Scones are a typically British pastry that can be found in every tea room across the country. They’re such a delightful treat that we believe everyone should be able to enjoy them. So we rounded up a gluten-free, vegan and without refined sugar Scones recipe for you. And to keep things exciting, we’ve flavored it with green tea matcha powder – a must!
Classic scones are not vegan or gluten-free as they are made from a batter of wheat flour, buttermilk, butter and eggs. They’re lightly sweetened with white sugar, while baking powder is used to leaven the batter, giving you those super-sweet, big scones you see in bakeries and tea shops. We made a few tweaks to the classic recipe to make our scones flourless and 100% plant-based, but they’re just as delicious.
We replaced wheat flour with a gluten-free mix of rice flour, potato starch, corn and buckwheat flour. It’s a store-bought mix, and you should be able to find a similar mix in your supermarket’s Free From section. Gluten-free casseroles tend to be drier and more crumbly than their wheat-based counterparts: that’s why we increased the amount plant-based oat milk and used maple syrup instead of refined white sugar.
We also added some xantham gum to bind the ingredients together, but if your flour mixture already has it, you can skip it. As for the fats, we substituted milk butter with coconut oil. Keeping the oil jar at room temperature will soften it up nicely, just like butter, perfect for shaping the dough. It also gives the scones a nice coconut flavor.
And finally, our beloved Matcha! We’ve made a lot of delicious recipes using matcha powder, but we can’t seem to get enough of it. We love it! Matcha is basically whole green tea pulverized into a fine powder. You can use it to make tea and latte, but it’s also great for sweet baked goods. If you like it as much as we do, check out our gluten free sponge cake, avocado sorbet or energy bar for inspiration.
Using matcha in scones is super easy as you can mix it with the dry ingredients like flour. We used two tablespoons for a deep green look and a distinct bittersweet note, but you can use less if you prefer a more toned-down flavor. After baking, we recommend pairing these gluten-free matcha scones with creamy custard like our passion fruit or lemon curd, or one of our sugar-free jam recipes. Then put your kettle on and get ready for the ultimate British-style teatime treat!