Easy English Scones Recipe with Jam & Clotted Cream (2024)

FAQs

Do you put clotted cream or jam first on scones? ›

Cream or jam? Ask the Cornish, and they will tell you that the whole point of cream tea is to have freshly-baked (hopefully still warm) scones, with jam first and clotted cream on top.

The key to a perfect scone is to follow the weight ratio of 2:1:1 – in other words, a 70 gram scone needs 35 grams of jam and 35 grams of cream. Cheng's research – unsurprisingly, as it was sponsored by Rodda's Cornish Clotted Cream – concludes that clotted cream is better than whipped cream.

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.

According to research, what's widely known as the “Devon method” is putting your clotted cream on first and covering that up with jam whereas the “Cornish method” involves spreading your scone with strawberry jam and then topping that layer with clotted cream.

No. If done right, the consistency will already be thick and creamy with no extra whipping required. How do you loosen clotted cream? If you feel like the consistency is too thick, simply stir in a small amount of the thin leftover liquid.

Clotted cream is simply full-fat cream that's been heated low and slow for many hours and then cooled slowly so the cream rises to the surface and forms "clots." This thickened cream is scooped off the top and into a jar or small container.

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour.

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

Should scone dough rest before baking? ›

The resting of the dough helps to relax the dough so everything remains tender, if you kneaded the dough and baked the scones immediately the insides would be great but the outsides would be tough and chewy.

British scones are more closely related to American biscuits. While a British "biscuit" is what we would call a crunchy cookie! Sometimes made with raisins or sultanas, British scones are on the plain side compared with American scones, which are typically heavily flavored and topped with a drizzle or glaze.

A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.)

Both baked goodies use flour, fat, liquid and a leavening agent. The main differences are that scones tend to have less butter (because you'll add butter to it when you eating it — or else, clotted cream or jam) while American biscuits tend to have more butter and light layers.

Biscuits and scones have the same British ancestor, but the early Southern colonists' version included butter, lard, buttermilk, and soft wheat, plentiful in the South. Over time, this fluffy and layered bread evolved into a regional commodity: the Southern biscuit.

“The only way to serve a scone is by putting on the jam first. It's easily spreadable, and visually, it looks much better with the jam on the bottom and a good spoon of Cornish clotted cream on top. We take a lot of pride in our clotted cream.

Well, according to Darren McGrady, a former chef who worked for the Royal Family for over 10 years, the Queen prefered jam first. He tweeted: “The Queen always had home-made Balmoral jam first with clotted cream on top at Buckingham Palace garden parties in the royal tea tent and all royal tea parties.”

While those in Devon typically spread the clotted cream first followed by jam, the Cornish tradition is to spread jam first followed by cream. Finally, we have some clarity on the issue, as it's revealed how the Queen takes her scones.

Those from Devon traditionally put the cream on the scone first then the jam, while the Cornish prefer the jam first then the cream. Some argue it's because of tradition, some say it's because of taste while others think the 'wrong way' is downright illegal.