Classic scones are an essential part of a tea party and a nice addition to a Sunday brunch at home. Scones are surprisingly easy to make. Unlike bread they don’t have yeast, so they don’t need to rise which shaves off a significant amount of preparation time. Scones can be easily mixed by hand, without any special equipment and the entire process of making scones takes just about 20 minutes. Doesn’t a warm scone topped with jam paired with a cup of tea sound like the perfect start to a morning?
This recipe calls for cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Cake flour is a finer version of all-purpose flour, just like how powdered sugar is a finer version of granulated sugar. If you use all-purpose flour instead, your scones will have a different texture and might be overly crumbly. This scone recipe makes scones with a crumbly buttery texture, that are actually sturdy enough to handle having jam spread over them.
If you really want to be a traditionalist, serve your scones with clotted cream and jam. Clotted cream is available in some grocery stores (Treasure Island in Chicago has it) and can be found near the butter or cheese. It tastes like a cross between butter and whipped cream, and it only gets better when it mingles with jam. I was sent some of Terlato Kitchen’s Strawberry Preserves and it was delicious and I loved it on the scones.
This recipe is based on a recipe from the New York Times, which suggested that you use a food processor to blend the butter and dry ingredients. I had great success using my hands to mix these ingredients – and it only took a couple of minutes. There is no need to dirty your food processor, just use hold fashioned muscle power.
Yields 8-10 scones
10 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
20 minTotal Time
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Ingredients
- 2 cups of Cake Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoons Sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the scones
- 5 tablespoons cold Butter
- 1 Egg
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream, plus more for brushing on the scones
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Then combine the cake flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and add them to the flour mixture. Then use your hands to combine the flour and butter, mixing for a few minutes until small crumbs form. The texture will be similar to cornmeal.
- Next add the egg and heavy cream, forming a sticky dough.
- Quickly knead the dough on a floured surface, just to form a large ball of dough. Roll the dough out (or use your hands to stretch it out) until it is 3/4 inch thick.
- Use a biscuit cutter, or a glass, to cut the dough into circles 2-3 inches around.
- Spread the scones out on a baking sheet covered with avsilpat a layer of parchment paper. Brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle some sugar on top.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake the scones for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve with clotted cream and jam.
Adapted from the New York Times
