Cape Gooseberry Scones with Lemon
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These Cape Gooseberry Scones with lemon are surprisingly sweet, yet tart and busting with complex flavors. Once baked they are buttery soft, with a flaky center and crumbly edges, and they are loaded with bright gooseberries and fresh lemon. The addition of these berries will change the way you look at scones forever.
The History of Cape Gooseberries:
- Cape Gooseberries, are known by various names throughout the world (Physalis, Physalis Peruviana, Goldenberry, Groundcherry or Pichuberry – since they are native to Peru), and they are grown in many different countries as well.
- While gooseberry is a part of the name, Cape Gooseberries have no relation to any other gooseberries. Instead they are nightshades and belong to a family that includes: eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes.
- Cape Gooseberries are bright, yellow-orange berries with a brown, papery husks, or a “cape”. They are small and round, with a waxy skin, and the inside is juicy and contains little yellow seeds.
- They are full of antioxidants, and contain both Vitamin A and C.
The Flavor Profile:
- Cape Gooseberries are sweet when ripe (are toxic if eaten unripe), and are acidic like a tomato, but also sweet like a peach.
- Lindsay-Jean Hard of Food 52 states that Cape Gooseberries are very complex in flavor, and that they are a mega-hybrid of a grape, mango, pineapple, strawberry, tomato and more. So I knew I just had to try these immediately. And boy, they did not disappoint. The taste is amazing!!! It is like nothing I have eaten before. 🙂
How To Use These Cape Gooseberries:
- Can be consumed raw or cooked, and works well in both sweet and savory dishes.
- You can try these berries in a myriad of recipes like: scones, coffee cake, ice cream, green salad, fruit salad, salsa, chutney and jam. You can even roast them for a sauce or just dip the raw fruit in chocolate. Can you say, yum?!?
- FYI: The husks are not edible, but it is smart to keep the berries in their husks until ready to use. When ready to use, just make sure to remove the husk and wash them well.
- Here’s a fun tip for you. Due to the fruit’s decorative husk, you can use it as a garnish or place the fruit on top of a beautiful dessert (just peel the husk back). It is simple but very stunning.
Cape Gooseberry Scones with Lemon:
- Fruit – The original recipe calls for blueberries. However, to jazz the scones up a bit more, I use fresh gooseberries. These berries will change the way you look at scones, I guarantee!
- Sugar – I did have to add more sugar to the dough, because the gooseberries are on the acidic side. So just be aware of that when prepping the recipe.
- Baking – To prevent over-spreading, the dough needs to be very cold. Be sure to refrigerate the scones, before baking, for at least 15 minutes. Please don’t skip this step! It definitely helps.
- Heads Up – The recipe that is shown below is slightly adapted from Sally McKenney over at Sally’s Baking Addiction. Here is the link to the original recipe: Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones.
And, for more breakfast ideas, please give these a try:
- Baked Quail Egg Bites
- Apple Turnovers with Homemade Caramel
- Peanut Butter Toast Bar
- Loaded Kiwi Chia Pudding
- Roasted Strawberry Chia Pudding
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a star rating below so I know how you liked it. Thanks! Enjoy!
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Cape Gooseberry Scones with Lemon
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 large scones 1x
Description
These Cape Gooseberry Scones are surprisingly sweet, yet tart and are busting with complex flavors. Once baked they are buttery soft, with a flaky center and crumbly edges, and are packed with bright gooseberries and fresh lemon.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus more for hands and work surface (spoon and leveled)
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Lemon, zested (equivalent to 1 tbsp)
- 2 1/2 tsps Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream, plus 2 tbsp for brushing
- 1 Organic Egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsps Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 6 oz container Sun Belle Golden Berries a.k.a. Cape Gooseberries, sliced
- LEMON ICING:
- 1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
- 1 large Lemon, juiced
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt together until well combined. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Add wet ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together until just incorporated. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the gooseberries, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Form the dough: Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. The dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc, and with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.
- Brush: Brush the scones with the remaining heavy cream.
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees F.
- Refrigerate: Arrange the scones 2-3 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Bake: Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before topping with lemon icing.
- Icing: To make the icing, whisk the icing ingredients together. Drizzle over warm scones and serve immediately.
- Leftovers: Keep the leftover iced or un-iced scones at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300 Degrees F oven for 10 minutes.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.
- Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a rubber spatula.
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Breakfast, Brunch, Easter Recipes, Easy Baking, Easy Breakfast Recipes, Easy Brunch Recipes, Easy Recipes, Fruit Recipes, Gooseberry, Lemon Recipes, Low Sodium, Scone Recipes
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NOTE:
- These Navitas Organics Golden Berries are the perfect snack and can be found on Amazon.
My family Loved it. Thanks for sharing this great recipe. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
Aww, thank you so much! I am very happy that you and your family love this recipe.
This recipe was great, however I ended up adding nearly 1.5 cups of flour during the shaping phase. Not sure if it’s cause I substituted for almond flour originally. I recommend a helper for that part!
Hi! Yes, because you used almond flour instead of all-purpose flour that is why you had to use so much more. When you use almond flour in cooking, the dough won’t act the same way as if it was made with white flour. When substituting almond flour for all-purpose flour, you may use more almond flour because, unlike all-purpose flour, it absorbs a lot of moisture. Almond flour also lacks the same binding qualities that all-purpose flour has, so you may even end up adding more egg to your recipes to hold it in shape. Lastly, there isn’t an exact conversion ratio from all-purpose flour to almond flour. Maybe next time try oat flour as a substitute for all-purpose flour. Just something to keep in mind. I am so glad you enjoyed the scones! 🙂
Have made these several times now — delicious!
★★★★★
That is great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing! 😉