. Serve fresh; they're best eaten the day they're baked.

Notes

Variations

Lemon Blueberry Scones: To make blueberry lemon scones instead of plain lemon, add a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries to the scone dough just after tipping in the buttermilk. Mix extra carefully so you don’t turn the dough purple, especially if you’re using frozen berries.
Lemon Poppy Seed Scones: Fresh lemon flavor and crunchy, earthy little poppy seeds are a match made in heaven! Add 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the scone dough when you add the sugar. Sprinkle the glazed lemon poppy seed scones with extra poppy seeds if desired.
Orange Scones: I love fresh lemons and oranges together, so I leave the lemon zest in the recipe but add the zest of an orange as well. When you make the glaze, use half lemon juice and half orange juice (I find all orange juice makes the glaze too sweet, it needs the sourness of the lemon).

Nutrition