These Gluten-Free Vegan Raspberry Scones are moist, "buttery" and filled with jammy, tart-sweet raspberries! They come together in one bowl and are refined sugar free too.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
Once melted, add the lemon juice to the same bowl along with the maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well until a dough forms, adding the milk a little bit at a time to ensure you don’t add too much - it should be soft, but firm enough to mould easily. You can add a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
Add the raspberries and mix them into the dough - it’s better if you crush them and break them up slightly when you mix them into the dough, otherwise if you mix in whole raspberries, there will be gaps in the dough and you will end up with holes in the baked scones.
Line a baking tray with greased baking paper.
Use your hands to shape the dough into a slightly elongated circular shape about 2 cm (1 inch) thick - you can also use a floured rolling pin for this, but I prefer to do it with my hands because it’s easier. There’s no need to use a floured surface as the baking paper works to stop the dough from sticking.
Keeping the dough in that shape, use a knife to carve the surface of the dough into eight - cut in half first, then each half into half, and each quarter into half again until you end up with eight even triangles. It's a bit like cutting up a pizza, but make sure not to cut all the way down through the dough - this is because they come out fluffier when baked pressed together!
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until browned and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool slightly, then slice them into separate pieces.
Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - delicious reheated in the toaster!
Notes
*The lemon juice is crucial as its acidity needs to react with the alkali bicarbonate of soda to make the scones fluffy. If you don't want to use lemon juice, replace with 2 tablespoons orange juice, or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar instead.**You can alternatively use almond flour.***If using frozen raspberries, leave them to thaw out first, so they are easier to break up and mix into the batter.