Fruit scones that are perfectly golden on the outside and light and soft in the centre. These delicious scones are made with plump sultanas and enriched with buttermilk. They are simply the best fruit scones you'll ever bake!
I don't say these are the best fruit scones lightly. It took several attempts and recipe variations before I was able to come up with the nicest looking and more importantly best-TASTING fruit scone.
Baking Easy Fruit Scones
I've had people tell me scones are their nemesis and no matter what recipe they try they end up with flat, tasteless and hard scones.
Well, this recipe is so easy and my promise to you is you're going to get the best, most perfect scones every single time you bake them from now on.
There are many ways to make fruit scones. You will see recipes calling for self-raising flour (this recipe uses plain flour), sour cream, milk as opposed to buttermilk and additions of cream of tartar and so forth.
I've kept this recipe as simple as I can with the fewest ingredients possible. You can read all my recommendations in recipe notes below to make it extra easy for you to make substitutions, should you need to.
Best Tasting Winning Recipe
I will say one thing though, over the last two weeks I've baked 7 different batches of scones and this recipe is hands-down the winner.
Why?
- Beautifully golden outside
- Light and soft inside
- An excellent high rise
- They simply taste THE BEST!
Baking your own fruit scones hardly takes any time at all and there is nothing better than a scone fresh from the oven, still warm as you spread over lashings of clotted cream and jam.
You will never want to buy pale and tasteless supermarket scones ever again.
English Fruit Scones - Perfect For Afternoon Tea
Freshly baked fruit scones should look as perfect as the ones you'd find in a traditional English tearoom or better still, just like the scones your grandmother used to make.
Properly baked, tall scones with a good distribution of sultanas are an excellent addition to afternoon tea. Or, enjoy them slathered with clotted cream and strawberry jam on a leisurely Sunday morning.
Heavenly.
How Do You Eat Yours?
It's funny how the humble scone can be the cause of so many disagreements though.
Is it scone rhymes with 'gone' or scone rhymes with 'cone'?
And don't even get me started on the jam first then cream - or the opposite - cream then jam.
Personally, I think it makes more sense to put the jam first to stop it sliding around on the top of the cream.
But you do you, and eat them any which way you please.
What You Need To Make Fruit Scones
- Plain Flour: You can use self-raising if you want to but there's really no need. The buttermilk and bicarb combined with plain flour give the scones a beautiful lift.
- Bicarbonate of Soda: Used in place of baking powder it works with the acidity of the buttermilk to give the scones a unique crisp flavour.
- Salt: A little salt adds balance.
- Butter: To enrich the dough. Unsalted is best but if you only have salted butter that's fine, just don't add any extra salt.
- Caster Sugar: A small amount of sugar to sweeten the dough.
- Sultanas: Good quality plump and juicy sultanas make all the difference. Avoid currants because they will likely burn.
- Buttermilk: Usually found near the cream in the chilled section of most supermarkets. I'll go into more detail regarding buttermilk below.
- Egg: Brush the fruit scones with beaten egg before they go into the oven to make them beautifully shiny and golden on the outside.
Why Use Buttermilk?
I tried a variation of this recipe with ordinary cow's milk and I also switched the bicarb for baking powder. The reason for this is that bicarb needs the acidity of buttermilk to activate whereas baking powder does not.
I found the batch of scones made with milk did not rise as much as the buttermilk scones. They weren't as rich and they didn't taste as good.
I always try to use easy to find ingredients so I wanted the cow's milk scones to be better, simply because most people have that type of milk at home.
However, buttermilk isn't difficult to find in larger supermarkets - you'll only need one carton which is about 75p and it'll be worth it so go with buttermilk if you can!
How To Make Buttermilk
If you can't find buttermilk in the supermarket, it's easy enough to make your own.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a jug
- Add 150ml whole milk
- Leave for 10 minutes to curdle
- Voila, buttermilk!
Amy's Tip: If you are making your own buttermilk please only add 150ml instead of the 275ml of real buttermilk the recipe states. Although making your own buttermilk is simple it sometimes isn't as thick as store-bought. If your homemade buttermilk is runny it will make your dough too wet. I suggest adding it 50ml at a time until your dough reaches a pliable consistency.
