Simple scones are great to great to have on several occasions but cream scones are excellent. The combination of the flaky texture and creamy flavor puts this variation ahead of most in competitions and debates in my book. They are especially excellent when they are done right. Like any regular scone, they are made through the biscuit method, a quick bread method that is much like making flaky pie dough.

A flakier cream scone

The secret to making a flaky product, especially scones, lies in the flour. One can still make great scones with regular flour.

However, for a truly flaky product, this won't d,o especially for bakers who want to go the extra mile with the flakiness of their biscuits and scones. One way they do this is by substituting cake flour for some of the all-purpose. For this recipe, I've substituted cake flour for one-third of the flour. I've also thrown out that flour completely for the self-raising flour to make things a little easier.

As I've already explained in other recipes that use this particular swap, you can safely substitute self-raising flour for regular flour in a quick bread recipe that requires 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Since this recipe will also use cake flour, I had to include at least 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to compensate.

Overall, it's a pretty simple recipe that can be done within 35 minutes. Have at it.

The recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Heavy cream for washing
  • Granulated sugar for sprinkling
  • Unsalted butter for brushing
  • Jam for serving (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat an oven to 220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Sift flour types, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Transfer the dry mixture to a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Cut the cold butter into cubes and add all of them to the food processor. Pulse until a mealy mixture forms. It's okay if tiny bits of the butter remain. Do not overmix.
  3. Combine the heavy cream and vanilla extract in a cup. Return the dry mixture to a bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the wet mixture into the well and gently stir everything together until a crumbling dough forms.
  4. Transfer the dough to a flour-dusted surface. Gently scrape and fold together the crumbly dough with a pastry scraper or hands. Sprinkle extra flour over the dough and gently press it down to level it. Press the sides together to form an 8 x 13 x 1/2-inch rectangular dough. Use the pastry scraper or hands to fold in the short ends, stacking one over the other. Don't overlap. repeat the whole step for up to 3 times. Make sure the dough maintains its dimensions at the end.
  5. Cut 12 thick discs out of the dough using a light flour-dusted 2 1/4-inch biscuit cutter. Make sure to punch straight down into the dough without twisting it or it will sabotage the rising of the scones.
  6. Transfer the scones to the parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with the heavy cream and sprinkle with the sugar.
  7. Bake the scones for 10 minutes or until they turn golden and have risen. Remove from the oven and brush the tops while hot. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
  8. Serve the cream scones with jam.

Serves: 12
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