3 Ingredient Scones

Scones are undeniably one of the top choices for an Australian tea party pairing. Influenced by the British settlers over the years, it is part of our cuisine here also. This easy recipe hack has been passed down to me by my stepmum. It has been in her recipe book for years and the scones made a frequent appearance in our house growing up.

What are scones?

Scones are a type of baked good that are lightly sweetened and typically toped with jam and clotted cream, although in my family we just make some whipped cream. They have a rough golden-brown exterior and a fluffy interior. The rough exterior is due to the minimum kneading. The resulting scone should be able to open in half by just using your hands, no knife is needed.

Ingredients needed

Just 3 ingredients, that’s all you need to make these scones! Lemonade, thickened cream and self-raising flour. I can only assume that the carbon dioxide in the lemonade helps act as a leavening agent together with the self-raising flour. Instead of butter and milk that is usually added in traditional British scone recipes, thickened cream is used. The high fat content and milk solids in thickened cream act as a replacement.

Tips to succeed

This recipe is foolproof and the scones turn up fluffy each time and easily to separate. There are a couple of tips however to help you get those results.
1. Do not over knead the dough so that the scones are able to rise and crack around the middle.
2. Baking the scones on the middle rack I noticed the scones turn out better and more even. The recipe makes a lot of scones so usually two baking trays are needed. I bake the scones one tray at a time or half way through the baking I swap around the two trays for an even bake.  

In this photo below you can clearly see the difference between the scones (on the right) for whom I followed the tips above and the ones on the left that have not risen or shaped properly.