Variations and Substitutions
- Use natural yoghurt mixed with water as a liquid substitution.
- Use sour cream mixed with water as a liquid substitution.
- For plain scones just leave out the sultanas.
- For cheese scones leave out the sugar and the sultanas and replace them with 100g grated cheese. Swap the buttermilk and bicarb for cow's milk and baking soda.
Serving Suggestions
You could, of course, eat these fruit scones completely unadorned. They are certainly rich and buttery enough.
But I do love my scones with clotted cream and jam plus a nice pot of tea on the side.
Shop bought strawberry jam is pretty darn good but if you fancy making some, I adore this Incredible Homemade Strawberry Jam recipe from Jamie Oliver. It is really easy to make and a beautiful pairing to a homemade scone.
Top Tips For Perfect Fruit Scones
- Use cold butter straight from the fridge.
- Don't handle the dough too much. Just bring it together gently with the lightest of touches and knead it only until it's no longer sticky or crumbly and feels soft.
- If your hands are warm, run them under the cold tap, dry them off and dust them with a little flour before you touch the dough.
- Put your baking tray in the oven when you're cutting out the scones so the scones start baking as soon as they hit the tray.
- When cutting the fruit scones, PRESS down with the cutter and do not TWIST as this will stop them rising well - this is a tip from the Queen of baking herself: Mary Berry.
Fruit Scones FAQ
Fruit scones are best eaten fresh. They are fine to be frozen but do it as soon as they've cooled from the oven. Fruit scones will freeze for 2-3 months if stored properly. Defrost at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
They will still be edible 2-3 days after they've been baked but they will never be as good as they are fresh from the oven.
This will be down to the ingredients used or if you didn't add a raising agent such as the bicarbonate of soda activated by the buttermilk in this recipe. If you follow my recipe to the letter your scones will rise!
You probably handled the dough too much which makes it tough and hard. Remember to use a very light touch and use the rolling pin gently when you roll out your dough. You can even stretch the dough by hand instead of using a rolling pin for an even lighter scone.
You might not have rolled the dough out to an even thickness and if you twist the cutter it can make the scones bake unevenly. Push don't twist!
Sultanas are better suited to scones because they tend to be juicier and plumper than currants or raisins.
In my experience, raisins and currants are more likely to harden or burn (especially the ones on the surface poking out) during baking. Therefore sultana scones are the best option.
How To Make The Best Fruit Scones
Making fruit scones is really easy. Just follow the steps below to achieve the perfect bake. There's also a step by step video in the recipe card to help you.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 180ºC Fan / 350ºC F / Gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
- Rub in the cold cubed butter using your fingertips until the butter has disappeared. The mixture will still feel like fine flour since we are not using that much butter.
- Stir through the caster sugar and sultanas then make a well in the centre.
- Pour the buttermilk into the well and use a metal spoon to bring the mixture together. Please read the notes in the recipe card if making your own buttermilk.
- Flour your worktop or a board and tip the dough out.
- Bring the dough together with your fingertips, remember a light touch is essential.
- If after a minute or so the mixture feels very sticky, you can add a little more flour. If it's very crumbly or dry you can add a few more drops of buttermilk or water.
- It should only take a couple of minutes of kneading time until the dough comes together, it should feel soft and dry.
- Put the baking tray in the oven so it's nice and hot before you put the scones on it.
- Very gently roll the dough out to a thickness of 2-3cm.
- Cut the scones using a 6cm round cutter. Press down but don't twist the cutter. Congratulations if you hear a little sigh as the air escapes when the dough is cut. This is when you'll know you're going to bake the tallest lightest scones you've ever seen!
- Carefully tear the uncut dough away from the cut scones and place the scone rounds on to a baking tray.
- Roll out the dough scraps and cut it again until you've used all the dough. You will end up with 7 or 8 large scones.
- Transfer all the fruit scones on to the hot baking tray and brush the tops and sides with beaten egg.
