I love British scones with clotted cream after a museum visit or shopping. Today I am making British scones. Scones are quick bread made without yeast. They are essential for Devonshire tea, which is also known as cream tea and Cornish cream tea.

Basic British Scone Recipe
Yield about 8 scones
Prep time: 30 min (when a food processor is used)
Baking time: 12-15 min
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, cake flour preferably (250g)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (15g)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed (56g)
- 2/3 cup whole milk (160ml)
- 1 egg
- Additional 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons cranberries or raisins, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven at 390 degrees F (200 C).
In a bowl add in 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, and half teaspoons of salt and whisk until combined.
Add cold butter and cut butter into flour with fingers. In French it’s sablage. Or you can use a pastry blender. Today I am using a food processor. I will pulse until fine sands.
Transfer into a bowl.
Crack an egg into a bowl and beat lightly. Make a well in the center of the butter-flour mixture. Add in milk and egg mixture. Fold just until moistened.
Today I am adding 2 tablespoons of cranberries and stir until just combined.
Flour generously the work surface.
Turn the batter on to work surface. Patt out to a round 1 inch thick.
Then stamp out rounds with a pastry ring and place on a baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash. To make basic egg wash, crack an egg and beat lightly.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until well-risen and golden brown.
A scone has a lovely crisp crust because of egg wash and it has light & fluffy texture.
Serve with clotted cream, fruit jams of your choice, and butter. I love this rich buttery flavor. Bon appetit!
Directions in images















Whenever I visit a gallery in London, I always have scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. My favorite museum cafe for scones is V&A. At Victoria & Albert you can enjoy tea time in beautiful rooms with live classical music if you are lucky.
When you have scone craving, don’t wait for weekend and surtout don’t wait for London! You need only a few basic ingredients and it takes only half an hour for your scone fix.
Penelope says
Delicious and very filling. About how thick is the dough before you cut it? My scones came out very thin and I thought maybe I rolled it too much? They tasted great though! :)
EugenieKitchen says
Hi Penelope, 1 inch (2.5cm) should be good. Happy cooking :))
Dora Ivett Moore says
These are just wonderful!! Are there any suggestions you can give in making these with wholewheat flour instead? I have been trying (rather unsuccessfully!) to find a great wholewheat scone recipe that tastes almost as good as these-please help! : D
EugenieKitchen says
Hi Dora, when substituting AP flour with whole wheat, use less whole wheat flour (only 75% of the amount of AP flour required) and add one more tablespoon of milk. Experiment yourself a little adjusting the amount of liquid with different recipes. This way the end product will be less heavier and less denser. Good luck!
Dora Ivett Moore says
Thank you so much-will definitely try this out! Thanks for the wonderful videos and recipes!