Carrot Cake Scones

Have carrot cake for breakfast with these tender, spiced carrot cake scones, finished with a tangy cream cheese glaze.  (Jump to Recipe)

It’s probably strange, given my obsession with carrot cake, that I haven’t actually shared a recipe for carrot cake with you yet.  I’ll work on that.  In the meantime, I’m making every other kind of baked good into a carrot cake hybrid to feed my inability to leave well enough alone.  We started with carrot cake cinnamon rolls, and now…carrot cake scones.

I’ve always loved carrot cake.  There’s something about it that’s so cozy and comforting – the warm spices, the flecks of carrot, the brown sugar, the contrast of the tangy, soft cream cheese frosting.  I remember a bakery we used to go to when I was little sold tall slices of carrot cake with the bright orange buttercream carrots piped on top, and I thought there could be nothing better in life.  Well, they also had cinnamon sugar donuts, so maybe I’m being a tad unfair.  No one should have to choose between cake and donuts.  We usually chose both.

 

Brian and I had carrot cake as one of the tiers of our wedding cake, and we loved it so much that we saved that tier for ourselves.  We ate it in our hotel room after the reception, still in our wedding garb.  That’s dedication.  The other two flavors weren’t bad: vanilla cake with raspberry filling, yellow cake with lemon filling.  But the carrot cake stole the show for us.

So when Rebecca and Ruth from Square Meal Round Table reached out about a recipe collaboration featuring carrots as the star ingredient, I jumped at the chance to revisit my favorite savory-turned-sweet vegetable.  A whole group of talented bloggers created new recipes featuring the humble carrot, and I have to say, the results look pretty spectacular!  You can find all the photos on Instagram by searching the hashtag #24carrotgoals.

Here are all the links to the recipes:

Square Meal Round Table’s Rainbow Carrot and Ricotta Tart

The Cooking of Joy’s Candied Carrot Rose Tart

Better with Biscuits’ Carrot Souffle

This Healthy Table’s Beet and Carrot Galette

Always Eat Dessert’s Carrot Cake Squares with Orange Glaze

Figs & Flour’s Thai Peanut Pizza

Fufu’s Kitchen’s Oven Baked Carrot Fries Drizzled with a Tahini Sauce

Flours in Your Hair’s Carrot Pecan Cookies

Hola Jalapeño’s Roasted Carrots with Chipotle-Honey Butter

Worth Pause’s Paleo Thai Curry Carrot Soup

Something New for Dinner’s Minted Sous Vide Carrots with Balsamic Vinegar and Goat Cheese

What Great Grandma Ate’s Paleo Carrot Mug Cake

More Icing Than Cake’s Spiced Quinoa & Roasted Carrot Salad

Hot Dishing It Out’s Vegan Carrot Whoopie Pies

Confetti Kitchen’s Harissa-Roasted Carrots with Lentils and Yogurt

Easy and Delish’s Carrot Spaghetti

Pie Girl Bakes’ Five Spice Carrot Bundt Cakes with Bourbon Cream Cheese Glaze

Smoothies and Sundaes’ Carrot Cake Sourdough

Zestful Kitchen’s Moroccan Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Food by Mars’ Paleo Carrot Walnut Loaf Cake

Cosette’s Kitchen’s Sumac Carrot and Feta Salad

Measuring Cups Optionals’ Carrot Curry Soup

Rezel Kealoha’s Turkish Yogurt Carrot Dip

Pies and Prejudice’s Carrot Pie with Maple & Cardamom

Amanda Skrip’s Rainbow Roasted Carrots with Citrus Fennel + Arugula

Baking The Goods’ Roasted Carrot & Herby Feta Galette

Marianne Cooks’ Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins with a Cinnamon Frosting

Rumbly in My Tumbly’s Chai Carrot Pie

Cook Til Delicious’ Mini Carrot Cake

What Annie’s Eating’s Roasted Carrots with Herby Carrot Top Salsa Verde

It’s a Veg World After All’s Zesty Sunflower Carrot Spirals

So let’s talk about these carrot cake scones.

I adapted these from my recipe for Blackberry Coconut Scones.  In that recipe, I made the scones vegan by using coconut oil instead of the traditional butter, and canned coconut cream instead of heavy cream.  The result was spectacular – tender, flaky, perfectly soft yet crisp scones.  I actually found that I liked the way the coconut oil cut into the flour much better than cold butter – it’s much more even, and MUCH faster.  If you need step by step photos for mixing and shaping scones, go check out that recipe.

I thought coconut oil and cream would work well here, since coconut is so often paired with carrot cake.  The two were basically made for each other.  So I tweaked a bit, using brown sugar instead of white and adding carrots, pecans and those classic cinnamon and nutmeg spices for the smell and taste of carrot cake.  Don’t be mad, but for the best texture, I really do recommend hand-grating the carrots.  It’s only one cup and if you have a box grater, it doesn’t take all that long.  I know, I know.  The things we do for love.

Of course, you can’t forget the cream cheese glaze.  The tang of it sets off the sweetness of the carrot.  It’s indispensable.  I made it simple here, too – just cream cheese and maple syrup.

I choose to use a glaze rather than a thick frosting, as scones don’t need much garnish in my opinion.  Plus, we’re eating these for breakfast, so I try to maintain at least a modicum of propriety.  It just means I can eat two.

I hope you try these and love them!  Please comment and let me know if you do.  Happy carrot-ing!

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