carrot cake scones + honeyed frosting

Hoppy Easter my foodie friends.

Nothing reminds me of Easter more than Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Well, that and ricotta pie, which is lemony and divine. The issue for me is that carrot cake takes some extra labor and to be honest, we just got home for a weekend trip out of town.

While on our trip, I was perusing through the Bake magazine that was gifted to me on my birthday last week. It was laden with springtime confections and these carrot cake scones stuck out to me. Mostly because they seemed easy to whip up and I had a majority of the ingredients. And I love carrot cake. And it’s Easter time. So, yea, it was the perfect timing.

Any food blogger would understand that natural light is the best light. So I could not be hoppier (I’m pushing it, I know) that these scones took like 20 minutes to cook and I still had plenty of natural light to shoot them for you!

Like any delicious carrot cake, these scones are spiced with fresh shredded carrots. I used buttermilk in this recipe because it creates a tender tang. Classic cream cheese frosting makes for the perfect finish, but the added honey gives it next level floral flavor.

Ingredients

Makes 8

Scones

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cardomom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ cup cold unsalted butter, grated
1 cup grated carrot
⅓ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, divided
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Garnish: chopped walnuts

Honeyed Cream Cheese Icing

Makes about 2 cups

2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves. Add cold butter, tossing to coat. Cover and freeze for 15 minutes. Stir in carrots and walnuts.
In a small bowl, whisk together milk and 1 egg. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring and folding just until moistened. Turn out dough onto a heavily floured surface. Using well-floured hands, knead dough 5 to 10 times, about 1 minute. Shape dough into an 8-inch circle. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut into 8 wedges. Place about 1½ inches apart on prepared pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together cream and remaining 1 egg . Brush egg wash onto scones.
Bake until golden brown, 12 to 19 minutes. Let cool completely. Spread Honeyed Cream Cheese Icing onto scones. Garnish with walnuts, if desired.