For Ben Mims, food writer and cookbook author’s Coconut and Earl Grey Scones, floral notes of orange and bitter black tea pair well with the rich aroma of coconut in these scones with the tea blended right inside. Even though pieces of coconut, milk, and oil are used here, the subtle flavor of coconut needs the boost of extract for its full flavor to come through. The coconut sugar sprinkled on top is too savory to use as the sweetener in the scones, but it offers the perfect amount of crunch and toasted coconut aroma when sprinkled on top. If you can’t find coconut sugar, you can use granulated or light brown sugar instead.
Coconut and Earl Grey Scones
Makes 8, Recipe by Ben Mims
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480 grams) unsweetened canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons (12 grams) finely ground Earl Grey tea
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) coconut extract
- 1cup (50 grams) unsweetened flaked coconut
- 5cups (625 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons (25 grams) baking powder
- 2½ teaspoons (7.5 grams) kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) unrefined coconut oil, frozen
- ½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- Heavy whipping cream, for brushing
- Garnish: coconut sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring coconut milk and tea to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut extract. Let cool completely. Refrigerate tea-infused milk until chilled; strain, discarding solids.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spread coconut flakes on a baking sheet, and bake until lightly golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer coconut to a bowl, and let cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Finely grate frozen coconut oil with a serrated knife into ¼-inch pieces; add to dry ingredients along with butter, and rub into dry ingredients quickly with your fingers until butter looks like pea-size crumbles. Stir in toasted coconut; add chilled tea milk, and stir with a fork until a dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and pat into a 9-inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges, and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Brush tops of frozen scones with cream, and sprinkle each with a hefty pinch of coconut sugar, if desired.
- Bake until risen and deep golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.
I have tried baking it, and for the first experiment I think I can get a delicious taste of Coconut and Earl Gray Scones.
Thank you for sharing
The aroma was intoxicating. However, the end result was a fail. The scones were raw inside after 35 minutes. But I will try again.
Geegcheegirl68,
We are sorry to hear that. Please let us know if we can help you trouble shoot what went wrong the first time.
As nothing is mentioned I’m going on the assumption the coconut previously toasted is used as garnish AFTER scones have been baked and not added prior to baking as this would be two times in the oven and most likely burn. However, I just want to verify I’m assuming this correctly, you know what they say about assuming anything. As a hobby baker I can make a fairly good guess at unknowns like this but young or inexperienced bakers may not realize the coconut is already toasted and add it again. Perhaps it should be added to the final instruction. Just a suggestion. When it comes to baking you can’t ever assume every baker knows any step. I’m still trying to figure out how a newlywed in my office many years ago ended up with a SOGGY cake every time she made a boxed cake mix. I began baking those on my own at about 9 years old back in the early 1970s. If following the instructions, I still don’t understand how one can finish with a soggy cake but she did,.
Hey Pamela,
Thanks for reaching out! The toasted coconut is meant to be added to the batter and baked within the scones. We toast our coconut flakes before adding it to the scone batter for the same reason other recipes call for toasting nuts before adding them into cake batter: it adds a boost of warm, toasty flavor that it can’t receive once hidden inside of the cake batter. We didn’t have any issue with our coconut flakes burning with this double bake, mostly because the toasted coconut flakes are covered by batter and protected from direct heat. Please let us know if you have any issues with the recipe!
These sound scrumptious to me! LOVE baking with Earl Grey!