- Put the oven tray at the top of the oven if you're using a conventional oven. If it's a fan oven, the sweet spot is right in the middle.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the fruit scones are risen and golden. Keep an eye on them during baking to ensure they don't over-brown.
- Once baked, transfer to a wire rack and leave the fruit scones to cool off a little before smothering them with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
- Best eaten fresh on the day they're baked.
Step by Step Images to Help You
More Baking Recipes To Tempt You
Simply The Best Fruit Scone Recipe
Large fruit scones that are golden on the outside and light and soft in the centre. Made with sultanas and buttermilk and served with clotted cream and strawberry jam, these scones are easy to make and a wonderful addition to afternoon tea.
Ingredients
- 450 g plain flour, US - all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 75 g unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 3 tsp caster sugar, US - superfine sugar
- 75 g sultanas
- 275 ml buttermilk
- 1 medium egg
To serve
- clotted cream
- strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 180ºC Fan / 350ºC F / Gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
- Rub in the cold cubed butter using your fingertips until the butter has disappeared. The mixture will still feel like fine flour since we are not using that much butter.
- Stir through the caster sugar and sultanas then make a well in the centre.
- Pour the buttermilk into the well and use a metal spoon to bring the mixture together.
- Lightly dust your worktop or a board with flour and tip the dough out.
- Bring the dough together with your fingertips, remember a light touch is essential.
- If after a minute or so the mixture feels very sticky, you can add a little more flour. If it's very crumbly or dry you can add a few more drops of buttermilk or water.
- It should only take a couple of minutes of kneading time until the dough comes together, it should feel soft and dry.
- Put the baking tray in the oven so it's nice and hot before you put the scones on it.
- Very gently roll the dough out to a thickness of 2-3cm.
- Cut the scones using a 6cm round cutter. Press down but don't twist the cutter. Congratulations if you hear a little sigh as the air escapes when the dough is cut. This is when you'll know you're going to bake the tallest lightest scones you've ever seen!
- Carefully tear the uncut dough away from the cut scones and place the scone rounds on to a baking tray.
- Roll out the dough scraps and cut it again until you've used all the dough. You will end up with 7 or 8 large scones.
- Transfer all the fruit scones on to the hot baking tray and brush the tops and sides with beaten egg.
- Put the oven tray at the top of the oven if you're using a conventional oven. If it's a fan oven, the sweet spot is right in the middle.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the fruit scones are risen and golden. Keep an eye on them during baking to ensure they don't over-brown.
- Once baked, transfer to a wire rack and leave the fruit scones to cool off a little before smothering them with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
- Best eaten fresh on the day they're baked.
Notes
A note on making your own buttermilk
If you are making your own buttermilk please only use up to 150ml instead of the 275ml of real buttermilk the recipe states. Although making your own buttermilk is simple it sometimes isn't as thick as store-bought. If your homemade buttermilk is runny it will make your dough too wet. I suggest adding it 50ml at a time until your dough reaches a pliable consistency.
Tips to make the best Fruit Scones
- If your hands are warm run them under a cold tap and dust them with flour before handling the dough.
- Remember a light touch is essential and will make the difference between well-risen soft scones versus flat hard ones.
- If you want to, you can stretch the dough with your hands instead of using a rolling pin.
- Remember to PRESS do not TWIST when cutting the scone shapes from the dough. A twist of the cutter can cause mishapen scones.
- Fruit scones freeze well for 2-3 months but only if they're frozen the moment they've cooled.
- Best eaten on the day they're baked - fresh and warm from the oven.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 335Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 350mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 8g
Sally
These look AMAZING! Your photos make me want to lick the screen - ha ha! Sorry about sharing that :)
Amy Treasure
That's exactly the sort of compliment I'm after when I take the photos so thank you!!
Donna Johnston
Perfect scones I made them yesterday with fruit and today with cherry and some plain. I had no soda bread self raising flour so goggled for recipe and came across your recipe.. after many years I think I have changed by recipe!!
I am wondering do you have an equally as good gluten free scone recipe?
