• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Waiting for Blancmange
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    • Overhead shot of s'mores cinnamon rolls with gooey toasted marshmallow fluff topping and a drizzle of hershey's syrup. The rolls are on a sheet of parchment, one roll has been removed and another has been cut away, sat next to the remaining rolls.
      S'mores Cinnamon Rolls
    • S'mores blondies sliced on top of parchment paper. One blondie is turned on its side so that the inside of the gooey chocolate chip and graham cracker blondie is visible along with the sticky toasted marshmallow topping.
      S'mores Blondies
    • Close up image of a plum cinnamon roll with pink plum glaze. The roll is sat on a blue and white plate with a small dessert fork in front of it. The roll has a could of bites removed, showing the filling inside the roll and chunks of spiced plum compote.
      Plum Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up image of a slice of Biscoff Tres Leches cake on a small blue and white plate. The slice of cake has whipped cream and cookie crumbs on top and a small fork is skewering a bite full.
      Biscoff Tres Leches Cake
    • Soft espresso coffee cinnamon roll on a blue and white plate with a small fork pressed into it to take a bite.
      Espresso Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
    • Overhead shot of a piece of no bake pistachio cheesecake with a pistachio white chocolate ganache topping and pieces of pistachio and rose petals for decoration.
      No Bake Pistachio Cheesecake
    • Close up of a funfetti cinnamon roll on a blue and white plate with a fork pressing in to take a bite.
      Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up of long puff pastry cinnamon twists stood up in a large serving bowl with a white tea towel.
      Puff Pastry Cinnamon Twists
    • Peach crisp cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting and oat crumble topping.
      Peach Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up of white chocolate pistachio truffle coated in ground pistachios.
      White Chocolate Pistachio Truffles
    • Close up of a chocolate hazelnut cinnamon roll with thick Nutella frosting on a wooden serving board with a bite taken out.
      Chocolate Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up of inside out chocolate chip cookies, dark chocolate cookies loaded with white chocolate chips.
      Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Home » Recipes » Breads and Donuts

    Chocolate Cherry Scones

    Published: Aug 20, 2021 · Modified: Aug 13, 2022 by Liz Mincin · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This recipe for American-style chocolate cherry scones is sure to be a hit! Packed full of fresh cherries and chocolate morsels, they'll be a new teatime favourite!

    Three chocolate cherry scones, one with a bite taken out of it, with a few fresh cherries and spare chocolate chips alongside.

    My fresh cherry scones with dark chocolate chips are an easy American-style cream scone. These are loosely based on the New York Times recipe for Cream Scones.

    Ingredients for Chocolate Cherry Scones

    • Plain (all-purpose) flour
    • Sugar - a mix of both caster sugar and light brown muscovado
    • Baking powder
    • Salt
    • Spices - cinnamon and nutmeg
    • Dark chocolate chips
    • Fresh cherries, pitted and quartered
    • Heavy cream, chilled
    • Optional toppings: extra chocolate chips, demerara sugar or other coarse brown sugar
    Ingredients for chocolate cherry scones.

    Using Heavy Cream in Scones

    Heavy cream is used in these scones in place of milk and butter. The fat content of the heavy cream helps to add a buttery richness to the scones without needing to rub cold butter into the dough.

    Cherries for Scones

    I prepare my cherries by pitting and quartering these. You can leave these cherries as halves if you want larger chunks, though this may result in fewer pieces distributed per scone. You can also cut them smaller if preferred. This will not impact the rest of the recipe.

    My recipe is for fresh cherry scones, however, you can also substitute dried cherries into this recipe if these are more convenient.

    In scone making, it is often easier to substitute dried fruits than frozen, if you are replacing fresh. This is because frozen will contain excess liquid, from the freezing process and will break down more easily in cooking. You can use frozen cherries in this recipe, but they should be defrosted first.

    Making Chocolate Cherry Scones

    One-bowl recipes are the best! Scones are a quick and easy one-bowl mix.

    1. Mix the dry ingredients

    Simply mix the dry ingredients together - this is the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt and spices. To thoroughly incorporate these ingredients, its best to whisk these or use a table fork.

    A large bowl of flour, sugar and spices to be mixed.
    Using a fork to mix together flour, sugar and spices in a large bowl.

    2. Add the cherries and chocolate

    It is best to add these in to the dry ingredients to ensure these are distributed throughout the dough. If you were to try adding at the end, the dough would be too thick to incorporate these well. This would result in the dough becoming overworked and the cherries mashed.

    Adding chopped cherries and chocolate to a bowl of mixed flour and sugar.

    3. Add heavy cream

    Slowly add in the heavy cream. This is best done by forming a small well in the middle of your dry ingredients and pouring about half of the cream in. Stir this with a knife and then continue adding the liquid small amounts at a time, mixing with your hands until a dough forms.

    You do not want to over-add the liquid or overwork the dough. So, avoid too much kneading while you are bringing this together. You can expect to have between ¼ cup and ½ cup of the cream leftover.

    Once the dough as formed, reserve the remaining cream for later.

    Bowl of dough for cherry scones.

    4. Cutting American-Style Triangular Chocolate Cherry Scones

    American-style scones are different from British in a few ways - one them being the way they're cut. While British scones are usually circular, American scones are generally served as triangles.

    This is an easy shape to achieve, using either a sharp knife of a dough cutter. Follow these steps:

    1. Once you have your dough, turn this out onto a lightly floured surface.
    2. Knead once or twice lightly and form a round, roughly 7" or 8" wide and about 1" thick.
    3. Use a sharp knife or dough scraper to slice in half.
    4. Then slice perpendicularly across, forming four equal wedges.
    5. Slice each of these in half to form eight triangular scones.

