Vegan Lemonade Scones (Easy 6 Ingredient Recipe)

January 27, 2024
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These beautifully soft vegan lemonade scones use fizzy lemonade to give a delicious flavour and a fantastic rise to this vegan bake.  This easy scone recipe takes just 10 minutes to prep, 9 minutes to cook and uses 6 basic ingredients.  We’re revealing our top tips for perfect scones every time!

Freshly baked fruity lemonade scones filled with juicy sultanas, slathered in homemade strawberry jam and served with a generous helping of dairy free cream – if that’s not the epitome of a British summer treat I don’t know what is!

The inspiration for this recipe came from my Ma who serves up the best scones and told me recently that she regularly uses lemonade as her secret ingredient.

Top these beauties with homemade jam (strawberry goes particularly well with this recipe) and vegan whipped cream for the perfect Cornish cream tea. Alternatively, try vegan creme fraiche or thick coconut yoghurt.

Read on to find out our top tips for making perfect fluffy lemonade scones without cream, milk or eggs, straight from our home in Cornwall to yours!

Quick Links:

A plate piled high with vegan scones, the top one filled with vegan cream and jam

This afternoon tea classic is easy and so quick to make, with minimal handling and only 9 minutes in the oven to transform them into golden perfection. These dairy free and egg free lemonade scones are:

Beautifully soft

Delicately sweet

With a hint of lemon

Filled with juicy sultanas

Quick and easy to make

If this is your first time making homemade scones, you’re in for a treat!  They’re easier than you think and this lemonade scone recipe creates beautifully light scones – make them as a gift for a birthday or Mother’s Day or as a Sunday afternoon treat.

Success Tips

Here are our top tips for making vegan fruit scones with lemonade:

  1. Use cold ingredients. Using cold ingredients is important to prevent your scones from slumping in the oven. Use cold margarine (not block butter) and refrigerated lemonade.
  2. The dough should be soft and may be slightly sticky. Don’t be tempted to add more flour or over-flour your surface. Too much flour and your scones could turn out dense. You don’t need to roll out your dough, you simply press it down to flatten it, so as long as it’s nice and soft and not too sticky to handle, it should be perfect.
  3. Use a light touch. This is arguably the most important tip. Scone dough needs a light touch for your scones to turn out fluffy rather than tough. This means not over-mixing or over-handling the dough. Stir the mixture just enough to bring the dough together and once you’ve transferred it from the mixing bowl to a lightly floured surface, gently press it down until it’s around 2cm thick (3/4″). There is no need to use a rolling pin but you can if you wish.
  4. Don’t twist your cookie cutter. When cutting out your scones, press the cutter straight up and down, don’t twist it. This helps to create a scone that evenly rises. Dust your cutter lightly in flour before cutting to prevent sticking.
  5. Storing. Once they are fully cool, store your scones in an airtight container and enjoy them within a day. Alternatively, put them in an airtight container and freeze them. Defrost your scones at room temperature and then pop them in a preheated oven for a few minutes to refresh them.

A top down photo of a plate of vegan scones, the top one cut in half to reveal

How to make these Vegan Lemonade Scones

Ingredients

To make these classic scones you’ll need:

Self-raising flour – if you don’t have self raising flour you can use plain flour (all-purpose flour) instead, but you’ll need to add 2.5 tsp of baking powder to it

Caster sugar – don’t substitute for brown sugar in this recipe, white sugar will yield the best results

Sultanas – you can substitute the sultanas for raisins in this recipe

Fizzy lemonade – still lemonade won’t work when making these dairy free scones with lemonade, you need the ‘fizz’ to help the scones rise.  Make sure your lemonade is refrigerated – it needs to be cold.

Dairy free margarine – opt for the spreadable kind of vegan margarine, not block butter.  Make sure your margarine is cold.

Dairy free milk – any dairy free milk will work for glazing the scones – almond milk, soy milk, oat milk; or whatever non-dairy milk you have in the fridge.

Equipment

You’ll need a 5.5cm (2″) cookie cutter or scone cutter for this recipe.  A pastry brush is also useful for glazing the tops of the scones.

Steps

Here is a basic summary of the steps involved in making these deliciously fluffy scones. 

For the full written recipe, recipe notes and instructions for making this easy lemonade scones recipe, head to the recipe card below.

