Easy Recipe for Big Fluffy Scones with Clotted Cream

Afternoon Tea, Cream Tea and eating Scones - a very British past time. But do you struggle to make tall, light scones?

Do you find they're never quite big as you'd hoped they'd be when they come out of the oven? Here is my big fluffy scones recipe, with an added ingredient of clotted cream.

The Secret to Big Fluffy Scones

Traditional English scones, although a firm favourite for many people, can be tricky little things to master. So often they either don't rise or are tough to eat. So here are my tips to make the best scones.

The biggest thing is you should never do is overwork them. Scones don't like being handled too much. The flour gets tough and bready, and a tough bready scones is not what you want.

They can be made with an electric or stand mixer, but personally I like to make mine by hand. Electric Mixers are a great help. However, as they are machines that can work at a fast pace, it is easy to overmix your dough without even knowing it.

I often use a pastry blender to make things easier. Mixing by hand gives you full control over the dough, and as it all comes together you can stop without taking it too far.

Also, don't over knead them. The best big, fluffy scones don't like to be squished and rolled around. When I make scones I get to a point where most of the dough is bought together in a large mixing bowl, with a few crumbs here and there. I then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for no more than ten seconds - just to bring those stray crumbs into the bigger dough ball.

I also rarely roll my dough, but instead I press it out. However, you can lightly roll your dough, but don't roll it any thinner than 1". Once I have cut my first scones I bring the dough back together, but don't knead it again. I just squish it back into a ball and start again.

More on ingredients and technique after the recipe.