These fluffy and lightly sweetened Vegan Strawberries and Cream Scones are the perfect treat to enjoy for breakfast or with a warm cup of tea.
One thing that continues to amaze me is how different Chinese and American cultures are from each other.
No duh, Faith.
Yeah, I know it's a no brainer, but I'm starting to realize that our differences manifest themselves in so many different areas of life. Some obvious areas are our diets, clothing styles, and education. From what I've seen, Chinese people rarely eat raw vegetables, yet their food is always fresh and rarely processed. They also love spicy and oily food. Americans on the other hand eat more raw vegetables, are timid when it comes to spice, and have access to all kinds of fast food joints.
As for clothing, matching doesn't seem to be as much of a priority here. Any pattern and color can go with any other pattern and color. Sports clothes also aren't very common and we'll often see people "working out" in jeans or other work pants. In America it's rare to see clashing patterns and people wear workout clothes everywhere.
While I've never attended a Chinese middle school, high school, or collage, I have learned a lot about the hours upon hours that Chinese kids spend in school or in workshops studying. I'm talking 12 hours a day in class or study sessions. They even have sessions on the weekend. Whoa! In America, kids are in school from 8-3 or so and then have some homework and extracurricular events they can take part in if they want.
These are some of the bigger areas that are clearly different between American and Chinese cultures, but everyday in class I continue to find little ways that we (mainly my teacher and I) are different. Our thought processes and mannerisms are different and even the way we would act out a word or phrase are different. For instance, in my language class we are not supposed to speak any English. This causes us to use lots of other means to communicate with each other, including acting. One day in class my teacher was trying to act out the word "success" to me. With a stern look on her face, and her mouth somewhat in a frown, she thrusted a stiff, pointed hand up into the air with lots of force. I immediately thought she was trying to act out determined or focused, but eventually (thanks to some English cheating), I found out she was acting out "success". If I were to act out success, I would raised two clenched fists above my head and yell happily with a smile on my face.
See what I mean?
Thankfully, even with all of our differences, I've found that most of my Chinese friends really enjoy my baked goods. Yay! These Vegan Strawberries and Cream Scones especially went over well the other day when I brought them into class to share with Brett and my teacher. They warmed them up, added some strawberry jelly on top, and then deemed them, "Tai hao chi de" which means, "These are so good!"
Made with whole grain spelt flour, creamy coconut milk, and fresh strawberries, how could you not like these Vegan Strawberries and Cream Scones?! I hope you can give these scones a try. They only require one bowl and 7 ingredients!
Can we also just agree that these would be the perfect Valentine's Day breakfast treat? You can't beat a warm scone speckled with ruby red strawberries:)
If you make them, let me know what you think! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag #theconscientiouseater on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Strawberries and Cream Scones
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil hard
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries the size of blueberries
- 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 °F. Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat or other non-stick paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in the coconut oil with a pastry cutter or two knives until it's well incorporated and there aren't any lumps larger than pea-size.
- Fold in the fresh strawberries.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the coconut milk. Fold the batter together until just combined
- Dump the batter onto a lightly flour surface and press the dough down into a circle about 1 ½ inches thick. Add a little flour to the top of your dough if it's too sticky.
- Cut the circle into 8 triangles and carefully transfer the scones to your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Let cool and enjoy!
Yo Mama says
Not only are you a good cook, photographer and writer, you are also a good student of culture. Thanks for sharing your observations. I love them.
As with all your recipes, these scones look wonderful. I have got to try to find coconut sugar. Where did you find it when you were in the states? Dad and I looked in an Asian market, but didn't find it there.
Faith says
Thanks mama!! Have you looked on the Irish Amazon you guys always talk about?! I usually buy it there (Amazon/taobao) or trader joes! I jut found out that an awesome website called herb ships to China for free over a certain price, so I bet they'd ship to you too! They have all kinds of stuff like coconut sugar, coconut oil, peanut flour, etc:)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Ah! Haha! No matching 😉 That makes things easier!
Strawberries and cream is such a classic! What a lovely scone flavor!
Faith says
Yeah, the outfits here can be pretty funny:) but I love it too cause it makes me care less about what I wear;) thanks Rebecca!
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
These look amazing! I wonder what kind of GF flour substitute would work best - maybe buckwheat mixed with all purpose or a lighter flour?
Faith says
Thanks Alyssa! And good question. I would probably just substitute all purpose gluten free, but you know more than I do! If you try something that works, please let me know!
Emily says
Wow, these look so easy and yummy!
Faith says
Thanks Emily! They really are so simple to make...my favorite kind of scone!