A high altitude recipe for the most flavorful carrot cake scones, made with grated carrots, nutty walnuts and lots of spices. For a beautiful finish, top them with vanilla icing and sugared edible flowers.
You might also love these recipes for maple cinnamon pumpkin scones, carrot cake whoopie pies, and carrot cake cheesecake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft and Tender. Based on my popular baking powder biscuits, these iced carrot cake scones with walnuts are tender, soft and fluffy, and not at all dry, as scones are sometimes thought to be.
Perfect for Spring. With Easter (and spring weather) just around the corner, I love baking all the carrot cake things, and these scones would be lovely for brunch with family and friends.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Spices. A combination of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla adds so much flavor to complement the sweetness of the carrots.
- Butter. A key ingredient in biscuits and scones, the butter adds flavor as well as a flaky, tender texture.
- Carrots. Be sure to peel your carrots first, before grating them. Carrots contain moisture, which helps to bring the dough together, in addition to a small amount of milk.
- Walnuts. If you don’t have walnuts, pecans make a good substitute. You can also leave out the nuts altogether.
- Powdered Sugar. Since the scones themselves don’t contain much sugar (as too much sugar at high altitude makes scones spread more than they should), the powdered sugar icing adds a welcome sweetness, as well as a beautiful finish.
- Meringue Powder. The meringue powder in the icing is optional, but it’s really a great help in maintaining the smooth texture of the icing and ensuring it stays “set”, rather than sticky and runny.
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into slices or chunks, scatter it over the flour mixture, then use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the remaining chunks of butter are no larger than peas.
- Peel the carrots, then grate them using the “fine” side of a box grater. You’ll need 3/4 cup (or 4 ounces) of grated carrots.
- Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts, milk and vanilla to the flour mixture, and stir into a crumbly, shaggy dough. Then use your hands to work the moisture into the dough until it sticks together.
Cut and Chill the Scones
- Dump the dough out onto a clean work surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and gently press it out to about 3/4 – 1 inch thick.
- Use a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter to cut rounds of dough, pressing the cutter straight down and lifting it back up, without twisting it. Gather up the scraps of dough, press it out again, and cut as many scones as you can. You should be able to cut around 11-12 scones.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper, and set the cut scones on the baking sheet, 1/2 – 1 inch apart. Set the pan of scones in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the frozen scones for about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Icing
- For the icing, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder in a bowl. (The meringue powder is optional, but does help to set the icing so it doesn’t get sticky). Add the vanilla and milk, and stir until smooth and thick.
- While the scones are warm, spoon the icing on top of the scones, letting it drip over their edges.
- Before the icing sets, decorate the scones with a few chopped walnuts.
- I also added edible flowers, which I picked from my own garden. Please do your own research and use caution when consuming any wild plant. This article by Frolic and Fare has lots of great info on making sugared edible flower petals.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Cool leftover scones completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Reheating the scones can soften them if they get stale, but will also soften and melt the icing.
I used edible johnny jump ups on my scones, which I picked from my own garden. Please do your own research and use caution when consuming any wild plant. This article by Frolic and Fare has lots of great info on making sugared edible flower petals.
You can find meringue powder at many well-stocked grocery stores on the baking aisle, as well as Walmart and craft stores, and on Amazon.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Carrot Cake Walnut Scones
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Pastry Cutter
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled (plus extra for rolling out the dough)
- â…“ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
- ¾ cup (4 oz) finely grated carrots (from 2-3 carrots)
- ½ cup walnuts or pecans finely chopped
- â…“ cup whole milk, cold
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp milk
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into slices or chunks, scatter it over the flour mixture, then use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the remaining chunks of butter are no larger than peas.
- Peel the carrots, then grate them using the "fine" side of a box grater. You'll need 3/4 cup (or 4 ounces) of grated carrots.
- Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts, milk and vanilla to the flour mixture, and stir into a crumbly, shaggy dough. Then use your hands to work the moisture into the dough until it sticks together.
Cut and Chill the Scones
- Dump the dough out onto a clean work surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and gently press it out to about 3/4 – 1 inch thick.
- Use a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter to cut rounds of dough, pressing the cutter straight down and lifting it back up, without twisting it. Gather up the scraps of dough, press it out again, and cut as many scones as you can. You should be able to cut around 11-12 scones.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper, and set the cut scones on the baking sheet, 1/2 – 1 inch apart. Set the pan of scones in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the frozen scones for about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Icing
- For the icing, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder in a bowl. (The meringue powder is optional, but does help to set the icing so it doesn't get sticky). Add the vanilla and milk, and stir until smooth and thick.
- While the scones are warm, spoon the icing on top of the scones, letting it drip over their edges.
- Before the icing sets, decorate the scones with a few chopped walnuts.
- I also added edible flowers, which I picked from my own garden. Please do your own research and use caution when consuming any wild plant. This article by Frolic and Fare has lots of great info on making sugared edible flower petals.
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