Easy English Scones Recipe with Jam & Clotted Cream (2024)

FAQs

Do you put clotted cream or jam on scones first? ›

perfect preparation. You'll need to split your scone in half (by breaking, not cutting), then spread your jam before dolloping some clotted cream on top. Oh, and never use whipped cream; it's utterly improper.

Usually, strawberry jam is used for scones, but we used our homemade gooseberry jam for this cream tea. Then you top with clotted cream!

You don't eat them with butter, jam and cream in any order. You can eat them with butter, straight up; or you can use jam, then clotted cream, which I believe is the Devonian habit; or with clotted cream, then jam, which I think is the Cornish approach. But never all three together.

The key to a perfect scone is to follow the weight ratio of 2:1:1 – in other words, a 70 gram scone needs 35 grams of jam and 35 grams of cream. Cheng's research – unsurprisingly, as it was sponsored by Rodda's Cornish Clotted Cream – concludes that clotted cream is better than whipped cream.

The British use double cream in recipes the way we use heavy cream or whipping cream here in the US, but they also allow it to accompany dessert the way we might use ice cream.

“The only way to serve a scone is by putting on the jam first. It's easily spreadable, and visually, it looks much better with the jam on the bottom and a good spoon of Cornish clotted cream on top. We take a lot of pride in our clotted cream.

Well, according to Darren McGrady, a former chef who worked for the Royal Family for over 10 years, the Queen prefered jam first. He tweeted: “The Queen always had home-made Balmoral jam first with clotted cream on top at Buckingham Palace garden parties in the royal tea tent and all royal tea parties.”

No. If done right, the consistency will already be thick and creamy with no extra whipping required.

With its ultra-thick consistency, clotted cream can even be mistaken for butter. But butter is churned, rather than separated, and while clotted cream may be closer to butter in terms of fat content, its flavour is more milky than buttery.

How to make scones rise high? 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.

Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

"The Canadian Government" has not allowed companies the quota to import Clotted Cream from England. If/when independent retail locations import Clotted Cream they would be (and are) subject to a tax and tarrif around 70% of the retail price of the cream.

So when it comes to cream tea, what goes on your scones first? Cream or jam? Ask the Cornish, and they will tell you that the whole point of cream tea is to have freshly-baked (hopefully still warm) scones, with jam first and clotted cream on top.

It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch).

In the U.S, clotted cream would be classed as butter due to its high fat content. Clotted cream is an essential part of a cream tea and is a huge hit with tourists in Devon and Cornwall. So how do you eat a cream tea?

The best way to eat a scone is slathered with strawberry jam, then topped with a dollop of cream. The jam-first method — approved by Mary Berry — yields a better scone in looks and texture.

Those from Devon traditionally put the cream on the scone first then the jam, while the Cornish prefer the jam first then the cream. Some argue it's because of tradition, some say it's because of taste while others think the 'wrong way' is downright illegal.

The Devon Way of serving Cream Tea is to split the scone in half, spread clotted cream on each half, and then add a dollop of jam on top. The Cornish Way, on the other hand, is to split the scone in half, spread jam on each half, and then add a dollop of clotted cream on top.