Birthday Cake Scones

I kinda want a do-over of my birthday just so that I could incorporate these birthday cake scones into the celebrations. Oh well. I guess I’ll have to wait till next September, then.

Anyway. Let’s talk scones.

These ones have got “cake” in their title, but there’s really no cake involved. There are definitely cake vibes though. Birthday cake vibes, specifically. Thanks to sprinkles and a rich vanilla glaze, which provide festive feels and a celebratory status.

So, to summarize, based on the above, I took the liberty of naming these scones “birthday cake scones.” Cuz these are scones that are a wonderful component of any celebration or festivity.

First. The base.

These scones use no butter. Just heavy cream. Which means

• they’re so quick and easy to mix together

• you don’t have to worry about the proper method for incorporating butter into scones

• they’re light and tender and fluffy and moist, more so than your average scones

• they’re rich and flavorful

There’s more. But I’ll stop here for now. With regards to the heavy cream vs. butter scone debate.

Then, the festivities begin. With white chocolate chunks and sprinkles!

I chopped up a bar of white milk chocolate for these birthday cake scones. You can use white chocolate chips though, if that’s what you’re feeling.

And I used jimmies, the stick typa sprinkles. Not the tiny dot sprinkles, those nonpareils. Don’t use nonpareils. They bleed into the dough. And they’re not as birthday cake-esque. And well, they’re just not as cute, okay?

I’ll preface this statement by asserting that I LOVE white chocolate. But still, the white chocolate addition in these funfetti scones is so damn delicious. And just takes the scones to the next level of rich, creamy, milky delectableness.

Oh. And I added almond extract to these birthday cake scones. First of all, because almond flavor is the best, objectively, obviously. And second of all, because almond extract adds to the whole birthday cake flavor vibe.

And last. The glaze.

Confectioners sugar, heavy cream (it makes the glaze extra thick and rich and yum, but if you must, you can sub milk, but since you’re already gonna have cream on hand for the scones, I don’t see why you must), a pinch of salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and that’s it.

It’s basic, but so creamy and flavorful (two extracts, hello) and glossy and attractive.

And before that glaze sets, garnish the scones with extra sprinkles, to really get the celebration going.

Quick and easy. Rich and flavorful. Festive and fun. Adorable and unique. Soft and tender. Chocolatey and colorful.

Birthday cake scones — lessssss partayyyyyyy.

Birthday Cake Scones

---

Yield: 16 large scones

3 1/4 cups packed flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar (or 1/2 cup if omitting glaze)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips/chunks
1/2 cup sprinkles*
2 cups cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze:
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream (can sub whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
-Sprinkles, for garnishing

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in white chocolate and sprinkles.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the chilled heavy cream and extracts. Stir everything together until ingredients are just moistened (you don't want to over mix these). 

5. Dump dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead for a minute until everything is just incorporated and then divide dough into 2 equal portions. Flatten each portion into an 8” disk, then slice each disk into 8 triangles. 

6. Space scones evenly onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until bottoms are deeply golden. Allow scones to cool before glazing.

7. Whisk together glaze ingredients until a thick yet pourable consistency forms. Drop a spoonful of glaze onto the center of each scone, letting glaze drip down the sides. Garnish glaze with sprinkles and serve. Scones are best the day they’re made.

*Note: use the short stick sprinkles (called jimmies), not the tiny dotted sprinkles (called nonpareils).