Proper English Scones
Proper English Scones. A very simple snd easy to prepare recipe with measurements for North American bakers.
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.
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.
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 ¾ 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.
Need more great scone recipes?
Be sure to check out this amazing collection of our 25 Best Scone Recipes.
Like this Proper English Scones recipe?
You'll find dozens of other great recipes like this in our Breakfast & Brunch Category and even more ideas in our Muffins, Tea Buns & Scones Category.
To keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes plus daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals, be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.
You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You'll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly meals and desserts too!
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
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 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon white sugar
- pinch table salt table salt
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon 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.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Send this recipe to my email.
Made a double batch of these this week and my husband loved them! He asked me to make more after he finished most of the batch. Going to try and freeze these so I can pull them out as needed. The eggs are definitely a must for a nice light texture.
That's great to hear. I've been making them with a large cookie cutter lately and making breakfast sandwiches from them. Delicious!
yum, thanks just made these mine turned out like a cross between a scone and cake but will definatly make on a regular basis quick and easy
Just made them ! They were super good and really fast to make ! Will do again for sure
Should the butter be cold? Room temperature?
I use it cold, like in making biscuits.
Please stop giving such scrumptious receipes, I know my biscuits (former Islander) and just reading this one and drooling over the pictures. Am trying to diet😕😕😕
Apologies for the temptations! 🙂
lm in united kingdom the flour l can get is plain flour or self raising or bread flour what do you suggest l use allso we use different measures onces or grams l dont understand cup measure mentscan you help
The recipe conversions are there now. You can choose metric measurements. We don't have self raising flour here. I'd suggest the plain flour.
Want to try this recipe. I want to use the food processor method. After you pulse the dry ingredients with the butter di you then mix the wet and dry ingredients in the food processor? Or do you put the dry in a bowl and then combine with the wet? Thanks.
Yes indeed.
If you make them bigger do you bake them longer in the oven?
Just a few minutes.
Love the way you have set up the photo. It making me hungry for scones.
Making these to enjoy while watching The Royal Wedding this weekend....thanks!
Just made these as triangles. Baking time was about 14 mins (in my oven). Lovely, light and sweet. Thanks so much for providingthis recipe.
Do you recommend freezing these after baking, or before? I'd love to save a stash!
I have frozen scones before baking. Thawed them overnight in the fridge and baked them in the morning.
Until now, my attempts at home-made scones were most likely to have the NHL calling me to see if I’d created a more durable puck! Thank goodness that this recipe turned out tender, tasty scones. There may be hope for me yet! 😉
HA! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I live in the U.K. but return to NL every summer. I follow your recipes. I make a lot of scones for my local Hospice and always use self raising flour . I have also put extra baking powder in to make the: rise high. I add the egg and essence to my milk before adding to the dry ingredients.
Hello. Can I sub heavy cream for the milk?
Should be fine.