Lemon Scones
Light, tall scones scented with lemon zest, baked for 18 minutes and served with lemon curd and clotted cream.
Photograph credit: Scones with lemon curd and strawberry jam (4777947409) by jeffreyw · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
How to Cook Lemon Scones
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F with a baking tray inside. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, and rub in the butter to breadcrumbs.
-
Rub the zest into the sugar and stir into the flour mixture. Add the lemon juice to the milk, then pour in with 1 egg and mix with a knife into a soft dough.
-
Pat out to 3 cm thick on a floured surface and cut 8 rounds with a 6 cm cutter, pressing straight down.
-
Place on the hot tray and brush the tops with the beaten egg. Bake for 18 minutes until risen and golden.
-
Cool for 10 minutes and serve split with the curd and clotted cream.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
Things to Watch For
- Pat the dough to 3 cm thick.
- Heat the tray first for a better rise.
- Do not twist the cutter.
If You're Missing Something
- No self-raising flour to hand? The common home substitute is the same weight of plain flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder for every 150 g, sifted together well; the rise may not be identical to a bought self-raising flour.
Good to Know About Lemon Scones
This is what to bake for an afternoon in early summer, when the windows are open and the idea of a pot of tea feels right. Lemon scones are a lighter, fresher take on the plain scone, and they pair perfectly with the lemon curd that sits next to them on the plate.
The lemon goes in as zest, rubbed into the sugar to release its oils, and as a spoon of juice stirred into the milk. The milk will curdle slightly, which is welcome: the acid reacts with the baking powder and lifts the scones, and the soured milk gives a tender crumb. It also gives a slight tang that works against the sweetness.
Do not roll the dough thinner than 3 cm. A scone needs height to look right and to split into two perfect halves. Pat the dough out gently with your hands and cut straight down with a floured cutter. Pressing the cutter and twisting seals the edges and stops the rise.
Bake on a hot tray. Preheating the baking tray for the 10 minutes the oven takes to heat gives the bases an instant burst of heat, which makes the scones rise higher. Cool for 10 minutes and serve warm, split, with butter or clotted cream, and a spoonful of lemon curd.
On the Table Alongside
Clotted cream · Lemon curd · Hot tea · Strawberry jam
Keeping Lemon Scones
Best the day they are made. Freeze for 1 month.
Lemon Scones Nutrition Facts
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More British cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Rock Cakes
Craggy, crisp-edged little fruit cakes made by rubbing butter into flour, stirring in dried fruit and spice and…
Fruit Scones
Tall, tender scones studded with sultanas, split and eaten warm with butter or jam.
Lemon Shortbread
Buttery shortbread flavoured with lemon zest and a little lemon juice, cut into fingers and baked for 20 minutes at…
Raspberry Scones
Tender British scones with fresh raspberries folded through the dough, baked at 220C for 20 minutes.
Apple Turnovers
Squares of puff pastry folded over a cinnamon apple filling and baked until they puff, flake and turn golden…
.jpg){kind=link}
Lemon Drizzle Cake
A plain loaf cake pierced all over while still hot and drenched in lemon and sugar, which soaks in and then sets…