Queen Elizabeth's Drop Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a drop scone and an American pancake? ›

Drop scones are thicker than American pancakes, and a little smaller. If you read the Queen's recipe in the image above, note the use of "teacups" as measurements for flour and milk. Before Fanny Farmer we used teacups for measures as well.

Beat two eggs with 4 tablespoons of sugar and about one teacup (or 3/4 of a cup) of milk. Add 4 teacups of flour and mix in another teacup of milk "as required" Mix in 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda (baking soda) Fold in 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

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.

A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.)

Both baked goodies use flour, fat, liquid and a leavening agent. The main differences are that scones tend to have less butter (because you'll add butter to it when you eating it — or else, clotted cream or jam) while American biscuits tend to have more butter and light layers.

Brits take a different approach to pancakes, too

Though they'll call it a "pancake," the British version is unleavened and closer to what we Yanks might call a crepe than the fluffy, pillowy food we tend to think of. In fact, what we call pancakes here in North America, Brits refer to as "American pancakes."

Queen Elizabeth adhered to a daily teatime meal; her preference for delicate sandwiches with the crusts cut off was well-publicized. Her favorite version was reported to be smoked salmon with cream cheese. If the old adage is true, one should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper.

Watch now: How to correctly eat a scone

So when it comes to the big question of jam or cream first you would imagine her is the definitive answer. And now her head chef Chris Tombling has revealed that at Buckingham Palace the cream is always smeared onto the scone first, followed by a good dollop of jam.

Shortly after the Queen died in 2022, Australian nutritionist Lee Holmes revealed on her website that a close friend of hers once cooked for the Queen, noting that Her Majesty enjoyed her scrambled eggs prepared with nutmeg and lemon zest, according to the New York Post.

Just a reminder: Don't overwork the dough or the scones will turn out rubbery – or worse, bullety and hard. Cut out your scones cleanly. Twisting the cutter can impair the rise. If you use a fluted cutter, you can't twist it.

Placing a dough in a cool oven that then slowly heats up actually affects the rising agent. Make sure your oven is at the right temperature you will be baking the scones at before you put them in. Also having an oven that is too hot or too cold will affect the baking of your scones immensely.

Why are my scones not fluffy? ›

Many quick scone recipes recommend self-raising flour, which contains a leavening agent that helps achieve the desired rise. Without this leavening agent, scones can become dense and heavy. However, you can opt for plain flour and add the appropriate amount of baking powder to your mix.

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.

Don't let the dough sit for too long.

The longer you get the dough sit before baking it, the less your scones will rise. Try to bake the dough as soon as you finishing kneading and rolling it out.

There are quite a few videos online where British (or Commonwealth) people try American Biscuits and Gravy. They always say that American's just call scones "biscuits", and they usually confirm that understanding after they try the recipe.

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser.

“Scones are made with cream and eggs,” said Katina Talley, owner of Sweet Magnolias Bake Shop in Omaha, Nebraska. “They're sweeter, drier, and may contain fruit. Biscuits are typically made with buttermilk and no eggs. They're flaky, soft, and traditionally not sweet.”

If you're in the U.S., a biscuit is a round, flaky, buttery piece of leavened bread. In the U.K. a biscuit is a crisp cookie often enjoyed at tea time. A scone is a quick bread that is denser than a biscuit and can be either savory or sweet. Scones come in many shapes, like round or triangular.