Making homemade scones is one of the quickest and easiest bakes you can master at home with a little practice. Served with delicious homemade jam or jam from the supermarket and clotted cream, scones make for a tasty afternoon sweet treat.
If you’ve made dry and heavy scones that practically begged for a cup of tea or coffee to wash them down with, you’ve not followed the right recipe. Classically trained chef Jennifer Segal has shared her recipe, which makes “light, fluffy and buttery scones”, and her secret is to change one of the main ingredients. She said: “The secret? Cake flour instead of all-purpose. Its lower protein content makes for ultra-tender scones.”
Cake flour, otherwise known as extra fine 00 flour, is the foundation of the scones and gives them their “tender, delicate crumb”.
If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own—just whisk together one and three-quarter cups of plain flour and a quarter cup of cornstarch.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 230g of extra fine 00 flour
- Two and a half teaspoons of baking powder
- Two and a half tablespoons of sugar
- Three-quarter teaspoon of salt
- 113g of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1.25cm pieces
- One large egg
- 160ml double cream
For the topping
- One large egg, beaten
- One tablespoon of demerara sugar
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 220C/200C Fan/ Gas Mark 7 and setting an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and granulated sugar. Add the pieces of cold butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-size clumps of butter within.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk the double cream with the egg. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid in.
Using a rubber spatula, mix until the dough comes together into a mass. It should be a bit sticky but not so wet that you can’t handle it with your hands. If it seems dry, add one to two more tablespoons of cream.
Dust a work surface lightly with flour, then dump the scone dough onto the surface; dust the dough with a bit of flour as well. Knead very gently a few times until the dough comes together into a ball.
Press the dough into a flat circle about 18cm wide and 2cm thick, then cut out your scones. Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet. Brush lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar, if using.
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and firm to the touch. Serve warm from the oven.