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Strawberry and Rhubarb Scones with Vanilla Whipped Cream

Apr 15 by Anita 14 Comments

strawberry and rhubarb scones

Along with all the lovely growing, blooming things that herald spring is the baby in our home! Isabelle is three months today and I think she may have hit her growth spurt early. She’s a chubby bundle now!

isabelle three months

The whole, “I swear she grew overnight” thing happened to me – last Monday I looked at her and thought, “Your face is way rounder than yesterday!”And all of a sudden her newborn-sized clothes were too tight for her. I guess our worries about her being a tiny newborn and not getting enough to eat have been thoroughly erased.

Three months is a great time with the baby: she’s truly no longer a newborn and I can see her becoming more aware of her world, and more interactive every day. She looks at her hanging toys and reaches for them, she cranes her head to focus on the overhead lights in rooms, she watches me puttering around the kitchen and coos in curiosity. She can roll over (proud mommy moment!), she’s getting into the hand sucking thing, and she does a mean karate kick to your belly if you’re not careful (she’s long-legged so we call her grasshopper baby).

The most amazing thing, of course, is that she recognizes me. She’ll focus on my face before anything else, she likes to hear me talking and singing to her, and if she sees me walking away, she’ll howl in protest. Not so great for my productivity, but there’s nothing to reawaken your sense of awe and joy than to see your baby smiling up at you. I’ve had many moms tell me how hard it was to go back to work at the typical three-month mark, as that’s when babies usually start being really interesting. I totally get it now – not that I don’t think she’ll be endlessly fascinating in all the months to come, but I feel very lucky that I’ll be able to stay with Isabelle for another month before I’m back in the office. Can three months have really passed so quickly? I guess 11+ pounds of baby say yes!

strawberries and rhubarb

So in the spirit of spring and happy growing things, I picked up some irresistibly gorgeous strawberries and rhubarb. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make with them, but my husband provided the inspiration when he asked me to make some ginger scones. I did, (and this post is not about them!), but then I got the idea to put the strawberries and rhubarb in a scone. Not surprisingly, these days I’m into things that can be made quickly and easily, and these scones fit the bill perfectly.

strawberries and rhubarb
Cutting the strawberries and rhubarb into fine dice.

The perfect thing about scones is that they freeze wonderfully; in fact, that’s recommended protocol for scone dough since scones don’t keep well at all, and what’s the point of eating a scone if you can’t enjoy that fluffy, fresh-baked texture and the sugar-crisp top? When I worked in the bakery, we would make an entire sheet pan full of scone dough, score it into triangles, and freeze the whole pan. Every morning we’d bake off a half dozen or so to sell for the day. I think the utter freezability of scones only enhances their ease of making. When you’re caught on a sudden whim to make scones for tea, there’s no need to fear the extras will go to waste: you can just make the scones you need and freeze the rest instead.

strawberries and rhubarb

I cut my scones into wedges, but you can also use a biscuit cutter to cut out round scones. Either way, make sure the knife or cutter edges are sharp so you can cut straight through the dough, without needing to run the knife back and forth or twist the cutter. The clean cuts will let your scones rise higher, with distinct fluffy layers.

Although these aren’t classic British scones, I love the British tradition of scones and clotted cream. Here, I did a play on strawberry shortcake with whipped cream by putting a dollop of vanilla whipped cream on top of the scones. The vanilla extract I used is from Heilala.

heilala vanilla

Founded in 2002 by New Zealand dairy farmer John Ross, Heilala is the only plantation-to-pantry grower and manufacturer of vanilla. They use no traders or distributors, reducing costs and unnecessary handling. Their vanilla plantation is located in the Vava’u Islands in the Kingdom of Tonga, making this the only vanilla from Tonga (the beans are of the Bourbon variety).

Whipped cream is actually a wonderful way to taste test vanilla – the cream provides a neutral base that conveys the vanilla flavor across without distraction. I found Heilala to have a very bright, round floral flavor. It is distinctive enough that I would use it in a recipe that features the flavor, like this whipped cream or ice cream or a pudding, instead of hiding it in a cookie or cake, although it would definitely make fantastic cookies or cakes as well.

With sunny spring in full effect here, it’s nice to bring in a bit of a tropical breeze as well with some island-grown vanilla extract. Scones with cream and a sunny afternoon with baby is pretty much perfection right now!

