English Scones Recipe

Nothing quite beats a freshly made scone topped with strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream. These scones are so soft and fluffy and the perfect for afternoon tea.

English Scones Recipe Ingredients

3 Cups Flour

2 Tbsp Baking Powder

3 Tbsp Sugar

½ tsp Salt

¼ Cup Butter

1 Cup Milk

How to Make English Scones

Measure out the flour and baking powder into a medium sized mixing bowl.

Add in the sugar and salt. The sugar is optional in this recipe, leave it out if you would like no sweetness or you adding a savoury addition.

Give the dry ingredients a good mix until combined.

Cut the cold butter into pieces and add to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.

Using your finger tips rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you have about pea sized pieces of butter. If you find the butter is starting to melt place the bowl into the fridge for 15 minutes before continuing.

Measure out the milk and add it to the bowl, fold the ingredients together until just combined.

Pour the scone dough out onto a floured work surface and using a rolling pin roll it into a 1″ or 2-3cm thick rectangle.

Using a cookie cutter cut rounds of scone dough out and place on a lined baking sheet. You should get about 10 scones if you re roll out the dough after cutting. Alternatively use a knife to cut the scone dough up into 10 squares.

Brush the tops of the scones with milk to help with browning and place into a 220C/420F oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool the Scones completely on a wire rack before serving. Top each with strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream.

Common questions about this English Scone Recipe

What kind of flour do I use?

You need plain white all purpose flour for this recipe, not self raising flour. This scone recipe contains 2 Tbsp of baking powder which is what gives them the light and fluffy texture. On average self raising flour contains about 1 tsp of baking powder per 1.5 Cups of flour which isn’t enough here.

Can I make this into Cheese Scones?

Yes you can! Add about 1 Cup of cheese to the dry ingredients before adding the butter, don’t forget to leave out the sugar! Strong cheeses like cheddar work best here but you can use pretty much anything you have on hand. You can also add cooked bacon, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs or anything else you can think of.

How long do these scones stay fresh?

These are best made and eaten the same day as they do tend to get stale very fast. Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Equipment for this Recipe