Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam (Cream Tea)

Heat the oven to 220°C. Rub the cold butter into the flour, baking powder and salt until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.

Make a well, pour in most of the milk and bring it together quickly with a knife into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Add the last of the milk only if it is dry. Do not knead it.

💡 The less you work the dough, the lighter the scones. Overworked dough goes tough and heavy, so bring it together with the fewest strokes you can.

Pat the dough out on a floured surface to about 3 cm thick — thick, not thin. Cut out rounds with a floured cutter, pressing straight down without twisting.

💡 Never twist the cutter. Twisting seals and drags the cut edge so the scone rises lopsided; a clean straight press lets it climb evenly and tall.

Sit the scones close together on a tray and brush the tops — only the tops — with the egg glaze, keeping it off the cut sides. Bake for 12–15 minutes until risen and golden.

💡 Glaze running down the cut sides glues the layers together and stops the scone rising. Setting them close together also helps them push each other up.

Cool a little, then split each warm scone in two and top with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Serve with a pot of tea.