Soft apricot and orange scones with bright, zesty flavour. An easy scone recipe all made in one bowl with an equally easy spiced homemade fig jam.

The orange scones are buttery with nuggets of dried apricot, the jam is sweet and tangy and compliments the scones perfectly. These vegan scones are just at home served simply warm, split and buttered for a breakfast treat. Or top with whipped vegan cream for a lovely afternoon tea!

I also know the jam might feel like an extra step between you and scone deliciousness. BUT. It’s the perfect amount of sticky sweet with gently warming spices that take these orange scones to a whole other level. And takes literally 10 minutes from start to finish. You don’t even need to dirty a knife chopping the figs!

How to make easy fig jam

I’ve used dried figs for this for a couple of reasons. First, figs feel very Christmassy to me. I grew up in a fairly frugal household. We weren’t poor but there wasn’t a lot of spare money either. But with Christmas came a bit of decadence. Dishes of salted nuts (and one of uncracked walnuts still in their shell that I don’t recall ever seeing anyone eat and I swear were the same ones year after year). Bottles of sherry, brandy and liqueurs. And jewel like glistening dried fruits – glace cherries, dates stuffed with marzipan and chewy dried figs.

Using dried figs also means this fig jam can be made at any time of the year – as fresh figs have a fairly short late summer, early autumn season.

To make the jam simply put all the ingredients into a saucepan and gently simmer for 8-10 minutes until the figs are squishy. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes then use a blender, immersion blender or food processor to puree the jam.

How to make vegan scones

These orange scones are based on my foolproof, never fail vegan scones. They’re incredibly simple, all made in one bowl and constantly deliver delicious results with little effort. With all scones there’s one simple rule to remember – don’t overwork the dough. So no furious kneading necessary and are just as easy to make by hand as they are in a mixer.

Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl then add the diced cold butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until you have no lumps of butter remaining.

Stir in the caster sugar, orange zest, spices and chopped dried apricots.

Add enough milk to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. This is the part you want a light touch – once the dough comes together don’t over-work it.  Tip it onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll the dough until it’s roughly 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick.

Cutting the scones + quick tip

I used a 6 cm (2.5 inch) cutter. Another trick is to be purposeful when cutting the scones and don’t twist the cutter when removing it. Straight down to cut then lift straight up. Twisting the cutter can lead to lopsided scones! If you find the dough is sticking, dip the cutter in some flour first.

Place the scones on a lined baking sheet. Lightly re-roll the dough until you’ve used it all.

Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk then sprinkle with some demerara sugar. The sugar is optional but I love the sweet crunch it gives!

Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes until firm and lightly golden.

Serving your scones

I’m firmly in the Cornish camp when it comes to the whole jam or cream first debate 😉

But however you enjoy your scones, slightly warm with a good smear of fig jam and an even gooder dollop of whipped vegan cream honestly makes me feel a bit posh! But as a breakfast treat these are also divine simply warm and spread with vegan butter and a big mug of tea or coffee.

Storing your scones

The joy of scones is that they (in my opinion) should be served warm. So they can be stored in an airtight container for a few days but a quick warm in an oven or microwave and you have fresh baked scones! You can also freeze any leftovers.

Looking for even more vegan scone recipes? Try these:

Smoked Cheese and Herb Scones

Double Chocolate Scones with Blackberry Jam

Blueberry Scones with Blueberry Jam

Gluten Free Savoury Scones

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