Growing up, my mom loved watching The Food Network and there was an episode about making scones. After watching the episode, she was obsessed with them. She then went on repeating one of the baker’s lines, “scones are eaten with hot tea!” for the whole weekend. Until now when we have tea with scones, we would still all say “scones are eaten with hot tea!” Anyway, I was again missing my family and had numerous morning tea box orders to finish when I realised that a lot of my friends have been saying how much they love a good scone but can’t find a recipe that doesn’t produce rocks! So here it is my friends, complete with tips for a fluffy and tall result, my recipe for traditional English scones.

A few tips for fluffy and tall scones:

  1. Do not overwork your dough. I like to bring my dough together in the bowl then just knead it until it comes together. It doesn’t have to be as smooth as a baby’s bottom.
  2. Cut with the sharper edge of the cutter. This may seem obvious but a cookie cutter normally has a rolled and a sharp edge, use the sharp edge to get a sharp cut for a good rise.
  3. Rest before baking. Just like tart shells, you need to rest the scones before you put them in the oven to let the proteins relax, otherwise they will not rise as much.
  4. Be patient with baking. I get it, you want the scones right here, right now, but pulling them out too early can lead to a floury tasting scone that’s dense inside. I suggest waiting until you see the sides pulling up and breaking a bit and the colour turning nice and golden.

So there you have it, now you can try making you’re own scones at home. Make sure you don’t skip on the cream and jam! You can also have a DIY High Tea at home like the one below by getting in touch with me by email. I have been doing boxed catering for morning and afternoon tea that includes all the delicious items in the photo. Other than that I have also been doing Events by Mrs.Fancypants. So if you want to work with me, send me an email!

13 days before Christmas now, are you ready??? Why not try serving these for tea? Let me know what you think about this recipe if you do try it. Would love to hear your feedback and see your finished scones on social media.

 
Difficulty: Easy

Traditional English Scones

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

  • Egg wash:

Instructions

0/7 Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 200C. Sift the flour and baking powder together.
  • Using a food processor, a pastry cutter (aka dough blender), or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mix until it resembles sand. The food processor will be the quickest way to do this, but I find using my fingers therapeutic. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
  • Make a well in the centre then add egg and the milk. Combine in the bowl until it comes together as a dough.
  • Lightly dust a bench top with flour for kneading. Turn the dough over, sprinkle a touch of flour if the dough is too wet then knead until you get a smooth dough that is not sticky. Do not overwork the dough or your scones will not rise as much.
  • Line 2 trays with baking paper. Roll the dough out to 2cm thickness and using a 5cm round cutter, cut the scones. Place the scones at least 2cm apart on the tray. Re-roll and cut until you use up all the dough.
  • Let the scones rest for 20 minutes. Make the egg wash by combining egg yolk and water. Brush the top of the scones with the egg wash and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are golden and you see the sides cracking from the scones rising.
  • Serve with clotted cream or double cream and jam.