These light and fluffy English Scones are easy to make and perfect for afternoon tea or even breakfast. Serve with clotted cream, jam, or lemon curd. Beautifully simple, and delicious!
I love to make scones. And I love Afternoon tea.
In fact, I’ve often said that if you serve nothing else at afternoon tea… serve scones!
Preferably warm and also preferably with clotted cream, jam, or even lemon curd.
While we have quite a few scone recipes here, these are English style scones.
What is the Difference Between English Scones and American Scones?
English style scones differ from American style scones. A proper British scone will be round, on the tall side, and have a very light texture.
American style scones tend to have higher amounts of butter and sugar, and are more flaky and crumbly.
Both are delicious and both deserve a place at the Afternoon Tea table… in my opinion.
What to Serve with English Scones?
It’s hard to resist a freshly baked scone. And these English Scones are one of my favorites.
A classic combination is clotted cream with jam. My favorite jam is strawberry. In fact, here is a quick and easy small batch homemade strawberry jam recipe I make often.
Secondly, though, I absolutely love them with lemon curd. Every taste puts me in heaven.
Hints for Making English Scones
With a few specific hints, these scones are incredibly easy to make and require only a handful of ingredients.
In fact, they are so easy to make, I often bake extra batches to freeze. You never know when the mood for tea will strike!
Hint 1: When cutting the butter into the flour, be sure there are no large clumps of butter remaining. You want a sandy-type texture for light and fluffy scones.
Hint 2: Be careful not to over-knead the dough before cutting into circles. The more you knead, the less the scones will rise.
Hint 3: Use fresh baking powder.
Hint 4: When cutting the biscuits into circles (with a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass) don’t twist the cutter. Make a simple cut, once.
More Ideas for Afternoon Tea
We’ve publislhed some easy recipes and ideas for serving and hosting your own afternoon tea:
- How to Serve an Easy Afternoon Tea
- Afternoon Tea Scones
- Make Ahead Afternoon Tea Sandwiches
- Afternoon Tea Savory Recipes
All Afternoon Tea related recipes and ideas here >
Easy English Scones Recipe
These light and fluffy English Scones are easy to make and perfect for afternoon tea or even breakfast. Serve with clotted cream, jam, or lemon curd. Beautifully simple, and delicious!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
- In a large bowl, cut the cubed butter into the flour until it has a fine, sandy texture. Avoid large clumps of butter as that diminish the rising.
- Whisk in the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Gently mix together until the dough is just combined.
- Transfer the somewhat sticky dough onto a floured surface; knead for about a minute, just until it comes together. Be careful not to over-knead the dough. Roll out the dough until it is 1-inch to 2-inches thick.
- Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles of dough and place onto the prepared baking pan. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
- Bake for 11 to 12 minutes. In my oven 12 minutes is perfect.
- Serve with clotted cream and jam or lemon curd.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 279Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 455mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 7g