Cream Scones

If you’re searching for the best scones recipe around, add this Cream Scones recipe to your list of contenders.

It’s simple to make – no rubbing in butter required – and the texture is deliciously light and fluffy. 

This is my new go-to scones recipe!

A scone recipe with cream

In my search for the best scone recipe, I’ve tried them all.

Traditional scones. Scones with egg. Scones without egg. Lemonade scones.

But I’ve only just discovered cream scones.

Tucked away in a “Mums” recipe book, I found this scones recipe which uses cream instead of butter.

This old recipe book seems to have been a favourite of Nana Ling’s. It’s filled with crosses next to certain recipes and it’s well-word pages are a little spattered.

The recipe book is likely from around the early 1940s. I found a notice in a regional newspaper dated November 1941 which invites readers to send in a coupon from the paper along with “4d in stamps” to receive a copy of “Mums big recipe book.”

The notice says the book is “splendid value” and contains “hundreds of tested recipes and suggestions for dishes.”

I can practically feel Nana Ling’s excitement in receiving this book in the post within its pages today.

I’m still quite thrilled when something (other than bills) arrives in the mail for me today. It would have been a real treat back in the early 1940s, a time when the world was nowhere near as “connected” as it is today.

And this simple little recipe for Cream Scones, in a book intended for “housewives who desire to be right up to date in the kitchen,” still has all the right ingredients to satisfy those who want to enjoy this timeless treat in 2020. 

Tips for making Cream Scones

The step-by-step instructions for making these scones can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

However, here are a few things I really want to emphasise:

• Remember to sift the flour (and you sift it after measuring it out)
• Don’t pour all of the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, you need to retain a couple of tablespoons for brushing the tops
• The mixture should hold together well but still be a little sticky so if it seems too dry add a little of the extra wet ingredients you’ve retained
• Mix gently with a butter knife
• Knead very, very gently and only for about 10 seconds
• Flour your scone cutter (by moving it around on the your work bench that has been dusted with flour) before using it to cut the scones.
• Place the scones close together, but not quite touching, on a greased tray.
• Whip your cream, get the jam ready and start boiling the kettle for your tea while they’re baking.

Once your scones are ready, wrap in a tea towel and enjoy them while they’re still warm.

Nana Ling’s Cream Scones recipe

Keep scrolling to the recipe card at the end of this post for the tested and tweaked version.