How to bake perfect scones (2024)

Posted by Kerry Heaney | Baking | 4

The scone is a traditional favourite that is so quick, easy and rewarding to make, but there are a few scone tips and tricks to bake the perfect scone. Try these recipes for lemonade scones, smoked pumpkin scones, Earl Grey scones, lavender scones, lemon curd scones

There are stories of good country cooks who can whip up a batch and bake the perfect scones between the time they hear a car approaching and its arrival. Granted, country drives are often long, but this sort of skill comes from plenty of practice using a tried and true recipe.

There is an old argument about whether jam or cream goes first on your scone. Like Queen Elizabeth, I prefer jam first because it sits better on the scone, but cream first definitely looks prettier.

Basically, it depends on whether you are from Devon or Cornwall in England. The Cornish tradition is jam first while in Devon they like to spread clotted cream onto the scone and top with a dollop of jam. If you have delicious clotted cream at your disposal, then definitely do the cream first.

Here are some tips on how to get it right and five recipes for scones from the traditional to those with a twist.

How to bake perfect scones (1)

Table of Contents

10 scone tips to bake the perfect scone

Whether you want to make a lemonade scone, pumpkin scone, lemon curd scone or lavender scone, the same basic rules apply.

  1. Make sure you start with quality cold ingredients. Your scones will only taste as good as what you put into them. On a hot summer’s day, chill the butter in the freezer and keep the flour in the fridge.
  2. Sift the flour or for a really light scone, double sift the flour. Some scone experts like to sift the flour five times. I have tried this and it really does result in a light and delicious scone.
  3. Drain any fruit really well so it doesn’t add unnecessary moisture to the mixture. If you are using frozen fruit, pop it in the mix frozen.
  4. Use a flat blade knife, not a spoon or spatula, and a light cutting motion to mix the ingredients.
  5. Handle the dough as little as possible using your fingertips rather than hands. You don’t want to heat up the mixture.
  6. When forming your scones – if the mixture is too crumbly add more milk, too sticky add more flour.
  7. Make a clean cut when you press out the scones – no twisting or they will not rise evenly.
  8. Keep the scones close, but not overcrowded on the baking tray for a moist scone. Larger scones are moister than smaller scones.
  9. If you use an egg wash or milk to top off the scones, don’t let it run down the sides.
  10. Use your fingers to pull the cooked scones apart rather than a knife. This will help keep the texture light.

NOTE: You can freeze the dough in a sealed plastic bag until you are ready to bake. Allow to defrost naturally. Do not use a microwave.

How to bake scones in an air fryer

When the weather is hot and turning the oven on seems way to hard, try making your scones in an air fryer. If you don’t have an air fryer you are really missing out as these are very handy gadgets. Here’s how to use one for scones.

  1. Preheat the air fryer at 170 for three minutes. This is important as you want to put your dough into a hot oven.
  2. Use a round 6 cm cutter and make scone shapes that are about 2.5 cm thick.
  3. Spray the air fryer basket with oil and put six scones into the basket so they are side by side.
  4. Put the basket into the air fryer and cook for 15 minutes. The scones should sound hollow when tapped on the top and be slightly golden in colour.
  5. Do a second batch with your remaining scones.

Basic Lemonade Scone Recipe

Lemonade scones are a great recipe to use as practice for making the perfect scone. It is so simple but the results are impressive. If you want to keep things interesting, try adding a half a cup of dried fruit for variation.

Ingredients

Makes 9 medium scones or 6 large scones

  • 4 cups of self-raising flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 300 ml lemonade (you could substitute another type of fizzy drink if you wish for a flavour alternative)
  • 1 cup cream

Method

  1. Preheat the over to 220 C and line an oven tray with baking paper
  2. Sift the flour and baking power into a large bowl.
  3. Add the lemonade and cream and mix lightly with a knife until all is combined. It is important not to overmix the scones or they will be tough.
  4. Gently pat out on a floured surface until about 4 cm thick. Cut into round shapes with a cookie cutter which you dip in flour before each cut.
  5. Put the scones on a tray with a small distance between each round. You can brush the tops with milk. Bake for about 12 minutes until they are golden.

