Proper English Scones. A recipe with measurements for North American bakers.
Proper English Scones
UPDATE : May 7, 2017. I heard from so many people that couldn’t find clotted cream to enjoy these scones the way they are appreciated in the United Kingdom, so I’ve added a recipe just for that purpose.
It isn’t a recipe so much as a very simple method to make clotted cream from whipping cream. Find out how to very easily make you own Homemade Clotted Cream here.
Homemade Clotted Cream on Proper English Scones
Many of us here in the US and Canada try to seek out an authentic English scone recipe. But, you will often be met with the imprecise task of converting measurements.
The weight measurements that are always used in British recipes must be converted into the cup measurements that we use in North America.
You also have to sometimes deal with ingredients like self raising flour which I’ve never actually used in 40 years of baking.
This recipe demystifies the process for you, using our more familiar measurement system in a tried and true recipe that I’ve used for years.
There are plenty of other scone recipes on Rock Recipes but I don’t use eggs in most of my them because I prefer the textural difference of the crispier edges against the soft tender baked inside.
This recipe does include egg for a softer scone which goes so beautifully well with jam and cream.
Proper English Scones
This is rather a small batch and the scones themselves are small, using my smallest biscuit cutter. If you need more however the recipe is easily doubled without affecting the texture.
The dainty size is quite nice for afternoon tea but can be done larger. Just form the dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick and cut it with a sharp knife into 8 wedges like pieces of pie.
These will take a little longer to bake; about 20 minutes.
The larger size is quite nice to serve at a weekend brunch but any way you enjoy them, you’re sure to make these again and again.
Measuring flour correctly.
It is easy to over measure flour for any recipe by as much as 30% or more as you can see in the photo below. Both are one cup of flour but one weighs much more. Read more on how to avoid this common baking pitfall in our post on How to Measure Flour Correctly.
How you measure flour is important. It can result in mis-measurement of up to 34%.
Need more great scone recipes?
Be sure to check out this amazing collection of our 25 Best Scone Recipes.
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Proper English Scones
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Proper English Scones
A Proper English Scones recipe using North American measurements instead of weight measures. Perfect with thick cream and your favourite homemade jam.
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- pinch table salt table salt
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract, (optional)
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a food processor add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Pulse to mix together well. (You can just mix the ingredients in a bowl if you prefer the manual method)
- Pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. (or just use your fingertips to rub the butter through the dry ingredients until the same texture is achieved.)
- If using a food processor, transfer the flour & butter mixture to a large bowl.
- Whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla. Reserve a few teaspoons of the liquid to brush on top of the scones. This helps them brown nicely)
- Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. It should be a little sticky. Don’t over work the dough or your scones will get tough and not rise well.
- Turn the dough out onto a well floured board or counter top.
- Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and just using your hands, form the dough into a round about ¾ of an inch thick.
- Using a 1½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out your scones and place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Re-roll the scraps and cut out the rest of the scones. Brush the tops of all the scones with the reserved milk and egg liquid.
- Pop the scones into the hot oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops of the scones are evenly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
- Serve with thick or clotted cream and your favourite jam.
Notes
I like to make the larger scones if packing them into lunches or picnics.
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Nutrition Information
Yield
18Serving Size
1 gAmount Per Serving Calories 75Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 16mgSodium 130mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 0gSugar 2gProtein 2g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Elaine Oxford
Friday 16th of September 2022
This recipe is nonsense the information is stupid It said to make 18 scones 1gam each we must be feeding a mouse
How to Host a Tea Party & Luncheon -
Sunday 23rd of January 2022
[…] the proper English tea and scones that she would have while she was there. So for her party, I made classic british scones and she made clotted cream. We also had several varieties of jam as well as lemon curd for […]
Angie
Wednesday 24th of February 2021
I can't wait to try these. Would you use unsalted or salted butter?
Cynthia
Friday 11th of December 2020
I've been inspired to improve my baking skills. Currently watching all seasons of The Great British Baking Show. I am a recent convert to weighing ingredients, so I had to reverse all your hard work and convert back to weights for the flour and butter. So much easier to weigh 3 Tablespoons of butter. Anyway, long story short, I forgot the butter in the freezer. Decided to add it in at the end rather than throw out all those ingredients. A sticky mess. I watched as the butter melted out onto the baking sheet. The end result was still tasty. The bottoms had been fried in the butter and they were crunchy. I am really pleasantly surprised by the taste. Can't wait to make them again properly.
Daphne Peddle
Monday 10th of August 2020
Wonderful recipes...Everything looks so good>>>Keep them coimng....Thanks!