Classic British Scones Recipe: Perfect For High Tea (2024)

FAQs

How do you serve scones for high tea? ›

Scoop out clotted cream and jams onto your plate, enough for one scone. Break apart a small bite-sized portion of scone with your hands or if using a knife, cut the scone horizontally. Use a knife to slather on cream and jam onto the broken-off piece of scone. The bite-sized piece of scone should be eaten in 1-2 bites.

Much like cinnamon rolls, arranging your scones side by side, just touching one another, helps in making the scones rise evenly, and higher.

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.

roughly four little sandwiches per person (2 or 3 kinds); 1 average or 2 small scones: always one with cream and jams/honey; sometimes also one savoury variation.

What is served at afternoon tea? Afternoon tea comes in three course, the sandwich course, the scones and finally the pastries. Traditional sandwiches would include: cucumber, smoked salmon, coronation chicken, ham and beef.

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 to 2 tablespoons, using just enough to bring the dough together.

If you are using baking soda, you will want to use buttermilk, an acidic ingredient that will react with the leavener to help them rise. On the other hand, if you use cream or milk, you'll want to use baking powder because it combines the acid needed with baking soda all in one complete powder.

Keep scones cold before putting them in the oven: For best results, chill the mixture in the fridge before baking, this will help to stiffen up the butter again, which will stop your scones from slumping as soon as they hit the oven's heat.

Get Flaky Scones with COLD Butter

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

The longer you get the dough sit before baking it, the less your scones will rise. Try to bake the dough as soon as you finishing kneading and rolling it out. Letting the mixture sit too long will cause the gas bubbles from the leavening agent to disappear. These gas bubbles are what help the scones rise.

Why do you rub butter into flour for scones? ›

Why? When cold butter is rubbed into the flour, it creates flaky pockets of flavour (which soft, room temperature butter can't do). Once the cold butter and liquid (e.g milk) hits the oven, the water in the butter and cold liquid begins evaporating.

A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.)

The main differences are that scones tend to have less butter (because you'll add butter to it when you eating it — or else, clotted cream or jam) while American biscuits tend to have more butter and light layers.

Scones and biscuits are different things in the USA. We call scones “scones”, just like the British do.

In England, the closest counterpart to biscuits and gravy would be scones and gravy.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. The scones are best served warm, or within a few hours of baking.

Bake scones for about 15 minutes just until they are cooked through and the slightest hint of golden color appears. Serve warm or at room temperature. Scones will keep at room temperature a few days or you can freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

A scone is a small flour-based shortcake-like baked good. They're usually plain, crumbly, dense, and lightly sweetened. The traditional English scones for with afternoon tea are round, not triangular, and they're served with jam and clotted cream.

According to a former royal chef, Her Majesty likes to eat scones in a way that will offend most of Devonshire. Speaking to The Independent, Darren McGrady recalled that 'the Queen will have an afternoon tea. (The Queen always has scones with jam and clotted cream - and she puts jam on first).