These easy yuzu scones are a perfect addition to your next afternoon tea party. With crumbly (but not dry) scone texture and the zing of Japanese citrus, you’ll earn yourself a Paul Hollywood handshake. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

Baking with Yuzu

It’s surprising to absolutely no one that I love yuzu. If you are unfamiliar with the fruit, it’s a zingy citrus from Asia, similar to lemons and limes. Unfortunately, fresh yuzu can be hard to find and/or very expensive in the US. Plus, fresh yuzu fruits are notorious for being not very juicy, meaning you have to buy a lot to make recipes like my creamy yuzu pie.

Last year, though, I discovered that yuzu trees actually grow well in the Pacific Northwest. So I bought one! And I planted it! And I got three little yuzu fruits my very first year! I’ve never been more excited in my life, and I’ve given birth twice.

Where to Buy Yuzu if You Don’t Have a Tree

So finally I have the yuzu zest I’ve longed for, but still I needed more juice. That’s okay, because yuzu juice is fairly easy to obtain bottled at Japanese grocery stores or online. My favorite brand is Yuzu Co, which is available on Amazon. Just be forewarned that different brands of yuzu juice may differ in flavor and acidity.

Tips for Baking Scones

There are all sorts of scone recipes online, but this one is based off a Mary Berry recipe, so you KNOW it’s legit. I did not binge watch hours of Great British Bake Off to have mediocre scones. That show got me through grad school, where I did a crap ton of procrasti-baking. So TRUST the process.

In this recipe, I call for working room temperature butter into flour with your hands to create a sandy texture. This is exactly how Mary Berry does it. Other recipes call for super cold unsalted butter that gets cut into the flour to pea-sized chunks, very similar to an American pie crust recipe. That’s fine too. American pie crust leans more flaky whereas GBBO approved scones are more crumbly so choose whatever texture you like.

By the way, Mary Berry also uses self-raising flour in her recipe, which is more common in the UK I think. I use all-purpose flour plus baking powder, but if you have self-raising flour, simply omit the baking powder.

I also give instructions for making triangle shaped scones, but you could certainly make circle ones too. Use a rolling pin to roll out the scone dough to about 1 inch thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles. I recommend no more than 3 inches in diameter; I really feel that 2 inches (about 5 cm) fits best if you’re going to do afternoon tea with other small treats.

Speaking of afternoon tea, if you serve these scones with clotted cream and yuzu curd, you can omit the yuzu glaze. The glaze is really more of an American thing.

More Asian Baking Recipes

If you liked this recipe, be sure to rate and leave a comment below, and check out some of these other fun treats:

yuzu scone with drizzled glaze view from the side
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Yuzu Scones with Yuzu Glaze

Based off a British scone recipe, these yuzu scones are perfectly crumbly without being too dense or too dry. Top with yuzu glaze for even more citrus flavor.
Servings: 12 triangle scones
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients
  

For Scones

  • 425 g all purpose flour, about 3.5 cups
  • 10 g baking powder, 1 tbsp
  • 6 g kosher salt, 1 tsp
  • 3 oz softened, unsalted butter, 6 tbsp
  • 50 g granulated sugar, 1/4 cup
  • 1 tbsp yuzu zest, optional, see note
  • 180 mL whole milk, 3/4 cup
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp yuzu juice

For Glaze

  • 50 g powdered sugar, 1/2 cup
  • 12 g yuzu juice, 2 tsp

Instructions
 

For Scones

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • If you have yuzu zest, mix it by hand in a separate bowl with the granulated sugar. Set aside.
  • Mix in softened butter into your flour mixture by hand, until your mix has the texture of moist sand. Whisk in the zest and sugar.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk milk, yuzu juice, and eggs.
  • Pour about a cup of the milk mixture into your flour mixture, reserving at least 2 tbsp of liquid for later. Different brands of flour will absorb liquids differently, so I recommend pouring a little at a time and adding more as needed. Mix until your dough comes together and no longer has dry patches. It's okay if your dough is a little sticky, as you will turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
  • Dust a clean surface with flour and turn out your scone dough. For triangles, pat dough into two 6 inch discs about an inch thick and cut each circle into sixths, resulting in 12 total triangle scones.
  • Transfer scones to your prepared baking tray. Brush the tops with the remaining milk and egg mixture and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through and just slightly browning on the edges.

For Yuzu Glaze

  • Mix yuzu juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze. Drizzle over completely cooled scones.

Notes

  • If you don’t have yuzu zest, use lemon zest or even lime zest as a substitute.
  • Of course you can use a food processor or pastry cutter to cut your cold butter into the dry ingredients if you wish. I just find that mixing by hand allows me greater control in achieving that sandy texture. Plus, it’s less to clean after.
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