Easy 3 Ingredient Scones Recipe

These 3 ingredient scones are quick and easy to make and can be whipped up in 30 minutes or less! Serve with jam and cream for a delicious afternoon tea. 

Lemonade Scones

Why these are the BEST 3 Ingredient Scones

Lemonade Scones vs Traditional Scones

Traditional Scones

Classic scones are made by coating the flour with cold butter, either with your hands, by using a scone cutter or a food processor before mixing in the milk. This process creates a very light and flakey texture instead of a cake like texture.

Lemonade Scones

Lemonade Scones are made by mixing together lemonade, cream and self raising-flour. The cream acts like the butter in the recipe, coating the flour, and becoming so light and fluffy from the carbonated lemonade.

Which is better?

The homemade scones both look and taste very similar. The main difference is the traditional scone is a little more flakey and fluffy but is it worth an extra 10-15 minutes to make compared to the easy recipe? You decide!

3 Ingredient Scones without Lemonade

If you don’t have lemonade on hand, these scones can be made with sparkling water and a few tablespoons of sugar. Don’t use still water or still lemonade as the scones need the carbonation to rise and become fluffy.

3 Ingredient Scones without Cream

Substitute the cream in these scones with full fat greek yoghurt or buttermilk. Both of these have less fat than cream so the scones won’t be as rich as if you were to use cream.

What to Serve with Scones

Jam and Whipped Cream – A classic for a reason, you can never go wrong with your favourite strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream.

Lemon Curd – For a fresher flavour try lemon curd. You can make fresh lemon curd if you have lemons on hand or the stuff in the jar is pretty delicious!

Butter – You’ll never go wrong with a fresh scone out of the oven with a knob of butter.

3 Ingredient Scone Ingredients

For a full list of ingredients and quantities check out the recipe card below.

Self Raising Flour – Self raising flour is mix of standard all purpose flour and baking powder. If you don’t have self raising flour on hand it can be substituted with 1 tsp of baking powder for every cup of flour needed.

Cream – Use room temperature heavy cream, whipping cream or double cream for this recipe for the best results.

Lemonade – Use a carbonated lemonade like sprite or 7up not old fashioned lemonade.

How to Make 3 Ingredient Scones

Preheat the oven to 220C / 420F. Line a baking sheet with non stick paper.

Measure out the self raising flour into a large mixing bowl. Self raising flour can also be substituted for standard all purpose flour and baking powder.

Pour in the cream and lemonade and use a wooden spoon to fold the scone dough together. Be careful not to over-mix here, just fold the ingredients together long enough until there is no big dry patches of flour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press into a large rectangle about 4cm or 2″ thick. Dust with extra flour is the dough is too sticky.

Use a scone cutter or a knife to cut the dough into individual scones. The dough can be re rolled a few times to cut out more scones.

Place scones onto a lined baking tray. Use a pastry brush to brush over milk and place into a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown.

Leave to cool before serving.

Storage

Store freshly made scones wrapped in a tea towel to keep them fresh for the day. If you have leftovers, store these in an airtight container at room temperature for no more than 2 days. To serve, warm the scones back up in the oven or microwave to refresh them.

Variations

Savoury Scones

Add in 1 Cup of cheddar cheese along with bacon, chives or spring onions.

Vegan Scones

Use coconut cream instead of heavy cream.

Gluten Free Scones

Use gluten free flour and baking powder instead of self-rising flour.

Tips and Tricks

Be as fast as possible – As soon as the lemonade is added it will start to loose it’s fizz. Mix the dough and get the scones into the oven as quickly as possible so they stay soft and fluffy.

Room temperature ingredients – Make sure your cream. and lemonade are at room temperature. Using these both cold from the fridge will make the scone dough extremely cold, meaning it takes much longer to bake in the oven.

Don’t make scones in advance – Scones are always best the day you make them as they tend to turn stale very quickly. If you are making them in advance, reheat them in the oven for a few minutes as this will refresh them.