Baked with an aromatic Indian spice and topped with a sweet pear drizzle, these spiced scones are bursting with flavor.
Pear Chai Spiced Scones with Spiced Pear Glaze
Makes 8
Ingredients
- Scones:
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (6 grams) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon (1 gram) grated fresh nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5 gram) ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5 gram) ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 small pears, cored and chopped
- 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 large egg
- Spiced Pear Syrup:
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 pear, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- Pear Glaze:
- ½ cup (60 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons Spiced Pear Syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- For scones: In the work bowl of a food processor, place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and pepper; pulse until combined. Add cold butter, and pulse until mixture is crumbly.
- Transfer dough to a large bowl, and fold in pears and 1 cup cream, stirring until combined. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly, just until dough comes together. Press dough into prepared cake pan. Turn out, and using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and remaining 1 teaspoon cream. Brush tops of scones with egg wash, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes.
- For spiced pear syrup: In a small saucepan, bring sugar, ¼ cup water, pear, cinnamon, and star anise to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
- For pear glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and Spiced Pear Syrup until smooth. Drizzle over warm scones.
Hi! What kind of pears would you recommend for this recipe? I can’t wait to try it…the recipe looks awesome!
Amy
Amy,
Thanks for reaching out! You could use any types of pears that you would like, but we recommend using a Bartlett Pears.
Happy Baking!
Thank you so much for the reply….I didn’t get it tal after I got some Anjou pears to try LOL……I made the recipe today and wow, just wow. What an amazing result!! Absolutely stunning taste. thank you for sharing such a great recipe!!
These are fantastic!! Just the right texture, with the pears adding a little moisture. I used anjou pears (unpeeled) and they are delicious!
Probably would be good if the flavor wasn’t overwhelmed by salt. I might try this again and cut the salt in half.
My favorite annual fall-kickoff recipe! The recipe rides a bit on the salty side, like another person mentioned, so I would be light handed with the pour.
Overall, though, it’s an easy-to-follow and easy-to-make recipe with a result that could trick people into thinking you spent all day on these scones! I cannot recommend this recipe enough, although I try to not mention it too often so people don’t know my secret for fabulous and flavorful scones! 😉
For those bakers having a problem with the salt, it could be the brand. Most bakers and recipe developers use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, which is nearly half as dense as Morton Kosher. I don’t know why they don’t specify the type, especially when there is such a huge difference! I finally just bought the DC Kosher and always use it, especially when baking.
Looking forward to trying this recipe!
I take the sliced pears from the syrup to decorate the top of the scones – this is by far my favorite scone recipe.