Buttery Earl Grey Scones with Lemon Glaze

These Earl Grey scones have the floral and citrus flavor of Earl Grey tea, and they’re flaky and buttery and a bit like American biscuits. You’ll find them not at all like the dry and crumbly things that try to pass for scones at U.S. coffee shops.

Drizzle a lemon glaze on top of the scones and let it drip down the sides for a sweet tang to balance it all out. Or leave them topless and serve with your favorite jam or preserves.

three earl grey scones with lemon glaze on a tray with a spoon covered in glaze.
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Ingredients

Baking with tea

Earl Grey tea is a black tea flavored with bergamot oil. It is named after Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister in the 1830s, and reportedly responsible for abolition of slavery in the British Empire and ending a monopoly on trade held by the East India Company.

If you love Earl Grey tea, make my Earl Grey lavender cake or the related Empress Gin cocktail made with an Earl Grey tea simple syrup.

Tip from the wise quacker: You can use either loose tea or tea bags when baking with tea. Loose tea will have larger tea leaves and provide a stronger flavor than the ground tea in tea bags. Use only half the amount if you have loose tea.

Variations and substitutions

  • Sub chai or matcha or another of your favorite teas.
  • Add culinary lavender to make Earl Grey lavender scones.
  • Change up the glaze by using vanilla or even Earl Grey tea in place of the lemon juice.

Recipe tips and tricks

This recipe for Earl Grey scones was adapted from my recipe for chocolate chip scones. The lemon glaze is the same as the glaze for my blackberry lemon bread.

Making the Earl Grey scone dough

If you’ve been baking a while, the tips and tricks are similar to making pie crust and puff pastry. Your goal is to work the dough as lightly as possible while keeping the butter from getting warm.

Start by combining the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl. If you have large pieces of loose tea, you may need to grind or pulverize it before adding it to the other dry ingredients. Then add the butter cubes and mix just until the butter flattens out but remains in large pieces (Panel #1, below).

Add the cream and mix only until the scone dough starts to come together. It will still be slightly crumbly (Panel #2).

two panels showing addition of butter and addition of cream to dry ingredients.

 

Rolling and folding the dough

At this point, many scone recipes have you mush your scone dough together and cut out the scones. In this scone recipe, rolling and folding the scone dough gives you flaky layers.

Turn the dough mixture out onto a lightly floured countertop and roll or pat it into a rough rectangle about 8 by 12 inches and one inch thick (Panel #1, below). Fold down the top third of the rectangle (Panel #2).

four panels showing the folding of the scone dough.

Now fold up the bottom third like a business letter (Panel #3, above). Rotate the dough 90 degrees or one quarter turn (Panel #4), and repeat the rolling and folding and turning three more times. If your kitchen is warm, put the dough into the refrigerator for 15 minutes between turns.

You can freeze all or part of the scone dough at this point. Wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag for 3 to 6 months.

Cutting the scones

If you want large Earl Grey scones: cut the dough into 8 squares. Then cut each square diagonally to make 16 triangles.

If you want small scones: after the last turn, roll the dough out one last time to a rectangle of 8 by 12 inches. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough lengthwise so you have two 4 by 12 inch rectangles. Then cut each 4 by 12 rectangle three times crosswise so you now have eight 4 by 3 inch rectangles. Finally, cut each rectangle along the diagonals into four small scones.

You can trim the edges to get a straight rise of your layers if you care about that sort of thing.

cut scones on a baking sheet.

Baking and glazing

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown. The scones will feel slightly firm.

To finish, glaze the baked and cooled scones with a simple mixture of confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Or you can brush the unbaked scones with cream and sprinkle sugar on before baking. Serve unglazed scones with jam.

earl grey scone on a plate with knife and spoon with red jam.

Recipe FAQs

What’s the difference between scones and biscuits?

This is one of those places where people can get fussy. The answer to that question differs depending on where you are in the world and even within the U.S.. Generally speaking, a scone should be slightly crumbly and sweet, and an American biscuit should be light and flaky.

Is it spelled “grey” or “gray”?

Well, it’s Earl Grey when we’re talking about the tea, but the color is correct either way. “Gray” is the more common spelling in the U.S.

Can you freeze scones?

Yes, you can definitely freeze scones! Scones will freeze well either baked or unbaked. If you froze them before baking, you can bake them directly from the freezer. Just add a couple minutes to the baking time.

Check out other recipes from the Ugly Duckling Bakery breakfast archives like:

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Recipe

Earl Grey Scones with Lemon Glaze

5 from 1 vote
Category: Breakfast
Cuisine: British
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 58 minutes
Servings: 32 small scones
Calories: 178kcal
These Earl Grey scones are an indulgent treat for your breakfast or tea. The butter and cream make them soft and sweet. Rolling them out makes them flaky and a bit like American biscuits. And the lemon glaze provides a sweet tang to balance it all out.
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • Stand mixer

Ingredients

Earl Grey scones

  • cups (600 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon loose Earl Grey tea (or 2 tablespoons from 4 tea bags)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 2 cups heavy cream

Lemon glaze

  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice plus more as needed

Instructions

Earl Grey scones

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (250°C)
  • Combine the flour, sugar, Earl Grey tea, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the mixing bowl.
    4½ cups (600 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon loose Earl Grey tea (or 2 tablespoons from 4 tea bags), 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Add the butter and mix on low speed for 1 minute until the butter is flattened but remains as large pieces.
    1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½ inch cubes
  • Add the cream and mix until the mixture just starts to come together.
    2 cups heavy cream
  • Turn the mixture out onto a clean, lightly floured countertop, and knead very briefly just until the dough comes together uniformly.
  • Roll the dough out into a rectangle 1 inch thick, approximately 8 by 12 inches. But don't worry about being too exact here.
  • Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter, and rotate it 90 degrees.
  • Repeat the prior step, rolling the dough out, folding it into thirds, and turning it 90 degrees, for a total of four turns. The edges will become straighter and more even with each turn.
  • After the last turn, roll the dough out one last time to a rectangle of 8 by 12 inches. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough lengthwise so you have two 4 by 12 inch rectangles. Then cut each 4 by 12 rectangle three times crosswise so you now have eight 4 by 3 inch rectangles. Finally, cut each rectangle along the diagonals into four small scones.
  • Lay out the 32 triangles on two baking sheets covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown and the scones feel slightly firm.
  • Remove immediately from the baking sheet and cool on a rack.

Lemon glaze

  • Whisk together the sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add additional lemon juice as needed to thin out the glaze so that it can be thickly poured onto the cooled scones.
    1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Notes

The technique used in making these Earl Grey scones shares similarities with making pie crust and puff pastry. The main thing to remember is that you’ll want to keep your butter cold.
Loose tea has larger tea leaves and a stronger flavor than the ground tea in tea bags. That’s why you use only half the amount if you have loose tea.
Glazes are easy to make with any liquid. Sub in other juices, milk or cream, or even some Earl Grey tea, and adjust the consistency so it is just pourable.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 396IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
Love this recipe?Mention @Uglyducklingbakery or tag #uglyducklingbakery!

My base scone recipe is only barely adapted from the currant scone recipe in Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Pie and Pastry Bible. The Pie and Pastry Bible remains one of my favorite cookbooks, even after all of these years.

You’re an adventurous home cook looking for inspiration in your weeknight meals and weekend baking. Get that inspiration here:

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