The Basics of Eating a Scone Properly Break apart a small bite-sized portion of scone with your hands or if using a knife, cut the scone horizontally. Use a knife to slather on cream and jam onto the broken-off piece of scone.
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. Ask a Devonian, and they'll tell you it's cream first and jam on top.
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.”
If you follow the Devonshire method, you'll smother your scone in cream before adding jam, while if you live by the Cornish method you'll go jam then cream first.
In an interview earlier this year, Darren McGrady, a former royal chef, said that the queen spread a layer of jam on her scone, then added cream. That jam-first method in known as the Cornish style — versus the Devonshire style, which layers cream first.
Any leftover cream can be brushed on top of the dough to help your scones turn beautifully golden brown as they bake.
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.
Traditionally scones with added fruit are served with butter only; plain scones with butter and jam or cream and jam. Clotted cream and lemon curd are never served together. These days, people do spread jams on the fruited scones, but it is a good idea to use a jam that complements the fruit.
Using cold ingredients prevents the butter from melting into the dough before your scones are baked. Instead, you'll have pockets of butter in the dough (this is a good thing!) that create a super-flaky, oh-so-delicious end result.
Brushing scones with milk or cream before baking yields a golden crust. For deeper color and added shine, brush with egg wash: 1 whole egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt.
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.
Spacing: "I usually space the scones about one inch apart if they are separate wedges. Keep 'em cozy," Youngman says. If you're making round scones, you can try baking them like cinnamon rolls, where they're actually touching, which will give you nice, soft sides.
However most people in Australia serve scones with a spread of jam and a dollop of whipped cream on top. You can check out the state of DT in Australia in the Devonshire Tea Guide.
They're usually plain, crumbly, dense, and lightly sweetened. The traditional English scones for with afternoon tea are round, not triangular, and they're served with jam and clotted cream.
Scones are a British afternoon tea staple and they're delicious served with jam and clotted 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.
“Make sure your butter or fat is as cold as possible when you add it into the flour. Cool temperatures help to slow down the gluten's development, helping you achieve a delicious flaky texture," advises Vanessa. "Cut the cold fat into cubes and work it into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture turns sandy.
The best way to reheat scones is in the oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes. A toaster oven set to “toast” also works great. Another option for scones with no glaze, icing, or topping, is the toaster—slice them in half and put them in the toaster for a quick reheat.
Traditionally, clotted cream is made with unpasteurized cream, but that's illegal to sell in the US. The closest thing to raw cream is pasteurized cream, that is, cream that's been heated to 167˚F for 15 seconds, then chilled. This is done to kill most of the harmful bacteria in the cream and increase its shelf life.
The original scone was round and flat, usually the size of a medium size plate. It was made with unleavened oats and baked on a griddle (or girdle, in Scotland), then cut into triangle-like quadrants for serving.
Simply place them close together on the baking tray, they will rise in close proximity and retain moisture more easily. #4. How Do I Get Light & Airy Scones? Double sift the flour and aerate the mixture by lifting the flour from a raised height when kneading-in the butter.
The explanation is simple: As with other doughs, including pizza dough, resting lets scone dough's gluten relax completely, so that it doesn't snap back during shaping or baking.
Remove the baked scones from the oven, and cut them up.
Too cool, same thing: they crumble at the edge. Just right – warm, but not piping hot – you can slice through scones with minimal crumbling. I like to wait 2 to 3 minutes after removing scones from the oven before cutting them up.
Pallid looking scones are usually caused by baking them too low or too cool in the oven. If you want to get a scrumptious looking brown top, brush them with either egg or milk before baking for a finish that no one will be able to resist.