Vegan Scones with Raspberry Apple Compote
If I were to imagine a perfect day, it might start with the sun peaking over the mountains (in my perfect life I live near mountains), and I patter down to the kitchen to pull a batch of freshly baked scones out of the oven. On top of it I drizzle a warm, seasonal fruit compote (in this case, an early Fall raspberry and apple compote). Sitting at my breakfast nook (because in my perfect life, I also have a breakfast nook), I watch the world outside start to buzz with activity as I sip my coffee and eat my perfectly warm vegan buttermilk scones with apple compote. The scones are light and flavored with buttermilk and vanilla. Not too sweet, not too salty. The compote is full of soft chunky apples, warm fall spices, and sharp raspberries. And even though I don’t have the mountains or breakfast nook, and my scones don’t magically bake themselves overnight, I make a vegan breakfast with those same delightful flavors.
Skip the Post, Click for a Print-Friendly Recipe
The Beauty of a Warm, Baked, Vegan Breakfast
I don’t always have breakfast, but when I do I want to make sure it’s worth consuming calories over- one of my least favorite breakfasts is cold breakfast cereal. It’s bland and it’s just not worth it. Even if it’s just toast, I tend to gravitate towards breakfasts that require a little cooking. One big problem you’ll notice about my perfect day, is that it required that scones were somehow magically made before I even opened my eyes. Although my recipe is written for someone making the scones and compote all at once, there is a little work around that will give you a warm breakfast more quickly in the morning. In this particular vegan breakfast, warm compote is more important than warm scones. So if you make your scones the night before, you can sleep in and use just 10 minutes or so to whip up a warm raspberry apple compote to serve over your scones. You could even make the compote the night before, and heat it up in the morning (although making compote is quick enough that I think leaving it until the day of makes sense).
Scones or Shortcake?
Growing up I had a lot of strawberry shortcake at spring events- fresh syrupy strawberries piled on (usually stale and hard) biscuits, topped with a small mountain of whipped cream. When I first made these vegan scones with apple compote, a little part of my mind jumped back to the days of strawberry shortcake. While my scones were certainly not as hard or stale, they did seem to have a lot in common with the shortcake days of the past. So what was the difference between scones and shortcake? Turns out there isn’t one- although you could go down a huge long rabbit hole to understand the difference between American scones and British scones and biscuits, and end up feeling thoroughly confused. To simplify the matter, you can think of these scones and compote like an Autumnal version of strawberry shortcake, with the takeaway that with scones and shortcake, fresh, not-stale biscuits and scones are always best.
Fall is time for Apple Picking!
Probably the actual best part of Fall is apple picking- getting out onto the apple-covered slopes of an orchard, and admiring the fall leaves all around you, as you pick perfectly ripe, crispy fruit from the trees. It’s a tradition, and it’s a good way to get lots of (usually) inexpensive apples. But more than that it reminds you of where you are, and brings about a remembrance of what it is to be connected to the land you live on and to harvest your own food. Even if someone else did do all the work of planting and pruning the trees before you showed up! Although I go into the woods and forage ingredients often, the tradition of apple picking still has a deep significance to me. Afterwards I have a half bushel of apples- which is great, but means that we basically eat apples in everything. So welcome the raspberry apple compote!
Like Apples? Try one of these Apple Recipes!
- Fennel and Apple Salad in Belgian Endive Cups
- Almond, Oat and Apple Cookies (Vegan)
- Vegan German Apple Cake
- Easy 4-Ingredient Filo Maple Vegan Apple Tart
- The Best Vegan Sausage Recipe: Seitan Sausage
Making Vegan Scones with Apple Compote
Confession time- this recipe is actually more or less a combination of two other recipes. But they’re both my recipes, so it’s okay! The scones were modified from my Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Turmeric Glaze, and the compote was a reworking of my Knotweed & Strawberry Compote Over Oatmeal.
Making these vegan scones starts with making a vegan buttermilk. Mix soymilk and lemon juice together to get the milk to curdle. You can use a different type of plant-based milk, but some will curdle better than others (fun fact- flax milk also curdles very well!). Then we mix the wet dry ingredients together, before adding the vegan butter. I use my hands to work the flour into the butter, but you could also use a dough blender or something similar. Either way, be careful not to over work. Go slowly when you add the “buttermilk” into your dough- you might not need all of it, and you don’t want to have to deal with overly wet dough. Shape the scones (but don’t be precious about it- they’ll change shape in the oven), and let them bake.
The compote is super simple. Since we’re cooking two fruits (apples and raspberries), that cook for different amounts of time, it’s slightly more complicated, but not much. Add the apples to a saucepan with the sugar, salt, and spices and let it cook down for about 5 minutes. Throw in the raspberries and give it another 5. And in just about 10 minutes, the compote is done. Time for breakfast!
Vegan Scones with Raspberry Apple Compote
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan milk
- 1 TBSP. lemon juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 TBPS. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup vegan butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 medium-sized apples
- 1 cup washed raspberries
- 2 TBSP. sugar
- 1 tsp. pie spice
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking tray with a silicone mat. In a bowl add the vegan milk and lemon juice for the scones and set aside (this will curdle and separate, but don’t worry, it’s supposed to do that).
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and mix well. Add the vegan butter, in tablespoon-sized chunks, using your hands to integrate thoroughly until it has reached a sand-like texture (although make sure not to overmix).
- Give the lemon/milk mixture a quick stir before pouring a little into the other ingredients. Adding a little at a time, continue until you have a soft but not too wet dough (you may not use all the milk). Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces, a little bigger than a golf ball. Roll into a ball, and flatten into a disk, about an inch thick.
- Place the scones on the silicone mat, leaving some space in between them. Bake in the oven, and cook until they’ve hardened and are turning gold on the bottom (around 20 minutes).
- While the scones are baking, make the compote. Peel and core the apples, and chop into small cubes. Place in a small saucepan, with the sugar, pie spice, and salt. Cook for around 5 minutes, stirring often, until the apples have started to soften. Add the raspberries and cook, letting the raspberries break down, for another 5 or so minutes. Serve the compote warm with the warm scones.
Click for a Print-Friendly Recipe
Like Vegan Scones and Apple Compote? Pin it!