Disclosure: I received a sample of vanilla extract from Heilala for review. All opinions are my own.

strawberry and rhubarb scone

Strawberry and Rhubarb Scones

makes 6 scones
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Scones

  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-in pieces
  • 1/2 cup (70 g) chopped strawberries
  • 1/2 cup (70 g) chopped rhubarb
  • 1 cup (230 g) heavy cream

Vanilla Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup (230 g) heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the scones:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
  • Add in butter and work in with two knifes, a pastry cutter, or just your fingers (my favorite). Don't use your entire hands as they will melt the butter and you are trying to keep the pieces cold and separate. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs with larger pea-sized pieces.
  • Add in strawberries and rhubarb and toss to distribute and coat with flour.
  • Pour in cream and fold gently with a wooden spoon just until the mixture comes together. You don't want to overmix.
  • Turn out dough onto a floured surface and form into a rough circle about 6 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Cut into six wedges with a sharp knife.
  • Place scones on baking sheet and bake for about 12-14 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Remove and let cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes before serving.

For the whipped cream:

  • Combine ingredients in bowl of a stand mixer. Whip just to soft peaks.

Other ways with strawberries and rhubarb:

Ice Wine Ice Cream with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Strawberry Rhubarb Birthday Tart

Rhubarb Tart with Orange and Cinnamon

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Pizzelles

Filed Under: Fruit, Pastry, Recipes Tagged With: heilala, rhubarb, scones, spring, strawberry, vanilla, whipped cream

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Comments

  1. 1

    Elen says

    Apr 15 at 3:19 am

    Nice and tasty!

    Reply
  2. 2

    Belinda @themoonblushbaker says

    Apr 15 at 6:10 am

    You baby is a such little cutie! My sister is expecting too and she is very nervous. Any tips? This is such a landmark occasion and this scones fit wonderfully

    Reply
  3. 3

    Mari @ Oh, Sweet & Savory says

    Apr 15 at 6:57 am

    What a darling your daughter is! And thank you for the recipe! Strawberry rhubarb is one of my favorite flavors for pies. I can’t believe I’ve never tried my hand at a strawberry rhubarb scone! I’ll have to try this soon!

    Reply
  4. 4

    Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says

    Apr 15 at 9:26 am

    Love, love, love! My favorite spring combination!

    Reply
  5. 5

    ThisBakerGirlBlogs says

    Apr 15 at 10:31 am

    SO adorable!! And such an awesome recipes – I love my strawberries 🙂

    Reply
  6. 6

    All that Glisters says

    Apr 15 at 12:29 pm

    Scones are my complete downfall! I just cannot get them to rise, they’re like rock cakes every time ):
    from Emily x

    Reply
  7. 7

    Mr. & Mrs. P says

    Apr 16 at 1:56 pm

    We have been in the hunt for rhubarb with no luck!!! Will try this once we get our hands on them

    Reply
  8. 8

    Amy Gallagher says

    May 3 at 2:09 am

    These sound absolutely divine and a great alternative to the traditional raisin scones. Thanks for sharing them

    Reply
  9. 9

    Rachel says

    May 31 at 9:23 pm

    If you make and freeze, do you thaw and cook or put them in frozen? If frozen is the temp and cook time the same? I would assume they need more time to bake if you are not thawing them first. I just made a triple batch – two for the freezer and one for tomorrow morning… I can’t wait to try them!

    Reply
    • 10

      Anita says

      May 31 at 9:40 pm

      Hi Rachel,

      You don’t need to thaw frozen scones before baking them – it’s great! Just take them out of the freezer and put them on the baking sheet while you warm up the oven. The scones will warm up slightly before you put them in. If you don’t remember to do it and just pull them straight from the freezer, that’s ok too. You may need to bake them a few minutes longer to account for the frozen-nes – I would say about 3-5 minutes more, but they should turn out fine!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Strawberry Rhubarb Scone | Two Clever Moms says:
    Jun 17 at 4:08 pm

    […] This is a yummy recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Scones. […]

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  2. Dipped Blog says:
    Jul 28 at 7:54 am

    Half Dozen It A Girl Strawberries

    […] gh, without needing to run the knife back and forth or twist the cutter. The cle […]

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  3. Strawberry Rhubarb Recipes For National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day | THE NIBBLE Blog - Adventures In The World Of Fine Food says:
    Jun 9 at 5:30 am

    […] Turn strawberry-rhubarb scones into a shortcake with whipped cream and strawberries. Here’s the recipe from Dessert First […]

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  4. Parmesan Chive Scones - Dessert First says:
    Apr 1 at 8:00 am

    […] made many a sweet scone before, but not savory ones before. Although I usually make my scones my hand, this recipe has you […]

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about pastrygirl

Anita Chu, also known as pastrygirl, is a baker, writer, and photographer with a passion for pastry. She trained at Tante Marie's Cooking School and is the author of Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy, and Lollipop Love. Anita lives in San Francisco with her husband, baby girl, and rescue cockapoo Snickerdoodle. More about pastrygirl

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