Scones are always best when freshly made. I love all types of scones, but there are times where I just want it in its purest form with nothing added because I love the toppings. Speaking of the toppings, read on about the very English clotted cream.
What is clotted cream?
Where it is a very unappealing name, it is the creamiest cream made from the best Devon cows milk. In a nutshell, cream is cooked stovetop or oven until the cream ‘clots’ and forms a thick layer on the top and as a result the cream is skimmed off the top and enjoyed on scones. To read a more comprehensive history of clotted cream and afternoon tea, visit my post on Clotted Cream for Afternoon Tea. There are many theories that go into making the perfect scones, for instance when cutting out the circles out of the dough, don’t twist or they will rise crooked. This is not the end of the world if they are crooked, it just makes them look more homemade.
Cold butter is a must for scones
When baking scones, cold butter is one of the reason you get fluffy, well-risen scones. The reason for this is, the little bits of butter are evenly distributed throughout the dough will leave flaky layers in the scones. Freezing of the butter Yes, I freeze the butter for 15-20 minutes before using. I also grate the butter (using a large box grater) into the flour which creates little bits of butter that get well distributed into the flour and you don’t have to spend too much time mixing in. There’s also a question of do you add jam first to the scone then the cream on top of that. Eat it how you want to, but I do like jam first, then the cream and this is how the Queen likes them. These Classic English Scones are delicious on their own, but you can also mix in dried fruit like Autumn Apple and Date Scones, British Pumpkin and Currant Scones or fresh fruit like my Summer Strawberry Scones. If you’ve tried these Classic English Scones or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates. Clotted Cream This is to keep the butter as cold as possible so when it hits the hot oven it creates steam and makes the scones flaky.