  1. In a large bowl, rub together the flour and margarine to form a breadcrumb consistency.

  2. Stir in the sugar and sultanas.

  3. Add lemonade to bring the mixture together into a ball.

  4. Transfer the scone dough to a lightly floured surface and gently flatten.

  5. Cut out your scones and place them on a lined baking tray.

  6. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk and bake for around 9 minutes until lightly golden on top.

  7. Once baked, transfer the scones from the lined baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool fully.

FAQs

Can I use oil instead of margarine for making scones?

No, we don’t recommend this when making dairy-free scones.  Oil is 100% fat, whereas margarine has a degree of water to it.  This water creates steam in the oven, which helps the scones to rise.

How can I make my scones rise more?

Here are our top three tips for creating well-risen scones:

  1. Use self-raising flour to create more of a rise to your scones.

  2. Make sure that your dough is no less than a 2 cm thickness (3/4″) when you cut out your scones.

  3. Press your cutter straight up and down, don’t twist it.

What should I serve with scones?

Cut your vegan lemonade scones in half and serve them with either dairy free butter or a fruit jam (strawberry and raspberry both work well).  Scones are traditionally served with clotted cream and jam, so you could also add whipped coconut cream, whipped vegan cream, or a spoonful of thick coconut yoghurt on top of the jam.  Make sure you spread jam first then cream – it’s the traditional Cornish way!

Another option if you’d like to serve your lemonade scones without cream is to try some deliciously tangy homemade lemon curd – like this one!

Can I freeze scones?

Yes!  Cool your freshly baked scones on a wire rack and then transfer them to an airtight container and pop them in the freezer.  Baked goods are best used within 6 weeks if frozen.

Defrost your scones at room temperature and then place them on a baking tray into a preheated oven for a few minutes to warm them through and refresh them.

Here are some other delicious vegan bakes you’ll enjoy:

 

I hope you LOVE this recipe for Vegan Lemonade Scones!  Please share this recipe with someone you think will enjoy it because it’s our goal to encourage as many people as possible to try plant based eating.

Also, don’t forget to tag @aveganvisit on social media when you make this recipe.  I love seeing your re-creations!  Enjoy 🙂 x

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The Video Recipe:

The Written Recipe:

A stack of three fruit vegan scones topped with raspberry jam and vegan cream

Vegan Lemonade Scones (Easy 6 Ingredient Recipe)

These beautifully soft, delicately sweet scones are made with lemonade which gives a delicious flavour and a fantastic rise to this vegan bake.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Sweet Treat
Cuisine: British
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 9 minutes
Total: 19 minutes
Serves: 6 scones
Calories: 316kcal
Author: Tara

Ingredients
 
 

  • 250 g self raising flour
  • 85 g dairy free margarine
  • 65 g caster sugar
  • 65 g sultanas
  • 90 ml fizzy lemonade (just enough to combine mixture (75-90ml))

For glazing:

  • 20 ml dairy free milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 220°C fan (240°C conventional / 475°F / gas mark 9) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  • In a bowl mix together the flour and cold margarine with your fingers to form a breadcrumb consistency. Then stir in the sugar and sultanas.
    250 g self raising flour, 85 g dairy free margarine, 65 g caster sugar, 65 g sultanas
  • Add just enough fizzy lemonade (straight from the refrigerator) to bring the mixture together into a dough, this should be approximately 75-90ml.
    90 ml fizzy lemonade
  • Do not over-mix the dough or handle it too much. Scone dough needs a light touch so handle the dough just enough to bring it together to form a ball.
  • Lightly flour a surface and transfer your scone dough onto it. Gently press the dough down to flatten it out until it's around 2cm thick (no less). You shouldn't need a rolling pin to do this.
  • Cut out 5.5cm (2") rounds using a cookie cutter. Transfer the scones onto the lined baking tray.
  • Brush the tops of each scone with dairy free milk and then bake for around 9 minutes until lightly golden on top. Transfer the baked scones to a cooling rack.
    20 ml dairy free milk
  • Serve with jam and whipped vegan cream.

Video

Notes

Vegan / Dairy Free / Egg Free
Recipe inspired by: Cornwall, England, UK
Please check the allergens on the ingredients you purchase before use.  The allergen information provided in this recipe is intended as a guide only and is based on the specific ingredients and brands used at the time of creating the recipe, therefore we cannot guarantee that the same will apply to the ingredients you use.  Nutritional values are estimated and exclude any optional extras.
Prep time excludes any inactive time.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Net Carbohydrates: 50g
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Tara

Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.