Who doesn’t love a classic scone, with its perfect counterpart—tea!
How about we do you one better?
A sconoli—a scone, filled with a tea-infused mascarpone whipped cream filling that is endearing with every bite!
There’s no Sconoli Without the Cannoli
We wouldn’t be able to bring you this perfect sconoli confection without the invention of the cannoli.
So, where did the cannoli come from?
Where else, but Italy! Sicily, Italy to be exact. The invention of this sweet concoction dates all the way back to between 827-1097. Many of the ingredients used then are reminiscent of what is used now: sugar (cane) and almonds. The traditional cannoli consists of a fried pastry shell (cooked with that tube in to create the hollow inside) filled with ricotta, chocolate filling, and candied fruit.
Today you will find so many adventurous and desirable cannoli variations, often using mascarpone cheese even, with fruits like strawberries, or the addition of caramel and nuts.
Bon appétit!
Scones: Dip, Dunk, and Scoop
When serving up a platter of classic scones, often you’ll find them accompanied by a few sides of choice: lemon curd, fresh whipped cream, jams, and clotted cream, just to name a few. They make for perfect pairings to bring out the nuances of a scone and can complement your tea quite well, too.
When making a sconoli, we are wrapping this process all into one beautiful dessert—serving it up, ready to go from hand to mouth in two seconds flat! I like to streamline things around here…especially when dealing with desserts! Desserts and tea are beloved friends of mine.
For this recipe, I decided to blend the addition of a tea-infused fresh whipped cream, along with some mascarpone cheese and a dollop of extract to really highlight the flavors of our Hammock Blend black tea. What you end up with is an insatiable, dreamy dessert recipe!
Tea Choices for Your Sconoli
Are you looking for a few options to serve at your next gathering?
I wanted to offer you a few other tea choices that would be amazing to infuse into your whipping cream, that would make fantastic pairings with your scone.
If you’re looking for a chocolate and nutty mix, you can’t go wrong with either one of these: Chocolate Hazelnut dessert tea or Toasted Nut Brulee oolong tea. They both encompass all things nutty and chocolatey! Simply remove the addition of the orange extract and double the vanilla in the recipe for the filling. Feel free to sprinkle a few sliced nuts on top and drizzle some melted chocolate, too! Yum!
Feeling a bit fun and fruity?
Strawberry Passionfruit oolong tea or Strawberry Honeysuckle black tea would make a fruit-filled, fun, and fabulous sconoli! With this one, I’d substitute the orange extract for a bit of strawberry extract, or double the vanilla. Try dipping it in a few coconut flakes or serve alongside some fresh strawberries for your guests to adorn the tops of their sconoli before they enjoy it!
Sconoli Recipe
- 2 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking power
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Rolling pin
- Cannoli tubes
- 1 egg (egg wash)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (cold)
- 3 teaspoons Hammock Blend black tea (*or another tea of choice)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup mascarpone
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon orange extract
On low heat in a small pan, while stirring consistently, bring the heavy whipping cream and Hammock Blend black tea to a simmer.
Just before the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat, and let steep until it cools down to room temperature, at least 30 minutes.
Once cool, strain the tea mixture through a sieve and use a wooden spoon to squeeze out all the steeped heavy cream. Place in the refrigerator to cool for another hour, minimum.
Directions for Scones:
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with a nonstick spray.
In your stand mixer, whisk together all your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Attach the paddle attachment. Add in the cubed butter and mix the ingredients until you have pea-sized crumbs.
In a separate bowl, combine your heavy whipping cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well combined, and then add to the dry ingredients (using your paddle attachment) and blend just until the mixture is blended. It should be coarsely ground, and won’t necessarily stick together very well.
Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface, using your hands to work it together.
Once the mixture forms a nice ball, make sure your surface is lightly floured again and prepare to roll out your scone mixture.
Forming a rectangle with your mixture, and using your rolling pin, roll out the scone dough into a flat rectangle. You want it to be about 1/4-1/3 inches in depth.
Take a pizza cutter or a knife and cut out, approximately, 4”x6” rectangles. Cut as many as you can from your flattened scone dough, setting the cut pieces aside as you go.
Once you’ve done this, scoop up your remaining dough and repeat the above process to make more rectangles, until you’ve used all your mixture. If you end up with a little bit of a wonky one at the end-use it! It still tastes good! *You should have about seven.
Spray your cannoli tubes with a nonstick spray and then wrap them (tightly, but don’t stretch the dough), kitty-corner, with one of the rectangle pieces of scone dough.
Take your egg for your egg wash and whisk well. Use a brush to brush one of the top sides of the dough and adhere the other piece of the dough to it, ensuring it’s securely wrapped.
Set on your baking tray. Continue with this until all your scones have been wrapped and placed and are ready for the oven.
Bake for 11-13 minutes until you have lightly golden-brown edges. Remove and let cool before removing the cannoli tubes.
Directions for Filling:
In your stand mixture, beat the tea-infused heavy cream and sugar until thick peaks form. Remove from the bowl and place in a separate bowl.
In the same mixture, beat the mascarpone, vanilla extract, and orange extract until it’s smooth and creamy, then add back into the whipped cream mixture. Make sure not to over-mix. Just blend until fully combined.
Add this mixture to a piping bag with a large tip on the end and pipe into the center of your cooled scones.
*If you’re looking to mix things up a bit, feel free to add a few chocolate chips to the scone mix for an orange and chocolate dessert, or simply dip each end of your filled sconoli into some chocolate chips for a fun twist!
*The original ‘Sconoli’ was created by Shortcake Bakery & Tea Room
*Scone recipe adapted from Livewellbakeoften.com
*Mascarpone cream recipe adapted from Anitalianinmykitchen.com
