Queen Elizabeth's Drop Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a scone and a drop scone? ›

Kneaded and shaped scones are made from stiffer and drier dough resulting in a flakier texture. Drop scones are stickier and moister. This causes the scone to puff and be more tender. All scone recipes are mixed using the using the Biscuit Method, or made by first mixing together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

In an interview earlier this year, Darren McGrady, a former royal chef, said that the queen spread a layer of jam on her scone, then added cream. That jam-first method in known as the Cornish style — versus the Devonshire style, which layers cream first.

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. Before Fanny Farmer we used teacups for measures as well.

My father was famous in our family for cooking one thing: pikelets. He told us they were called drop scones in Scotland where he grew up and, just occasionally, he'd treat us with a batch of these mini-pancakes. I remember the milk was soured with lemon juice and the batter had to rest for what seemed like an eternity.

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.

While you're unlikely to find authentic clotted cream in America, you can still purchase it online and at some major U.S. grocery stores. Just keep in mind that what you're buying is the FDA-approved, pasteurized version of clotted cream.

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.”

Although the English eat scones mainly at teatime, the Scots eat them at almost any time: with midmorning coffee, with soup and salad at lunch, at afternoon tea or high tea, and even with a glass of wine at the co*cktail hour.

In the UK, the word pancakes refers to the same thing, but the word flapjacks refers to something entirely different: a baked good made from oats, resembling what elsewhere may be called a granola bar or oat bar. The word flapjack is traced back to the late 1500s.

Pancakes are sometimes called hoecakes in the South. Most Southerners are familiar with lacy cornbread, aka hot water cornbread. A hoecake is a rustic fried version of a pancake made with ground cornmeal.

What do the French call American pancakes? ›

we cal them crepes. Check out this awesome step by. step guide on how to make the perfect French.

Not only are "flapjacks" their own thing in the UK, British cuisine also has a different understanding of what makes a pancake. Though they'll call it a "pancake," the British version is unleavened and closer to what we Yanks might call a crepe than the fluffy, pillowy food we tend to think of.

They differ in 2 ways that are initially obvious. Scones are baked in the oven and are a whole bun (you split them and stuff em with jam to eat em). Crumpets are cooked in a pan on the hob and the top is holey (all the better to absorb melting butter, my dear). They're both a treat, so enjoy!

Pikelets (Australian Pancakes)

While the American and English scone is made with a scraggly dough of butter, flour, salt, and eggs, Utah scones are made with yeast and no butter. The yeast adds flavor and rise to this scone, making the dough more airy and sweet.

British scones are more closely related to American biscuits. While a British "biscuit" is what we would call a crunchy cookie! Sometimes made with raisins or sultanas, British scones are on the plain side compared with American scones, which are typically heavily flavored and topped with a drizzle or glaze.

According to the survey, afternoon teas in Scotland and Ulster would include scones as in “gone” while folks further south in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland would be ordering scones in “bone”.

According to Doug Windsor, the former national chef of Wales, the two cakes are made in a different way. He explained: "A Welsh cake is made from a dough, while a drop scone is made from a batter and is more of a pancake," he said.