    To make the cutting process easier, use some flour to dust your blade between cuts. This will prevent the dough from sticking.

    Scone dough formed into an 8" round on a floured work surface.
    Preparing to cut scone dough round with a dough scraper.
    Scone dough round with the first cut made, slicing in half.
    Preparing to cut scone dough for the second time with a dough scraper, in order to form four large triangular quarters.
    Cutting the dough quarters in half, to form 8 triangles.
    Round of chocolate cherry scone dough sliced into 8 triangles like pizza slices.

    5. Bake Scones

    Once your scones are sliced, transfer the slices to a prepared baking sheet. They will expand a bit in the oven, so space these about 2" apart.

    Brush each with the reserved cream and add any optional toppings. Demerara or coarse sugar will add a bit of extra texture to the top and no one says no to a bit of extra chocolate!

    Scones on silicone baking sheet.
    Brushing scones with reserved heavy cream before baking.

    Bake in the centre of a preheated 400°F oven for about 15 minutes. The scones should be golden on top, but be careful that the tips don't catch!

    Allow to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and eat warm or save for a teatime snack!

    FAQs for Chocolate Cherry Scones

    How should I cut these scones if I double the recipe?

    If you double (or scale further) this chocolate cherry scone recipe, it is best to form multiple rounds. If you have doubled the recipe, form two rounds of the same size and cut each as directed. This will ensure you make the appropriate number of scones of roughly equal sizes.

    How long do chocolate cherry scones keep?

    These scones stay fairly fresh for several days in an airtight container at room temperature. If you are making them for a particular event, I would recommend making fresh on the day as nothing beats a warm scone! But, leftovers will remain good for about 3 or 4 days.

    Can I freeze these scones?

    Yes, these are easily frozen. You can freeze the baked scones, in freezer bags for about 3 months.

    Some suggested serving accompaniments:

    • Small Batch Cherry Jam
    • Stabilized Whipped Cream

    If you like this recipe, you might also like:

    • Cherry Panna Cotta
    • Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
    • Nectarine Bread
    Three chocolate cherry scones, one with a bite taken out of it, with a few fresh cherries and spare chocolate chips alongside.

    Chocolate Cherry Scones

    Liz Mincin
    A lightly spiced American-style cream scone, filled with fresh cherries and dark chocolate chips.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
    • ¼ cup light brown muscovado sugar
    • 2 tablespoon caster (granulated) sugar
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
    • ½ cup fresh cherries, pitted and quartered about 10 medium-sized cherries
    • 1½ cups heavy double cream

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 400°F (200C/180C Fan) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
    • In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugars.
    • Add the chopped cherries and chocolate chips, stir through the flour mixture.
    • Slowly add the heavy cream, a little at a time until the mixture comes together into a dough. You will likely need between 1 and 1¼ cup. Reserve the remaining cream to brush the top of the scones before baking.
    • Once the dough has come together, tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly once or twice to form a round. Press this into a circle, roughly 8" round and 1" thick.
    • Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut this into 8 triangles (like pizza slices).
    • Place these a couple inches apart on the baking sheet and brush with the reserved heavy cream. Top with extra chocolate chips and/or coarse brown sugar (optional).
    • Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @waitingforblancmange or tag #waitingforblancmange!

    More Breads and Donuts

    • Close up of a cookie dough cinnamon roll sat on a wooden serving board. The cinnamon roll is topped with vanilla glaze and a piece of edible cookie dough.
      Cookie Dough Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up image of using an offset spatula to frost chai latte icing over top of a pan of fresh baked chai cinnamon rolls.
      Chai Cinnamon Rolls
    • A fork cutting into a soft coconut cinnamon roll topped with cream cheese and toasted coconut on a wooden board.
      Coconut Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up of hot cross bun cinnamon rolls.
      Hot Cross Bun Cinnamon Rolls

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Image of Liz Mincin blogger and recipe developer behind Waiting for Blancmange.

    Hi, I'm Liz! I'm an American expat in the UK, with over 20 years experience baking and creating desserts. Taught tricks and tips by my mother and grandmothers, I'm sharing recipes and baking tips from my Italian American and Southern roots, along with a few British staples picked up from my time living across various regions in the UK.

    More about me →

    Plan a Weekend Brunch!

    • Close up image of using an offset spatula to frost chai latte icing over top of a pan of fresh baked chai cinnamon rolls.
      Chai Cinnamon Rolls
    • Super soft vanilla bean cinnamon rolls.
      Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Rolls
    • Close up of a soft and fluffy Biscoff cinnamon roll.
      Biscoff Cinnamon Rolls
    • Slice of almond streusel coffee cake.
      Easy Almond Streusel Coffee Cake with Amaretto

    Springtime Faves:

    • Taking a fork full of light vanilla cake with strawberry jam filling and top.
      Strawberry Jam Cake - Light Vanilla Cake Layers with Strawberry Jam Filling
    • Old fashioned carrot cake with pineapple, coconut and walnuts, layered with cream cheese frosting.
      Old Fashioned Carrot Cake with Pineapple
    • Pistachio and cardamom filled challah buns, iced with lemon and vanilla frosting. One bun with a bite taken out to show the filling.
      Pistachio Cardamom Challah Buns
    • Homemade chai tea flavored marshmallows, sliced in a bowl and on a piece of parchment paper with spices.
      Chai Marshmallows

    Featured In:

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • About

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Waiting for Blancmange