When it comes to British baking, there is no sweet treat more iconic that the scone. Easy to make, but tricky to perfect, a batch of light and fluffy scones is the centrepiece of any afternoon tea worth its salt. If you want to ensure a perfect bake every time, try out this simple recipe...
Classic British scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam
Learn how to whip up the perfect fluffy scones, fit for a luxurious homemade afternoon tea or just a cheeky tea-time snack
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Makes 18 scones
Published: May 19, 2022 at 12:23 pm
Ingredients
- 130g Unsalted butter at room temperature
- 460g Self-raising flour
- 75g Caster sugar
- 2tsp Baking powder
- 2 Large eggs
- 150ml Whole milk plus a little extra to glaze
- Pinch of Maldon salt
- Rhoddas clotted cream, to serve
- Tiptree strawberry jam, to serve
Method
Step 1
Line two baking trays with baking paper and preheat the oven to 200c.
Step 2
Add the flour, sugar, pinch of Maldon salt and baking powder into a food processor and then add the butter in small pieces. Pulse the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs but be careful not to over mix. Alternately if you do not have a food processor you can rub the butter in by hand.
Step 3
In a small bowl beat together the two eggs and add the whole milk. Slowly add this to the breadcrumb flour mixture, incorporating each time as you may not need all the liquid, until you have a soft dough with no dry patches.
Step 4
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to make the dough smooth. Then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is roughly 2cm thick.
Step 5
Use a 6cm fluted cutter to stamp out as many scones as you can, and then place them onto the lined baking trays with a little room between them. Once you are left with the offcuts, you can knead them lightly back together and re roll the dough and repeat the stamping until you have as many as the dough makes (ours made 18).
Step 6
Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk and then place the trays into the preheated oven for 15 minutes. They should be well risen and lightly golden on top. Remove the trays from the oven when baked and allow the scones to cool.
Step 7
Serve the scones with Rhoddas clotted clean and Tiptree strawberry jam – and a big pot of tea!
Recipe courtesy of Maldon salt