On my recent travel to London, I found myself exploring the diverse food scene more than museums, tourists attractions, or any of the plethora of centuries old historic monuments you can easily find just a stones toss away. Of all the unique food experiences I had, London cafes and tea rooms illuminated the wonderful world of scones (scons?), which I immediately became obsessed with. Generously slathered with clotted cream and jam (in your preferred order of operations), served with earl grey, darjeeling, english breakfast, or coffee makes this the perfect afternoon snack (or any time really).
Don’t be confused, this is nothing like an American scone which I would describe as dry, crumbly, short, and overtly sweetened and glazed. This recipe is exactly like what I had in London– soft, pillowy, rich, and buttery. It reheats well in the toaster oven and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
If you can get clotted cream, also known as Devonshire cream, use it. If not, butter and jam works perfectly fine, or any other spread is great, but I’d be lying if I said you’ll be satiated eating these plain. Similar to eating a plain dinner roll alone, sure some would prefer it that way but my opinion is to use it as a vehicle, a delivery method, for something richer on the palate. A drink to wash it down is also a must. While softer than American scones and less dense, it’s still quite heavy on the throat without a liquid to help you swallow. But, I’ll give you permission to choose between a hot cuppa’ or a cold bevy.
Ingredients
425g plain flour (all-purpose)
125g unsalted butter
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
50g white sugar
250 ml whole milk
1 large egg
1 egg yolk for brushing
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, combine flour, butter, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix on low until the butter is evenly mixed in with the dry ingredients, similar to bread crumb texture but some tiny small specks of butter is fine.
In a measuring cup, mix egg and whole milk until well combined.
With the stand mixer on low, slowly pour the milk mixture into the flour until a mass of dough forms.
Take out the dough and plop onto a floured surface, kneading slightly until the dough becomes more uniform. At this stage you can add mix ins like raisins, currants, or fresh fruit (about 100g of additions is plenty).
Roll dough into about 1.5 inch thickness. Flour a round biscuit cutter, about 2-3 inches in diameter and press down the cutter into the dough. Do not twist the cutter as you lift out the scone, that will seal the edges of the round causing a scone that doesn’t rise as well and you won’t have the lovely split in the middle. As you remove each round carefully from the cutter, flip the round so the flatter side is upwards and place on a baking sheet.
Continue cutting the rounds until you’re left with scraps. Combine the remaining dough and knead slightly until uniform then roll out and cut more rounds. You can do this one more time before the dough becomes too tough.
Once all the rounds are cut, brush the tops with egg yolk, being careful to avoid the yolk running down the side.
Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 20-25 minutes. It’s done when the tops are golden brown and the scone will be puffed up and cracked across the side. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Key Indicators
Ideal texture should be pillowy on the inside, like a soft bread. It should be tall, the tops should be dark brown and shiny, and along the side of the scone should be a noticeable crack. Press your thumbs into this crack to split the scone and spread clotted cream and jam generously.
If the scone doesn’t rise a well, it could be poor quality baking powder, over-kneaded dough, low oven temperature, or the round cutter was twisted causing the sides to seal.
