These Orange Whole Wheat Scones are flavored with orange zest and orange blossom water, and lightly sweetened with Don Victor honey. Nutty, fragrant and scrumptious, and with a tender crumb these scones taste like spring! 🙂
Here we are on the brink of 2018, and a full year of promise, potential and possibilities ahead of us! I hope you guys had a lovely holiday season with family, friends and all those who matter to you. 2017 was a very hectic, yet productive year for both K and myself. And here I am already planning for a brand new year. 🙂
When I was growing up, we had a tradition in my family where we always start the new year with something sweet to eat. It was meant to welcome a sweet and prosperous new year, and honey was always the #1 choice for occasions like these because it was pure, unadulterated sweetness from nature that is wholesome.
This also made honey and other sweet treats popular holiday season/new year gifts for us too.
This year, I’m continuing the tradition with Don Victor® honey! This is absolutely delicious honey that is raw, filtered and not heated or processed in any other way. But here’s another reason why I love Don Victor Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jar – the honey comes with a piece of honeycomb inside the bottle. How awesome is that?
Have you ever had honeycomb toffee before? It’s one of those things that you never know you need until you’ve tried it! 🙂 Okay, maybe not need, but definitely want. Don Victor honey makes a really great and unique gift this time of the year as well, so make sure to get extra jars to share with your loved ones.
I’m serving the honeycomb with these warm, nutty Honey and Orange Whole Wheat Scones that I love making at home. Flavored with orange zest and orange blossom water and lightly sweetened with honey, these orange whole wheat scones are so fragrant, nutty and scrumptious.
These honey scones are really easy to make, and I’m going to share some tips on how to make PERFECT scones, plus some tips on how to use honeycomb on your scones too.
The first time I made scones was in 2011, and I’ve made plenty of scones since then, and refined my technique over the years (check out these classic cream scones, bacon and date scones, pumpkin scones, lavender and blueberry scones among others!). With whole wheat scones you have to change the technique slightly, but all the basic rules still apply. The only change between whole wheat and white flour is that whole wheat flour needs a little extra liquid to keep these scones moist.
Don’t forget to brush the top with egg wash for a nice shine
So here are some tips to make PERFECT scones with a lovely crust on the outside and a tender, moist inner crumb
- Keep your ingredients cold (this includes the butter, the flour and the milk/cream/liquid you add).
- The butter needs to be cut into cubes that are chilled, OR grated and frozen. This makes it easier to form a coarse mix with the flour.
- Sift and mix the flour with the leavening agent. You want to make sure it’s evenly mixed through.
- Do not over-mix the dough, handle it as little as possible. The more you handle the dough, the more gluten it will develop and lose the characteristic soft inner crumb.
- To bring the dough together AND to create layers, fold the dough in half about 3 – 4 times. This will bring the dough together and create layers, plus you can easily pat/roll it out to cut portions.
- Use a clean, sharp knife (or cookie cutter) to make clean cuts in the scone. Clean cuts ensure that the scones rise well.
- Keep the cut sides touching each other while baking, to get soft edges. When the scones are kept close together, the sides are covered, keeping the scones soft.
- Separate the scones to allow the sides to form a crust. Personally, this is how I love scones. The middle is still delightfully soft, with a crunchy crust on the sides.
- For best results, chill your scones in the freezer for about 10 – 15 minutes before baking.
- ALWAYS eat your scones warm because they taste better that way! So warm up your cooled down scones in the microwave for a few seconds before eating them again.
I used a generous amount of orange zest to give these honey scones a wonderful orange flavor and aroma, but the orange blossom water really enhances the fragrance. So much so that my husband could smell these orange whole wheat scones in the oven and was absolutely impatient to try them.
I added a light drizzle of orange glaze, purely to make it look prettier, but not too much because I wanted to serve these with honeycomb and fruits.
Here are some tips to serve honey and honeycomb
- Honeycomb spreads better on something warm. Think warm toast, warm muffins or warm scones, of course.
- Use a separate knife to cut the honeycomb, and gently mash it on the warm scone. The mashed honeycomb will start to soften with the heat making it easier to spread. It smells amazing and tastes even better!
- Don’t refrigerate honey. This crystallizes the honey making it harder to use. I store my honey in a dark, cool cupboard. It’s a good idea to keep honey away from sunlight. Extreme temperatures will cause honey to change color and flavor.
- If your honey does crystallize, don’t worry! This is a natural process and DOES NOT affect the taste of the honey at all. You can easily melt the crystallized section by placing the honey in warm water, and stir until the honey is clear again.
- Keep the jar closed whenever you’re not using it.
These orange whole wheat scones are crunchy on the outside, and soft and warm on the inside just as they are meant to be. They are lightly sweetened with honey, with a floral orange flavor and fragrance. Since these honey scones are served while warm, the honeycomb softens inside the split scone, and you end up with a buttery honey filled whole wheat scone that just tastes and smells like spring. They are absolutely divine!
I served these scones with butter, honeycomb and with fresh berries and honey sweetened mascarpone cream. K loved these so much that he actually had these for all three meals of the day! 🙂
Recipe
Orange Whole Wheat Scones
Difficulty:
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Orange Whole Wheat Scones
- 300 g whole wheat flour 2 ½ cups, cold
- 62 g AP flour ½ cup, cold
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 4 – 6 tbsp orange zest from 2 large oranges or 3 small oranges
- 142 g of unsalted butter cut into small cubes, chilled (or frozen and grated butter)
- ½ cup buttermilk or ½ cup of milk + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar, chilled
- 60 g Honey about 3 – 4 tbsp
- 1 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp orange blossom water
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 115 g mascarpone cheese softenend
- 115 g heavy cream chilled
- 1 tbsp honey
To serve
- Fresh berries
Instructions:
Orange Whole Wheat Scones
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Place the flours in a bowl with the salt, baking powder and soda. Whisk to combine.
- Add the orange zest and butter. Rub the flour and butter together until you have coarse crumbs.
- In a separate jug, mix the milk, honey and vanilla (or orange blossom water). Pour the milk over the flour as evenly as possible while mixing the flour mixture with a fork.
- Use the fork to disperse the milk-honey mix through the flour to form a shaggy dough.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on your working surface and turn the dough out onto the parchment paper. Gently bring the dough together to form a cohesive, but shaggy dough. Pat it gently to form a small flat shape. Dust lightly with flour if needed.
- Cut the dough in half, and place one half over the other. Using lightly floured hands, gently pat down the dough again. Cut the dough in half again, and repeat. Repeat this process 1 – 2 more times.
- After the final cut and layer, gently pat down the dough into an 8 inch circle or square that’s about ¾ of an inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the scones into 8 wedges. Place the parchment paper (with the scones) on a baking tray.
- Use a spatula or cake lifter to separate the scones from the parchment paper and place them evenly apart (about ½ inch apart). This step is optional, as you can bake them without separating them if you prefer soft edges.
- Brush the tops with an egg wash or milk wash and place the scones in the freezer for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, transfer the baking tray to the preheated oven. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the tops are slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes and serve. If the scones have cooled down, microwave the scones for 30 seconds until just warm. They are better eaten warm.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until you have a thick whipped cream, with the consistency of cool whip. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
To Serve
- Split the scones in half, butter the scone with a little butter and a drizzle of honey. Serve with fresh fruits and mascarpone whipped cream.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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