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Smoked pumpkin scones are a delicious twist on a traditional recipe. Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

Smoked Pumpkin Scones

Here is a recipe from Intercontinental Sanctuary Cove Resort which updates the traditional pumpkin scone recipe with a smoky twist to help you bake the perfect scone.

Ingredients

  • 1kg Plain flour
  • 120g Butter
  • 10g Salt
  • 50g Baking powder
  • 100g Sugar
  • 300g Sour cream
  • 260ml Milk
  • 4 Eggs
  • 250g Pumpkin

Method:

  • Bake pumpkin in the oven at 160 degrees for 15 minutes with a smoker or use smoke essence. You could also try smoking the pumpkin in a Webber barbecue with a few wood chips. Taste the pumpkin before you add it to the recipe to ensure you have a good smokey flavour.
  • Mix flour, butter, salt, baking powder and sugar with a hook attachment until it comes together, and then add milk and sour cream after until combined.
  • Finally, add the smoked pumpkin and mix until it is blended in.
  • Bake at 165 for 12 minutes using a fan forced oven.

Earl Grey Scones and Berry Sensation Tea Jam

The earl grey tea in these scones is another delightful twist on the normal scone recipe. It also comes with its own tea-infused jam.

Ingredients

  • 500g self-raising flour
  • 1 egg
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 60g butter
  • 200ml Dilmah Earl Grey brewed tea
  • 50ml milk

Method

  1. Mix well all the ingredients together, pat into a 4 cm thickness and use a round cutter to obtain scone shape, brush with milk and dust with a bit a caster sugar.
  2. Bake at 180°c for 12 minutes.

Jam

Ingredients

  • 500g berries
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 500g caster sugar
  • 120ml strong brewed Dilmah
  • Exceptional Berry Sensation tea
  • 1 packet fruit pectin

Method

  1. Brew 4 Berry Sensation tea bags in 1 litre of water and reduce it by simmering to 120ml.
  2. Add all the ingredients and simmer for 1 1/2 hour. Pour into sterilised jar.

Earl Grey fans might like to try this recipe for Earl Grey chocolate pots.

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Lavender Scone Recipe with lavender or rose cream

Sweets For Tilly have put a flower twist to create a lavender scone using lavender and rosewater.

For lavender scones you will need about a tablespoon of edible lavender. You can use lavender from your garden or find it at speciality food shops such as food providores.

Use rosewater essence, often found in speciality food shops or even sometimes in the baking section of the supermarket, for the rosewater scones.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of self-raising flour (sifted)
  • 1 cup of cream
  • 1 cup lemonade
  • 1 tablespoon of milk

To serve:

1 cup of thickened cream

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 220c.
  2. Lightly grease a baking tray.
  3. Put the flour, cream and lemonade in a bowl. Stir until just combined.
  4. Place dough on a lightly floured bench. Knead lightly until combined and the dough is soft.
  5. Try not to over-knead, as it will make the scones hard once baked.
  6. Flatten the dough to the height of your round cutter.
  7. Cut out the dough using a round cookie cutter to any size you like.
  8. Place them close together on a baking tray, brush with a small amount of milk.
  9. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are light brown.

While the scones are baking make your cream topping.

Lavender cream:

Whip the thickened cream until it is nice and fluffy using an electric beater. Once the cream is beaten, add the edible lavender and gently fold into the cream. We suggest adding a teaspoon at a time as the lavender can be strong. Add the lavender until you are happy with the strength of it in the cream.

Rosewater cream:

Same as lavender cream except add rosewater essences 1/2 teaspoon at a time to the beaten cream. Serve the cream with the warm scones straight from the oven.

Option with serving

Feel free to add a small dollop of jam on the scones before adding the cream. Just don’t add too much as the lavender and rosewater cream can be quite strong on its own

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Lemon curd scones made with Melinda’s gluten-free flour

Lemon Curd Scone Recipe

You don’t have to miss out if you are gluten-free! Gluten-free guru Melinda Trembath, founder of Melinda’s Gluten-Free Goodies has devised a recipe that will give you everything you need to bake the perfect scone.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups Melinda’s Gluten-Free Self-Raising Flour or substitute self-raising flour.
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup lemon-flavoured soft drink
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Method

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Whip cream and set aside.
  • Sift flour into a large bowl, stir in lemon zest.
  • Stir whipped cream into the flour.
  • Add a soft drink, mix thoroughly to form a firm dough.
  • Lightly dust a surface with flour. Turn dough out & press out to 2cm thick. Cut 5cm rounds with scone cutters.
  • Place on a tray, glaze with a little milk.
  • Bake for 15 mins or until golden.

