This delicious Scone Cake is one of my family's favorite easy sweet breakfast recipes. It's the best of buttery scones combined with the ease of a BIG sheet pan sized cake. This is the recipe to make when you're craving a big batch of scones, but without a ton of effort.
Recipe review
A quick look at the recipe
- Recipe name: Scone Cake
- Ready in: 10 minutes prep, 30 minutes bake time, 40 total time
- Serves: 16
- Calories: 375 per slice
- Main ingredients: Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, heavy cream, pie filling
- Difficulty: Easy
My Mom always had a baked good sitting on the counter and ready for snacking. I remember my Mom making this giant scone cake. I loved it! And I still do today. Fortunately, I inherited this love of baking from her. I knew I just needed to share with all of you.
Most weekend mornings, you can find me baking a pound cake, some banana muffins, a strawberry crumb cake or a few mini chocolate puff pastry rolls. And more times than not, a batch of my all time favorite blueberry scones is cooling on the counter.
When we're having overnight guests, this scone breakfast cake with a fruit swirl is the first thing I make.
Jump to:
What is a scone cake?
The ingredients for scones and cakes are basically the same. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and a leavening agent such as baking soda or powder. This isn't a recipe for scones using cake mix.
Scones are like sweet biscuits with a dense, craggy, and crumbly texture sometimes with fresh or dried fruits. Cakes on the other hand are lighter with a more spongey feel.
A sheet pan scones cake is a combination of these two delicious treats. It's a large flat cake swirled with fruit pie filling and baked to a golden brown. The scone cake is sturdy like a scone with a more cakelike texture. If you are looking for a breakfast cake recipe to feed a crowd, then this is the recipe for you.
What's to love about this scone cake recipe
- Easy to make: The large single layer breakfast sheet cake makes a big batch of scones. Just cut into pieces and serve. There's no need to roll and cut individual scones.
- Enough to share: The cake is baked in a jelly roll pan (15 inches by 10 inches) and makes 16 big pieces or 32 smaller 2-bite pieces.
- Seasonal flavors: Whether it's spring, summer, fall or winter, swap out the pie filling with a seasonal favorite. Try strawberry in the spring, blueberry in the summer, apple in the fall, and cherry in the winter.
Ingredients for breakfast scone cake
Some simple ingredients are all that are needed to make my scones cake recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card for full quantities of the ingredients.
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract and almond extract
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda and kosher salt
- Heavy cream
- Canned pie filling
- Powdered sugar
Hint: Have all the ingredients at room temperature. They will blend together better and the scone cake will bake more evenly.
Substitutions
- I always cook and bake with salted butter. But unsalted can also be used in the recipe.
- Use your favorite flavor of canned pie filling for the scone cake. Try cherry, blueberry, peach or strawberry.
How to make a scone cake
If you are a novice or seasoned baker, this quick and easy breakfast pastry recipe is for you. With common pantry and refrigerator ingredients, it will take only a few minutes to mix up the batter. Scroll to the recipe card for full instructions.
- Step 1: Cream butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy - about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 2: Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract and mix to combine.
- Step 3: Combine the flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the heavy cream to the batter.
- Step 4: Spread the cake batter into a greased 15 by 10 inch jelly roll pan. Top with the canned pie filling.
- Step 5: Bake for 25 to 30 or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
- Step 6: Combine and stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and heavy cream. Drizzle over the cooled scone cake.
Amy's expert tips
- A stand mixer makes easy work of making the cake batter. A hand mixer can also be used.
- Slowly add the flour alternately with the heavy cream to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. After adding the final bit of flour, continue mixing just until the ingredients come together. Overmixing will result in a tough cake.
- Gently swirl the pie filling into the cake batter. Try not to scrap the bottom of the jelly roll pan with the knife.
- To easily drizzle the icing, use a pastry bag. Or use a small resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag, snip off a corner and squeeze out the icing on top of the cooled cake.
Storage
- Room temperature: Store the cake at lightly covered with plastic wrap at room temperature. It can also be cut into pieces and stored in a footed cake stand with a lid.
- Freezer: To freeze, cut the scone cake into pieces. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for about 1 hour. The cake pieces should be frozen solid. Place in an air tight container with the layers separated by parchment paper. Alternately, place the frozen pieces of cake in a resealable freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to one month.
Frequently asked questions
Not quite. But the two share some similar qualities. They're both a baked good. But a scone is more like a sweet biscuit. Scones are crumbly and dense, mildly sweet, and eaten plain or with jam. Conversely, cakes are light and airy, sweet, and topped with frosting.
Yes you can. I recommend a 9 x 13 inch pan. Adjust the cooking time to about 35 to 45 minutes.
By all means yes! Homemade pie filling would be delicious in this recipe. Use about 2 cups of filling in place of the canned version.
The drizzle icing is option, but highly recommended.
One more thing
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know by leaving a comment and a star rating below. Share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
Thanks ~ Amy
Recipe
Scone Cake {Sheet Pan Recipe}
Ingredients
- for the scone cake
- 1 cup salted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 can pie filling blueberry, apple or cherry are some favorites
- for the icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 15 inch x 10 inch jelly roll pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar. Beat on medium low speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is creamy and pale yellow.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium low speed after each one.
- Add in the vanilla and almond extract and beat to combine.
- In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the heavy cream. Continue beating on medium low speed until the batter is just combined.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared jelly roll pan.
- Evenly add the pie filling by spoonfuls on top of the batter. Use a knife to swirl the pie filling into the batter trying not to touch the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a baking rack.
- To make the icing, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a medium sized bowl. Add the heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir to until the icing is smooth. It should be thin enough to drizzle on the cake but thick enough to hold its shape in thin lines.
- When the cake is completely cool, drizzle it with the icing.
Notes
- Have all the ingredients at room temperature to easily and evenly mix the cake.
- A standing mixer makes easy work of making the cake batter. A hand mixer can also be used.
- Slowly add the flour alternately with the heavy cream to the butter and sugar mixture. After adding the final bit of flour, continue mixing just until the ingredients come together. Overmixing will result in a tough cake.
- Use your favorite canned pie filling in the recipe. Blueberry, apple and cherry are some of my favorites.
- When swirling the pie filling into the cake batter, try not to scrap the bottom of the jelly roll pan with the knife.
- To easily drizzle the icing, put it in a small resealable bag. Seal the bag, snip off a corner and squeeze out the icing.
Lisa says
Do you have a pumpkin version of this? It was awesome!
Amy Casey says
I do not. But that sound like a delicious idea. I'll start working on it.
Banana Spice says
I’ve made this so many times and it’s always a hit! I usually use a 13x9 and just adjust the cooking time. And it keeps for days and won’t dry out! Love it!!
Amy Casey says
I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe! And thanks for sharing that you made the scone cake in a 13x9 inch pan.