Classic English Scones. Quick and Easy to make, moist, light, and fluffy! Perfect for High Tea or Afternoon Tea. This is a very popular recipe and for those searching for a good, reliable English scone recipe, this won't disappoint!
I first learnt to make Classic English Scones when I was 11 years old, in Hong Kong. Back in those days, Hong Kong was a British Colony, and was very 'British', so my school was English as were the teachers.
We would learn to cook all kinds of recipes that English people would eat, and with my mom being Chinese and cooking mainly Chinese food at home, my dad, being English was very happy when I would bring home my cooking creations from school as they would be all the things he missed from home.
I learned to make scones, proper English Cucumber Sandwiches, Scotch Eggs,Toad in The Hole, Spotted Dick, Jam Roly Poly and all kinds of English recipes.
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From there, I have obviously built up my range of English recipes and developed the ones I really love the most.
This scone recipe I would say came from my English Cookery teacher back in 1970..something! I don't know where she got it from, but I remember her name as Mrs Petrie.
Many of the English dessert recipes you see here originate from Mrs Petrie and my Father's mother, 'Mam'!
Classic English Scones are traditionally served with tea, and you would have jam and clotted cream spread on each half of the scone.
In some parts of England, it is known as a 'cream tea'. Watch out for signs along the road saying there is Cream Tea available!! It's worth stopping and having one!
These scones are the softest, lightest and fluffiest, moist and flavourful, and remember when you make this recipe, light hands make a light scone!
Be sure to follow my tips and you too will love this recipe. So let's see how you make this lovely Classic English Scone.
Table of Contents 📋 hide
1) Prep Time
2) Cook Time
3) Yield
4) You will need
5) Ingredients You'll Need
6) INSTRUCTIONS
7) Variations
8) Recipe Card
9) Classic English Scones
10) English Classics
Prep Time
10 minute
Cook Time
10 minutes
Yield
8
You will need
A baking tray & a 5 cm / 2 inch round cutter
Ingredients You'll Need
- 350 g self-raising flour *** Please seive, US Measure is 2 cups and 13 tablespoons
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp caster or regular sugar
- 3 oz or 85 g butter, cubed
- ¾ cup or 175 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A squeeze lemon juice
- beaten egg, to glaze
- 1 cup or 200 g raisins, dried fruit etc of your choice. (I used raisins)
NOTE: Please ensure you use Self Raising Flour for this recipe and not All Purpose / Plain Flour.
I cannot say if making your own mix of Self-raising will work.
The best scones need to rise properly and not taste of soda or baking powder, and so the above ingredients are what I can advise for best results.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 220C/ 425 F / Gas 7. Also, preheat your baking tray.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the sifted flour, salt and baking powder, and combine.
3. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
Using a flat bladed knife, stir in the sugar. Then add the dried fruit if using.
4. Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot.
Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then set aside for 2 minutes.
5. Make a well in the dry mix.
then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a flat bladed knife.
Once combined, place it on a well-dusted work surface.
When it starts coming together, I use my hand to gently gather the dough around the side of the bowl so it's nice and smooth.
It will be quite a wet dough at first.
Dust some flour on the work surface and place the dough on the surface.
Shake some more flour on the dough and your hands, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it's a little smoother.
Pat into a round about 4 cm (1 ½ inches) deep.
**** Please, the thickness is VERY IMPORTANT so measure if you are not sure!
TIP:
When you turn the dough out onto the work surface, it will be sticky and a little wet at first.
Don't worry about this as you need to dust your hands and dough.Try to handle the dough as little as possible, and not be heavy-handed. This will cause the scones to be heavy and tough
6. Take a 5cm (2 inch) cutter -( Plain cutters cut more cleanly and give a better rise than patterned edge cutters ) and dip it into some flour.
Plunge in a single movement into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones.
By this point, you'll probably need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four.
Try not to overwork the dough, be light with your hands when reshaping.
Tips for cutting the scones
- To ensure your scones rise vertically in the oven, when you use your cutter, be sure to cut the scone in one vertical action straight down through the dough.
- When removing the cutter, DO NOT do a twisting action, but remove the cutter straight up
- If you twist the cutter, this will destroy the structure of the dough and you will not get the scones to rise properly with the classic break apart in the middle look.
7. Brush the tops with beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray.
8. Bake for 10 mins until risen and golden on the top.
These scones will freeze very well once cooked in an airtight bag, just defrost and reheat if you want them warmed through.
Serve with whipped cream and jam, or as I have done in the pictures, served with butter and some Home Made Lemon Curd. See HERE for the recipe for Lemon Curd
Variations
Rhubarb scones
Cherry Scones
Raisin Scones
Blueberry Scones
Lemon Scones
Cranberry and Lemon Drop Scones
Strawberry Scones
We've also got a great savory scone recipe if you'd like to make that to serve with your afternoon tea,Cheesy Sausage and Jalapeno Scones. Delicious!
Recipe Card
Classic English Scones
Yield: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Classic English Scones.
Quick and Easy to make moist, light, and fluffy! Step by step instructions to make perfect scones. Serve for High Tea or Afternoon Tea
Ingredients
- 350 g self-raising flour *** Please seive, US Measure is 2 cups and 13 tablespoons
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp caster or regular sugar
- 3 oz or 85 g butter, cubed
- ¾ cup or 175 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A squeeze lemon juice
- beaten egg, to glaze
- 1 cup or 200 g raisins, dried fruit etc of your choice. (I used raisins)
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 220C/ 425 F / Gas 7. Also pre heat your baking tray.
- In a mixing bowl, add the sifted flour, salt and baking powder,and combine.
- Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Using a flat bladed knife, stir in the sugar.Then add the dried fruit if using.
- Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then set aside for 2 minutes.
- Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a flat bladed knife. Once combined, place it on a well dusted work surface.
Try to handle the dough as little as possible, and not be heavy handed. This will cause the scones to be heavy and tough
- Take a 5cm (2 inch) cutter -( Plain cutters cut more cleanly and give a better rise than patterned edge cutters ) and dip it into some flour. Plunge in a single movement into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones.
*** See tip below for cutting.
- By this point you'll probably need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four. Try not to over work the dough, be light with your hands when reshaping.
To ensure your scones rise vertically in the oven, when you use your cutter, be sure to cut the scone in one vertical action straight down through the dough. When removing the cutter, DO NOT do a twisting action, but remove the cutter straight up. If you twist the cutter, this will destroy the structure of the dough and you will not get the scones to rise properly with the classic break apart in the middle look.
- Brush the tops with beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray. Bake for 10 mins until risen and golden on the top.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8Serving Size: 8
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 330Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 600mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 2gSugar: 26gProtein: 6g
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