Strawberries … one of spring’s (or really any time’s) best flavors. Add some scones with their heavenly, lightly sweet, moist and perfectly fluffy texture. Together, it’s really a match made in heaven.
The wonderful thing about scones is that you can create so many different flavors – whether they are savory or sweet! Today my choice was to pair strawberries with sweetened adzuki red beans. It’s the perfect blend between a classic American pastry and the most popular Korean bread filling.
One of the great things about red bean paste is how it can be paired with almost anything! Well…… maybe not everything, but with dessert ingredients, I have found that it is very versatile. Red bean paste, also known as ‘Anko’ in Japanese, is a popular ingredient used in many traditional Asian dishes. It is made from adzuki red beans that have been boiled, mashed, and sweetened with sugar and smoothed by oil, butter or shortening. The texture of red bean paste can range from thick and smooth to slightly chunky. Commercial ready-to-use red bean paste is available in most Asian stores and is super convenient. If you have the time and prefer to make your own, look for canned, ready-to-eat adzuki beans which allow you to skip the lengthy process of cooking the beans and go straight to the last step of mashing the paste. A wonderful time saver.
Soft, strawberry scones paired with a creamy, sweetened red bean paste make them hard to resist. These seasonal bites make a great addition to a brunch menu!

Servings |
|
- 3 cups flour
- 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (180 gm) butter, cold
- 1 1/3 cup milk
- 500 gm sweetened red bean adzuki bean paste can be found in the T&T stores or most Asian grocery stores.
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 340 gm fresh strawberries, diced Use 1 cup for the strawberry glaze (if making) & the rest for the topping.
- strawberry gel (glaze) can be purchased or homemade. See recipe in notes below.
Ingredients
Scones
Filling
Topping
|
![]() |
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt.
- Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until the dough resembles coarse crumbs.
- Make a well in center of ingredients, add milk all at once, mix quickly with a fork to just combine ingredients.
- On a floured surface , roll dough out thinly to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into rounds with a 4-inch cutter.
- Place a Tbsp of red bean paste ( I used the whole 500 gm pkg for the 36 scones) on one side of each round. Fold the round in half with red bean paste inside. In a small dish, combine sugar & cinnamon. Melt butter & brush tops of each half moon lightly with butter. Generously sprinkle each scone with cinnamon mixture.
- Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven & cool on a wire rack.
- Clean & hull strawberries. Dice berries in small size. Combine with either purchased or homemade strawberry gel. Top each scone with a spoonful of glazed strawberries. Serve.
Strawberry Glaze
1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup water
• Using a food processor, puree the fresh strawberries & set aside.
• Combine the sugar & cornstarch in a saucepan.
• Then, stir in the pureed strawberries & water.
• Next, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Cook while stirring the glaze for 3-5 minutes, until thick.
• Remove the pan from heat push through a sieve. Cool.