This English scones recipe will help you create sweet and delicious scones to serve with your afternoon tea or simply enjoy by themselves.
The perfect scone recipe for big fluffy scones has been on our lookout for quite a while now. There’s nothing (or almost nothing) I prefer more than a good cup of tea and a delicious scone. For additional Sunday afternoon pleasure, we love to enjoy a lovely afternoon tea – especially if they come in 3 tiers.
There’s something special about enjoying a layer of savoury sandwiches or other food items as a build up to some delicious scones with butter, clotted cream and jam. Otherwise, adding a generous helping of chocolate spread is always welcomed. We would definitely recommend adding Novi’s CremaNovi we got from Whatsinstore to spread on your scones. Novi CremaNovi has 45% hazelnuts and frankly, tastes incredible.
Scones were first created in Scotland, back in the 1500s. Scones actually were originally Scottish quick bread, given that they are very quick to make. They were actually griddle-baked and made using oats. We’re not too sure where the word ‘skone’ originated from. Some believe it came from the Dutch word ‘schoonbrot’ which means beautiful bread and is totally fitting, whilst others are certain that it comes from the Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny is where the Kings of Scotland were crowned.
In the early 19th century, scones became very popular and even considered fashionable when the Duchess of Bedford, Anna, ordered some tea and sweet breads from her servants. Anna was delighted that the selection brought to her included scones. She requested that scones were brought to her daily for afternoon tea, which is at 4pm.
The best news about this scones recipe is that you can have classical scones on your table in just 20 minutes. If you love to bake, chances are that you’ll have the ingredients at home already. Key ingredient is some good quality butter, for which we chose Stork. Whether you want to include sultanas or not to your scones recipe, is completely up to personal preference. In our case, we prefer to include them. If sultanas are not your thing, feel free to omit them from the recipe. Some people prefer to add chocolate chips instead.
What is quite interesting is that when you add lemon juice to the milk, you get something which resembles buttermilk. A scones recipe with buttermilk is very commonly used in a classic scone recipe. This buttermilk-like mixture helps the raising properties in the self-raising flour and the baking powder due to the slightly acidic mix.
You’re probably ready to get started with your baking, so here’s the easy soft scones recipe.
Ingredients:
350g self-raising flour (plus 50g)
85g Stork butter
175ml milk
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 lemon
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
To serve:
Spreadable butter (Stork)
Clotted cream
Jam
Novi CremaNovi
Scones recipe Method:
- Heat the oven to 220oC and place a baking tray in the oven.
- In the large bowl, sift together the self-raising flour and mix in the pinch of salt and the baking powder.
- Using the rub-in method, rub in the butter with the mixture. You should get a crumb-like consistency.
- Stir in the caster sugar until well combined.
- Heat the milk until warm. Do not let it reach boiling point. Add in the other wet ingredients (vanilla extract and lemon juice)
- Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. A common technique is to make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients mixture. Quickly mix with a knife.
- Lay out the mixture on a counter and work the mixture until you form a dough. Fold the dough 2-3 times until you get a smoother texture. Roll out until you get a height of 4cm.
- Dip a 5cm smooth circle cookie cutter in flour and cut out 8 scones from the dough.
- Brush with a beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes until golden.
We think this is the best scones recipe ever! Hope you also do! Love afternoon tea? What is your preferred selection? Let us know!
