These golden, buttery scones are dotted with sweet apricots, creamy white chocolate, and a drizzle of glaze to make them extra special. Make them the same day or leave them in the fridge overnight to develop more flavour. They’re tender, flavourful, and just the thing to level up your next brunch!
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Jump To:
- Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Apricot & White Chocolate Scones
- Key Ingredients You’ll Need
- For Amazing Scones, Keep Everything Cold
- How to Make Sourdough Apricot & White Chocolate Scones
- How to Serve Sourdough Apricot & White Chocolate Scones
- Making Ahead & Freezing
- FAQs
- Leave a Comment
- Sourdough Discard Scones with Apricot & White Chocolate
Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Apricot & White Chocolate Scones
- They use lots of sourdough discard, which adds a delicious tang to the scone dough and keeps it tender for a few days.
- You can make them the same day or leave the dough in the fridge overnight where it will develop even more flavour and a better texture.
- The apricot and white chocolate are an amazing flavour combo that’s perfect for spring or summer.
- They’re cut in wedges from a single piece of dough, so there’s no need to re-roll any scraps.
Key Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sourdough discard adds moisture and a tangy flavour to the scones. Active starter will also work, though it won’t be as liquid as an unfed discard so the scones may be a bit harder to mix. This means, of course, that you’ll need some starter. If you don’t already have any, sourdough starter is easy to make—this step-by-step tutorial will show you how.
- Dried apricots add a yummy fruit flavour.
- White chocolate pairs perfectly with the dried apricot. Use a white chocolate bar chopped into small chunks or white chocolate chips.
- Baking powder makes the scones puff up in the oven.
For Amazing Scones, Keep Everything Cold
- Keep the butter cold, to prevent it from combining completely with the flour. Like pie dough, scones get their flaky texture from the water content in the butter turning into steam when the dough hits the hot oven. The butter needs to be in distinct pieces from the dough in order for this to happen.
- Keep the wet ingredients in the fridge until you add it to the dry ingredients to help keep the butter cold.
- Put the shaped scones in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to chill the butter and firm the scones up. This helps them keep their shape in the oven, though they will still spread out a bit.
- Is your kitchen really warm? You can freeze the butter block first, then grate it and mix the frozen butter pieces into the dough.
How to Make Sourdough Apricot & White Chocolate Scones
- Roughly chop the dried apricots and white chocolate into pieces no larger than ½” (1.2 cm).
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Toss in the cubes of butter until they’re coated with flour.
- Use your hands or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are about the size of peas.
- Add the chopped apricots and white chocolate and mix into the flour mixture until evenly distributed.
- Whisk together the sourdough discard, egg, heavy cream, and vanilla. Use a rubber spatula to toss the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until the flour is evenly hydrated. Don’t overmix the dough. It will still be shaggy and slightly dry looking at this point—don’t add any additional liquid.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter. Gently knead and press the dough together into a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Cut the disc of scone dough into 8 wedges, and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Brush some heavy cream on top of each scone.
- Sprinkle some coarse sugar over the cream. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until puffed and slightly golden. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the scones are cooling, make the glaze. Whisk together the cream or milk and powdered sugar. Once the scones are cool to the touch, drizzle some glaze over each scone.
How to Serve Sourdough Apricot & White Chocolate Scones
These scones are great on their own, but there are a couple ways you can kick them up a notch. If you’re going to open the scones to add a spread, the best way to do it is either gently pry them open with your hands or carefully use a serrated knife to cut them open.
- Spread the insides with some salted butter.
- Open the scones and add a dollop of clotted cream and jam. Strawberry or raspberry jam would pair particularly well with the apricots and white chocolate.
- Open the scones and top with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Making Ahead & Freezing
Scones are a great recipe to make ahead and freeze. Make the recipe up to the point of cutting the scones, then arrange them on a lined baking sheet, cover, and freeze until the raw scones are solid (about 2-3 hours). Transfer the frozen scones to a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, arrange the scones on a lined baking sheet, brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle on some coarse sugar. Bake from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the bake time.
FAQs
Either the butter was warm and incorporated into the flour too fully, or your baking powder isn’t fresh. Try again with fresh baking powder.
Some spreading is normal, but if your scones turned out like pancakes it’s likely the scones were too warm when they went into the oven. They would have softened and spread out before the dough could set and the water content in the butter was able to turn to steam and puff the scones up. Next time freeze the raw scones for a little longer. Second, you might not have pressed
You probably over mixed the dough and developed too much gluten. Next time, after you add the wet ingredients mix just enough to hydrate the flour then gently press the dough together into a disc.
Leave a Comment
Did you make these scones? Leave a comment and let me know how they turned out!
Sourdough Discard Scones with Apricot & White Chocolate
Ingredients
Method
- Chop 40 g dried apricots into quarters and set aside.
- Add 170 g sourdough discard, 1 large egg, 65 g heavy cream, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract to a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. If your kitchen is warm, cover and put the bowl in the fridge until it's needed.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 235 g all-purpose flour, 65 g granulated sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, and 4 teaspoons baking powder.
- Add 140 g unsalted butter to the flour mixture and toss until they're completely coated in flour. Using your hands or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it's about the size of peas.
- Add the chopped apricots and 85 g white chocolate to the flour and butter mixture, and combine. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to toss the dry ingredients together with the wet until the flour is just about evenly hydrated, though t will look shaggy and dry at this point.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter. Use your hands to press the dough together into a disc that's about 8" in diameter and ½"-¾" (1.2 cm – 2 cm) thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Take the disc of scone dough out of the fridge and cut it into 8 wedges. Arrange the triangles on the baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
- Remove the scones from the freezer and brush some heavy cream on the tops. Careful not to let the cream drip down the sides too much, that can impede their rise. Sprinkle on some coarse sugar, and bake for 18-25 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden brown. Turn the baking sheet about halfway through for even baking. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the scones are cooling, whisk together ½ cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk until completely smooth. Add more cream or milk a little bit at a time if you want a thinner glaze consistency, or add more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
- Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the scones, and leave to set (about 15-30 minutes). Serve as is, or split open and spread on some butter, jam, or clotted cream. Scones are best eaten within a few hours of being made, but will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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