Scones with Clotted Cream

Ingredients

• 450 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 85 g unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small cubes
• 250 ml whole milk
• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
• To serve
• 200 g clotted cream, Devonshire or Cornish; thick enough to hold a spoon upright
• 200 g strawberry jam

Method

1. 1
   Heat the oven to 220 °C. Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large, cold bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and rub them into the flour with cold fingertips, working quickly, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with visible flakes of fat still present. The mixture must feel cool and loose — any warmth from the hands signals the butter is softening and the texture will suffer.
2. 2
   Pour in the milk and mix with a blunt knife or flat spatula until the dough just comes together. Stop the moment no dry flour remains visible. The dough should look barely combined and slightly shaggy — this is correct. This is where the dish lives or dies: over-mixing from this point develops gluten and produces a tough, dense scone with no crumb; the dough must be handled as little as possible.
3. 3
   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat — do not roll — to a thickness of 3–4 cm. Press a sharp, round cutter straight down without twisting and lift cleanly. Re-pat the off-cuts once only and cut the remaining dough. Place the scones on a lined baking tray. The edges of each scone must be uncompressed — any twist of the cutter seals the layers and prevents an even rise.
4. 4
   Brush the top surface only with beaten egg or milk. Do not allow the wash to run down the sides — a washed edge seals the layers and prevents the characteristic waist split. Transfer the tray to the oven immediately; delay allows the baking powder to exhaust before the scones reach heat.
5. 5
   Bake at 220 °C until risen, domed, and deep golden on the crown — approximately 12–15 minutes. The scones are done when the tops are richly coloured and the sides show a pale split at the waist where the dough has risen and opened. Tap the base: it should sound hollow. Remove and serve warm.
6. 6
   Split each scone by hand along the natural waist — do not cut with a knife. Apply clotted cream and strawberry jam in the order dictated by geography or conviction. The cream is correct when it holds a spoon upright and shows the slightly yellowed, partially crystallised surface of true clotted cream.