Devonshire Scones with Clotted Cream
A proper cream tea: tall, tender scones warm from the oven, split open and heaped with a spoonful of thick clotted cream and a bright puddle of strawberry jam. The Devon method puts cream first and jam on top; the Cornish reverse. A quiet civil war is fought every summer over which is correct.
Ingredients
350 g self-raising flour, plus extra to dust
1 tsp baking powder
85 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tbsp caster sugar
175 ml whole milk, warmed slightly
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten, for glazing
227 g clotted cream, to serve
200 g good strawberry jam, to serve
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 220°C and dust a baking tray with flour. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, then rub in the butter until it looks like fine crumbs. Stir through the sugar.
- 2
Warm the milk with the vanilla just to blood-temperature. Make a well in the flour, pour in the milk and mix quickly with a table knife to a soft, shaggy dough — do not overwork.
- 3
Turn out onto a floured surface, pat gently to about 4 cm thick (do not roll or knead) and stamp out 6 cm rounds with a floured cutter, pressing straight down without twisting.
- 4
Set the scones on the tray, brush the tops only with beaten egg and bake for 10–12 minutes until well risen and deeply golden. Cool for a few minutes on the tray.
- 5
Split each scone in half with your fingers, not a knife. Devon style: pile cream on the bottom half, then jam on top of the cream. Cornish style: jam first, cream on top. Eat while still just warm, with a pot of strong tea.
Cook's notes
The two secrets to a tall scone are a very hot oven and not twisting the cutter — pushing straight down keeps the layers of gluten intact so the scone rises evenly on all sides.