English Cream Scones

Scones have been essential to the British teatime tradition since the mid-nineteenth century.

Summary

  • Prep Time: 20 min
  • Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
  • Total Time: 32 min
  • Servings: 10 scones

Ingredients

  • 250 g flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar + 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 70 g dried currants
  • 200 ml heavy cream
  • For The Topping
    • 1 egg white lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Have ready an ungreased sheet pan
  • In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, 2 tsp sugar and salt. Using a large spoon, stir in currants and cream until just combined. Using your hands, gently gather the dough together, kneading it against the side of the bowl until it holds together in a rough ball
  • Lightly flour work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Roll out the dough about 3/4″ thick. Using a 3″ round cutter, cut out rounds from the dough, pressing straight down and lifting straight up and spacing them as closely together as possible. Place the dough rounds at least 2″ apart on the sheet pan. Gather up the dough scraps, knead briefly on the floured work surface, roll out the dough again, cut out more rounds, and add them to the pan
  • Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the scones with the egg white mixture, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining sugar.
  • Bake the scones until golden, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm of at room temperature

Adjustments

  • None

History

  • 2020-03-13 – Only got 8 scones even with taking all the leftovers and making 2 extra. Baked 12 minutes. Centers were a bit underdone. Probably need to roll a bit thinner to allow 5-6 scones with the first cutting. This said, they were still pretty good.

References

  • Source: The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook