Queen Elizabeth's Drop Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a drop scone and an American pancake? ›

Drop scones are thicker than American pancakes, and a little smaller. If you read the Queen's recipe in the image above, note the use of "teacups" as measurements for flour and milk.

Darren McGrady, who was a chef to the queen for 11 years, had earlier revealed that she liked to top the scones with jam, made with strawberries picked from the garden at Balmoral Castle, followed by clotted cream. “The queen was always jam first,” he said. “The jam went on followed by that delicious, clotted cream.”

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.

Beat two eggs with 4 tablespoons of sugar and about one teacup (or 3/4 of a cup) of milk. Add 4 teacups of flour and mix in another teacup of milk "as required" Mix in 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda (baking soda) Fold in 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.)

Both baked goodies use flour, fat, liquid and a leavening agent. The main differences are that scones tend to have less butter (because you'll add butter to it when you eating it — or else, clotted cream or jam) while American biscuits tend to have more butter and light layers.

Pancakes in the UK are generally wide, thin crepes. You add lemon juice and whipped cream and then roll them up. American pancakes are what I would call drop scones.

To be considered authentic clotted cream, it must typically be produced exclusively in either Devon or Cornwall. Its exclusivity extends beyond England, however, as clotted cream is technically illegal in America.

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.”

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

Scones and Gravy: The English Equivalent.

What do they call cookies in England? ›

Hard or crisp cookies are called biscuits in the U.K. while the chewier dessert can be identified as a cookie.

Queen Elizabeth adhered to a daily teatime meal; her preference for delicate sandwiches with the crusts cut off was well-publicized. Her favorite version was reported to be smoked salmon with cream cheese. If the old adage is true, one should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper.

Print RecipeThese Buckingham Palace Shortbread Cookies are rich, tender, and buttery. They were among the late Queen Elizabeth's favorite sweets for her after…

Queen Elizabeth started her days simply, most mornings began with a bowl of Special K or a slice of toast with marmalade–although it's reported that most of the toast went to her four beloved corgis. Occasionally, she would request scrambled eggs topped with smoked salmon and grated truffles.

"The ingredients for British scones and the American biscuit are very similar," says Holly Snyder, senior culinary product developer at Amazon Fresh. "The proportions of those ingredients are the key difference; scones usually have less butter and more liquid than American biscuits."

“Scones are made with cream and eggs,” said Katina Talley, owner of Sweet Magnolias Bake Shop in Omaha, Nebraska. “They're sweeter, drier, and may contain fruit. Biscuits are typically made with buttermilk and no eggs. They're flaky, soft, and traditionally not sweet.”

They're also really light, making them ideal for Pancake Day breakfast, if you ask us! Plus, because American pancakes are a lot thicker, it gives you more room to add additional ingredients, giving them an exciting twist.

Biscuits are made with buttermilk, no eggs and are flakier than their scone counterpart, apart from when they're not. Biscuits can be flaky but also incredibly soft and tender, made as drop scones.