Today’s guest is Danielle Sepsy, baker and founder of The Hungry Gnome, a New York–based wholesale bakery. Danielle has become known as “The Scone Queen” and was a contestant on Dan Levy’s culinary competition show, “The Big Brunch.” She’s also the author of the upcoming baking book, “The Scone Queen Bakes: 100 Recipes for Scones, Muffins, Cookies, and Cakes from the Founder of The Hungry Gnome.”

Danielle joins host Jessie Sheehan to talk about growing up in a big Italian family on Long Island and baking alongside her grandmother. She shares how receiving a stand mixer (and a Martha Stewart Living subscription) at eight years old fueled her love for baking and led her to start a scone business as a teenager. They also discuss the early days of The Hungry Gnome and what it was like to compete on TV.

Then, the duo walk through Danielle’s signature chocolate chip scone recipe. The baker discusses why heavy cream and egg yolks make all the difference, how to cream the butter perfectly into the flour, and why you want a higher oven temperature, at first, to prevent the scones from spreading too much. 

Click here for Danielle’s Raisin Tea Biscuit recipe. 

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More on Danielle: Instagram, The Hungry Gnome, “The Scone Queen Bakes” cookbook