The Best Scones {Extra Buttery, Flaky and Crumbly}
The best buttery, flaky and crumbly scones, hands down. Learn how easy it is to make scones from scratch, and the essential dos and don'ts for turning out perfect scones.
Ingredients
- 300 g plain or all-purpose flour
- 36 g caster sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 120 g unsalted butter, cold cut into 0.5”/1 cm cubes, chilled until needed
- 1 large egg, cold (60 - 63 g/2 -2.25 oz in its shell)
- 60 ml milk, cold
- 75 ml heavy cream, cold (or whipping cream with 35 - 38% dairy fat)
- 1 tbsp milk for milk wash
- 36 g raisins (for raisin scones, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a baking sheet.
- Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixer bowl. Stir in the sugar.
- Cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or wooden spoon (or paddle the butter into the flour at low speed) until it resembles a coarse sandy mixture. Chill for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat cold eggs, cold milk and cold heavy cream lightly with a whisk.
- Add the egg mixture and dried raisins (or your preferred add-ins) to the flour mixture. Gently cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or mix with a wooden spoon until just combined and no dryness remains. The dough will be a bit sticky - this is OKAY. Try pulling a bit off, it should break in clumps and not stretch. Chill for 10 minutes.Note: If the dough is too dry and crumbly, cut in a bit more milk, 2 -3 tsp at a time. If the dough is too wet, cut in a bit more flour (this is because absorption properties of flours vary from region to region).
- Lightly flour your hands or use a plastic scraper to turn the cold dough out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle flour on top.
- Pat the dough down lightly until 1.2"/3 cm thickness or about the same height as your cutter.
- Dip a 2.5”/5 cm cutter generously in flour and cut straight down into the dough (DO NOT TWIST). Lift up and immediately transfer the round to the baking sheet. Re-flour the cutter each time before cutting out the next round. Place the rounds about 1”/2 cm apart.
- Gather up the off-cuts, gently re-ball (again, avoid kneading) and pat down to cut out more. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
- Just before baking, brush the tops (avoid the sides) with milk or egg wash.
- Bake the scones immediately on the center rack in the preheated oven, 22 - 25 minutes for 2.5” (5 cm) rounds. Note: If waiting turns for the oven, place the tray(s) of cut rounds and any leftover dough in the chiller.
- The scones are done when they have risen, turned golden brown on their tops and bottoms, and spring back when lightly pressed.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Best eaten on the same day, and slightly warm with your favourite jam and whipped (or clotted) cream.
- Once completely cooled, keep scones in an air-tight ziplock bag or well-sealed container for up to 3 days at room temperature or in the chiller for up to 5 days. To freeze, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1large scones, Calories: 273kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 57mg, Sodium: 251mg, Potassium: 66mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 496IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 93mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a review in the section below, and tag @foodelicacy on Instagram and hashtag it #foodelicacy so I can see!