What else can you bake?

  • Three easy chocolate carrot cakes
  • The very best chocolate coconut cake
  • 12 recipes for Anzac biscuits

How to bake perfect scones (5)

How to bake perfect scones (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick in making good scones? ›

For a better rise, use cold butter — or even frozen butter. The colder the better, and that extends beyond just ingredients, too. It's ideal to have a chilled bowl and pastry cutter as well. When it comes to mixing, don't overdo it; mix until the dough just comes together.

What is the secret to making scones rise? ›

Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

What temperature should scones be cooked at? ›

Method. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, add the butter and rub quickly into the flour, creating a fine breadcrumb consistency.

What to avoid when making scones? ›

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking Scones
  1. Using anything but cold ingredients. The secret to the flakiest scones is to start with cold ingredients — cold butter, cold eggs, and cold cream. ...
  2. Only using all-purpose flour. ...
  3. Overmixing the dough. ...
  4. Not chilling the dough before baking. ...
  5. Baking them ahead of time.
May 1, 2019

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Why are my scones not light and fluffy? ›

Overworking the dough: when you overwork your dough, your scones can come out tough and chewy, rather than that desired light, crumbly texture. The trick is to use light pressure and only the work the dough until it just comes together.

Which flour is best for scones? ›

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.

Why do my scones go flat and not rise? ›

Why Are My Scones Flat? Expired leavening agents. Your baking powder and/or baking soda could be expired. Most scone and biscuit recipes call for quite a large amount of leavening, and if either are expired, your scones simply won't rise to beautiful heights.

Should scones be baked touching? ›

Scones like to cosy up to one another in the baking tray. This helps them to rise evenly in the cooking process. When placing the scones in the baking tray they need to be touching.

Why do you chill scones before baking? ›

Keep scone dough as cold as possible. To avoid over-spreading, I recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. In fact, you can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning! Bake until golden brown.

Should you open the oven when baking scones? ›

It can be so tempting to keep opening the oven door to check on your scones, however each time you open the door you loose the heat that is kept inside and increase the cooking time. Try to leave your scones alone until the end of the cooking process and then quickly check them before removing.

Should scones be baked at a high temperature? ›

While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the upper third. Bake the scones in the upper part of your oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until they're a light golden brown.

How to tell when scones are baked? ›

To check if they are ready, press down on the top to check if firm to touch, they are READY. If it indents down, bake for another 3-5 min. Be careful when touching scones!

Why are scones bad for you? ›

ANY TYPE OF SCONE

Although convenient and tasty, scones are a complete loss. They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

Can you make scones the night before and bake in the morning? ›

You could make the dough in the morning and cut out the scones and refrigerate them before baking. However the scones contain bicarbonate of soda, which acts quickly when it comes into contact with liquid and it will lose some of its raising power as it stands.

What are the characteristics of a good scone? ›

Scones are considered ”quick” breads since they are leavened with baking powder or baking soda and cream of tartar. They may be plain, but often have a wide variety of sweet or savory ingredients. Scones should be golden on the outside and tender and flaky inside, like a slightly sweetened biscuit.

Should flour be sifted when making scones? ›

Don't forget to sift!

Be sure to double or even triple sift your flour, as it takes away the clumps in the flour allowing for more air pockets in the scone dough - the result being a fluffier and more crumbly scone.

Why do my scones spread out and not rise? ›

The mixture may have been too wet or the baking tray might have been too heavily greased. Twisting the cutter when cutting the scones can also have this effect.

What is the best raising agent for scones and why? ›

As well as the raising agent in the flour, baking powder adds a bit of lift to scones. Baking powder is a convenient choice as it is a ready-mixed leavening agent, generally made of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar (usually some cornflour too).

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