Savoury Breakfast Scones with Crème Fraîche & Strawberry Compote
Tender, herb-flecked savoury scones with a golden crust — split open and piled with cool crème fraîche and warm homemade strawberry compote. The sweet-savoury combination is absolutely stunning and completely unexpected for breakfast.
Prep time
15 min
Cook time
18 min
Serves
Ingredients
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Savoury Scones
- 2 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 tbspbaking powder
- ½ tspfine salt
- ½ tspgarlic powder
- 1 tspfresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
- 1 tbspfresh chives, finely chopped
- ½ cup (115g)cold unsalted butter, grated on a box grater
- ¾ cupcold buttermilk
- 1 largeegg
- ½ cupsharp cheddar, grated (optional but excellent)
- egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk
- flaky sea salt, for topping
To Serve
- crème fraîche (optional)
- Melissa's Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
Savoury Scones
- 2 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 tbspbaking powder
- ½ tspfine salt
- ½ tspgarlic powder
- 1 tspfresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
- 1 tbspfresh chives, finely chopped
- ½ cup (115g)cold unsalted butter, grated on a box grater
- ¾ cupcold buttermilk
- 1 largeegg
- ½ cupsharp cheddar, grated (optional but excellent)
- egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk
- flaky sea salt, for topping
To Serve
- crème fraîche (optional)
- Melissa's Strawberry Sauce
Instructions
Make the Scones
- 1
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 2
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, thyme, and chives.
- 3
Add the grated cold butter and toss to coat in the flour. Work quickly with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs — visible butter pieces are good.
- 4
Add cheddar if using. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until just combined — do not overmix.
- 5
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat into a 1-inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges or use a round cutter.
- 6
Place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- 7
Bake 16–18 minutes until deeply golden on top. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Assemble & Serve
- 1
Split a warm scone in half. Spoon a generous dollop of crème fraîche onto the bottom half.
- 2
Spoon warm or room temperature strawberry compote over the crème fraîche and replace the top.
- 3
Serve immediately while the scone is still warm.
Melissa's Notes
Grating frozen butter is the easiest way to get perfectly distributed fat in scones — pop the butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before grating. The crème fraîche and strawberry compote combination is the star here — the tang of the crème fraîche against the sweet compote is magical. Make the compote ahead and reheat gently.
Nutrition Information
Per scone (without toppings) — based on 8 scones
Nutrition information is an estimate and may vary depending on the ingredients and brands used.
This recipe works well with Simple Strawberry Compote
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