These flaky birthday cake scones are packed with vanilla and almond flavor, and they are filled with sprinkles and white chocolate chips! Then they’re drizzled with a simple vanilla icing and topped with more sprinkles.
Quick Tips
- Use cold butter and freeze the scones for 5-10 minutes prior to baking – this helps give that extra flaky scone texture!
- If the dough seems too sticky, or your filling seems too runny, just pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to make them easier to work with.
- Don’t forget to brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream prior to baking.This gives them a shinier, golden brown look.
- Allow the scones to cool to room temperature before adding the icing.
Equipment
- 2 medium-large mixing bowls
- bench scraper, pastry cutter, or forks to combine cold butter and flour mixture
- pizza cutter or knife to cut the scones before baking
- large sheet pan and parchment paper
- silicone spatula is always helpful for scraping down bowls
Ingredient Notes
For these birthday cake scones, you will need a few common baking ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen!
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Unsalted butter – make sure that then butter is cold
- Eggs
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Sprinkles – I recommend using rainbow jimmies (they soften when they bake, so the scones won’t be crunchy)
- White chocolate chips – coarsely chopped baking chocolate would work too
Looking for other pastry recipes?
How to make Birthday Cake Scones
These scones have the classic birthday cake flavor in a flaky pastry form. This is a great recipe to make for breakfast, snack or to serve as a treat!
There are three main components to making these scones:
- Make the scone dough
- Assemble and bake
- Make the icing
How to make the scone dough
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
In a medium or large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder).
Next, chop the cold butter into small pieces. Use your fingers, forks, or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Any leftover butter chunks shouldn’t be larger than a pea. I typically use my hands here so that I can feel how large the butter chunks are. Set the mixture aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (cream, eggs and extracts). Add the mixture to the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold the mixture. Work it until you have created a dough. I usually use my hands near the end to ensure that everything is well incorporated.
Lastly, use your hands or a large spoon to fold in the white chocolate chips and sprinkles. Reserve a small amount of sprinkles for topping the scones after baking, if desired.
How to assemble the scones
Lightly flour the parchment paper and your hands if the dough is sticky.
Next, place the dough on the cookie sheet and form the dough into an 8-9 inch circle (about 1-1 ½ inches thick) using a rolling pin or by just pressing it down with your hands. Sprinkle more flour as you go if necessary.
Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to evenly slice the dough into 8 pieces (like a pizza).
Place the dough in the fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes to set.
Evenly space the scones on the large cookie sheet, leaving at least an inch in between each scone. Brush them with heavy cream and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bottom of the scones are golden brown.
Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature.
How to make the icing
In a small-medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons heavy cream. Mix well with a small spoon or a fork.
Add additional heavy cream as needed (just a teaspoon at a time) until you have reached the desired texture. The icing should be runny enough to drizzle over the top of your scones.
Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled scones, then top when with additional sprinkles if desired.
To get fluffy scones, the butter has to be cold so it takes longer to melt in the oven. Cold butter also gives a better flakier texture.
To prevent dense and tough scones, don’t overwork the dough. Also make sure the butter, cream, and eggs are all cold when making the dough. Popping them back in the freezer before baking also helps with this.
Birthday Cake Scones
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium-large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder) and set aside.
- Next, chop the cold butter into small pieces. Use your fingers, forks, or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Any leftover butter chunks shouldn't be larger than a pea. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (cream, eggs and extracts).
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix together until all of the dry ingredients have been coated to form a dough. *I usually use my hands at the end of mixing to make sure everything is well incorporated
- Fold in the white chocolate chips and sprinkles with your hands or a large spoon.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour the parchment paper.
- Next, lightly flour your hands and pick up the dough and place it on the lined cookie sheet. Form the dough into an 8-9 inch circle (about 1-1 ½ inches thick) using a rolling pin or by just pressing it down with your hands. Sprinkle more flour as you go if necessary.
- Freeze the dough for ~5 minutes to set.
- Remove from the freezer and use a knife or a pizza cutter to slice the scone dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Evenly space the scones on the large cookie sheet, leaving at least an inch in between each scone. Brush them with heavy cream and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bottom of the scones are golden brown.
- In a small-medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons heavy cream. Mix well.
- Add additional heavy cream as needed until you have reached desired texture (the icing should be runny enough to drizzle over the top of your scones).
- Drizzle the icing over the cooled scones.
- Immediately top with additional sprinkles, if desired. Store the scones at room temperature.
Shellie Witter says
You list the sprinkles and vanilla chips in the ingredient list but no instructions when to add them. I’m assuming after flour has been incorporated?
Jackie says
Yes, add them after you’ve created your entire dough. Thank you for asking! I will update the recipe instructions.