Carrot Cake Scones

All the flavors of homemade carrot cake are packed into these amazing scones, including the perfectly sweetened, slightly tangy cream cheese glaze. Ideal for a special breakfast or Easter brunch.

Apr 15, 2025

Anytime it’s feasible to sneak vegetables into a sweet treat, I’m all in. A generous handful of shredded carrots are incorporated into today’s recipe along with raisins, pecans, and a trio of warming spices – all the amazing flavors of carrot cake served up in a delicious scone.

When making today’s scones, I highly recommend grating whole carrots yourself instead of using bagged shredded carrots. Compared to fresh whole carrots, pre-shredded carrots lack flavor and moisture. If your shredded carrots are flavorless and dry, your scones will be too.

When it comes to deciding whether or not to peel the carrots before grating them, let me share some interesting information from an article in the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter about the location of nutrients in carrots. The authors explained that carrots consist of three layers: the peel or skin (the outermost layer), the phloem (the layer immediately below the peel — pronounced flow-em), and the xylem (the inner core — pronounced zi-lem).

Vitamin C and niacin (a B vitamin) are mostly found in the peel, with appreciable amounts in the phloem. Beta carotene, an orange pigment that’s converted by the body to vitamin A, is found in fairly equal amounts in the peel and phloem. This is why peeled and unpeeled carrots have the same orange color. Although the xylem contains the least amount of beta carotene, it does house the majority of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. As for fiber, both peeled and unpeeled carrots are good sources.

With respect to the phytonutrients (naturally occurring plant compounds that may offer health benefits) in carrots, approximately half are found in the peel, around 40% are in the phloem, and about 10% are in the xylem.

Bottom line – both unpeeled and peeled carrots provide plenty of beneficial nutrients. Let your personal taste, texture, and appearance preferences determine whether or not you’re going to peel carrots. If you choose to leave the peel on, just be sure to give carrots a good scrub and wash before using.

To your health,

Darlene

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Source: Mohn, E and Johnson, E. (2019). Does peeling carrots remove nutrients? Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter.

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CARROT CAKE SCONES

Yield: 12 servings

Serving Size: 1 scone

Prep: 15 minutes

Ready: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

Scones

Parchment paper or vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup pecan or walnut halves, chopped
1/4 cup 1% milk
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Glaze

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon 1% milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add butter cubes and using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in carrots, raisins, and pecans.
In a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until dough just comes together, being careful not to overmix (overworking the dough results in tough, dense scones).
Divide dough in half. Lightly flour a large cutting board with remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Place each dough half on floured surface and gently shape into two, 6-inch rounds. Cut each round into 6 equal pie-shaped wedges. Place wedges on baking sheet and bake until golden, about 14 to 16 minutes.
While scones are baking, prepare cream cheese glaze by mixing together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Allow scones to cool on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, drizzle with cream cheese glaze and serve.

Baker pro tip: Use a fork when drizzling the cream cheese glaze over the scones. The fork allows better control when glazing the scones and helps to create thinner, more distinctive lines.

Nutrition Information per Serving

226 Calories, 7 g Total fat, 3 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 29 mg Cholesterol, 267 mg Sodium, 38 g Total carbohydrate, 2 g Dietary fiber, 20 g Total sugars, 14 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 49 mg (4%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 98 mg (2%) Potassium