Easy English Scones Recipe
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These light and fluffy English Scones are easy to make in 20 minutes and are perfect for afternoon tea, breakfast, or teatime treats any time of the day. Serve with clotted cream, jam, or lemon curd. Beautifully simple and delicious!
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I love to make scones. I love Afternoon tea. And I adore these simple English scones. They are, in fact, my morning tea treat for elevenses today (It’s exactly 11 a.m. right now).
While at my keyboard chatting with you instead of at a tea table, they are still incredibly delicious, warm from the oven, and topped with jam (fig jam this morning).
I’ve often said that if you serve nothing else at afternoon tea… serve scones!
Preferably warm and preferably with clotted cream, jam, or even lemon curd.
While we have quite a few scone recipes at 31Daily, these English scones are among my favorites!
They’re easy to make in minutes and go so well with tea treats.
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. My go-to scones are ready for the table in 20 minutes or less.
A classic combination is clotted cream with jam. My favorite jam is strawberry. 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.
English Scones Ingredients
Ingredient measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here are the simple ingredients you will need to make your own English Scones:
- All-purpose flour
- Butter, cut into cubes
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder and salt
- Milk or heavy cream
- Egg wash for brushing the tops of the scones before baking (an egg plus a dash of milk or water)
Tips for Making English Scones
These scones are incredibly easy to make with a few specific hints 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!
Tip 1: When cutting the butter into the flour, ensure no large clumps of butter remain. You want a sandy-type texture for light and fluffy scones.
Tip 2: Be careful not to over-knead the dough before cutting it into circles. The more you knead, the less the scones will rise.
Tip 3: Use fresh baking powder.
Tip 4: When cutting the biscuits into circles (with a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass), press the cutter straight down and pull it straight up. Be careful not to twist or pull the dough after it’s cut, as this impact the scone’s rise.
Tip 5: Use a straight, smooth-edged biscuit cutter for the best rise.
More Ideas for Afternoon Tea
We’ve published some easy recipes and ideas for serving and hosting your own afternoon tea:
More Scones Recipes You May Also Love
- Earl Grey Scones
- Easy Cream Scones for Afternoon Tea
- Royal Currant Scones Recipe
- Traditional Irish Scones Recipe for Afternoon Tea
- Buttermilk Strawberry Scones
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Easy English Scones Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons butter cut into cubes
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F (or 400°F convect) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it has a fine, sandy texture. Avoid large clumps of butter as that diminishes the rising.
- In a small bowl, warm the buttermilk slightly and add vanilla. Set aside. (See notes for making your own buttermilk)
- Whisk in the sugar into the flour mixture, make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Gently mix until the dough is just combined.
- Transfer the dough onto a floured surface, and fold the dough over 2 to 3 times—Pat into a round shape, about 4cm or 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Cut out dough circles and place them onto the prepared baking pan using a floured 2-inch round biscuit cutter (or cookie cutter or the rim of a glass). Pressing the cutter straight down and straight up without twisting or pulling the dough is important. This impacts the scone's rise. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until risen and golden. Let cool slightly.
- Serve warm with jam and clotted cream or lemon curd.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Sad to see so very many ads with this article that it makes the fun Fall tea tough to read about.Love the ideas though!
Hi Chris, thank you for your feedback- I’m continually working to try to keep them to a minimum, even per post. So glad you enjoyed the fall tea!
Can you make these the day before and reheat the day of?
Hi Kendal! They are always best the day of, but I make them ahead all the time. In fact, I have even have a container in the freezer. Gently reheat before serving and they should be good.