Thank you for sharing
Amy Treasure
Hi Donna, I'm so pleased you loved the scones! I tested sooooooo many recipes to come up with the perfect scones and I don't think these can be beaten on flavour or looks. I will put a GF version on my list of recipes to test :-)
Amy Treasure
Hi Julie, I am so sorry to hear the recipe didn't work for you - that's so frustrating. Can I double-check you didn't use buttermilk and swapped it out for cow's milk? If so, was it full fat or semi? The measurements are correct as I have tested this recipe multiple times using cow's milk, buttermilk and sour cream. I'd love to be able to get to the bottom of what went wrong for you and once again I'm very sorry it didn't work out :(
Julie Johnson
Hi Amy
Thank you for your response. I used full fat cows milk but used the tip you gave above about the addition of lemon juice to turn it into buttermilk. This added to my confusion as the receipe calls for 275ml of buttermilk, however in the tips it says to add the lemon juice to 150 ml of cows milk? I used 275ml as per the recipe and added 1.75 tbsps of lemon juice (maintaining the same lemon to milk ratio) but wonder whether I should have used just 150ml as per the tip?
Amy Treasure
Hi Julie, yes that's why. When I tested the recipe making my own buttermilk I found it to be much thinner than the buttermilk you can buy and it affected the texture. You can use the milk and lemon trick to make buttermilk and if left overnight it curdles really well but I know when people want to make their own they want to use it right away. I'm going to update the recipe to make it much clearer to only use 150ml if making own buttermilk, because I can see that it is confusing. I am very grateful for your feedback and once again sorry that your efforts had to go in the bin - I really do understand how annoying that is.
Michelle Hall
These are the best scones I've ever made . I've eventually found a good recipe to make them .
Amy Treasure
So happy to read this, thank you for letting me know!
Amy Treasure
Hi Angela, thanks for the comment. I've updated the recipe and added a big yellow box in the middle of the post. Hopefully, it's more obvious now!
Susan Flint
Hi Amy
Tried this recipe today but had to put extra flour in as it was so sticky. Don't know if it was the flour to butter ratio but I found the scones very dense and heavy.
Susan
Kate
It sounds like your technique tbh. I’ve made these and no way are they dense.
Amy Treasure
Hi Susan, the flour to butter recipe is right so I agree with Kate in that it is probably your technique. Keep practising!
Kate
Mine came out perfectly. I bought buttermilk especially as would normally use milk but it made such a difference. Best tasting scones I’ve made and so much nicer to shop bought.
I don’t know how the lady above managed to make them turn dense. I feel like that’s impossible with this recipe??!
Thanks. Making your Biscoff cake next and need to look and see if you have a Rocky Road I can try x
Amy Treasure
Thank you, I'm so pleased! Hope you loved the Biscoff cake. You have to try this Turkish Delight Rocky Road it's too die for! xx https://www.amytreasure.com/rocky-road/
Amy Treasure
I am sorry to hear that :-( I'm baffled by some of the feedback on this recipe because on the one hand, I have readers telling me these are the best scones they've ever made and others saying it hasn't worked!
Did you use milk or buttermilk? Were you very careful not to twist the cutter when you cut out the dough? Did you add extra flour? I'd love to get to the bottom of this! Thanks, Amy
[email protected]
Hi Amy, I'm sorry to complain but it's a mystery to me! I've baked hundreds of scones using different recipes, so I'm very confident with my baking. I followed your recipe exactly, I made my own buttermilk by adding lemon juice (using 150 ml milk). The only difference is that I always use self-raising flour + milk with 1 egg. I know we can all have failures from time to time, without any explanation. Thank you once again for your reply.
Amy Treasure
Thanks for replying Angela, so the only thing everyone has in common when this recipe fails is the homemade buttermilk. I will give it a go myself making the buttermilk and see what happens. I know that when I use 275ml store-bought buttermilk the scones are so perfect. I tested so many variations on scone recipes before settling on this one so it's very disappointing when it doesn't work for people. The last thing I want when people invest their time in one of my recipes is a baking fail :-(
I think what might be happening is the homemade buttermilk is not cultivating sufficiently and not reacting as well with the bicarb so that could be a big reason why you didn't get the lightly textured scones. I also haven't tested this combination of ingredients with SR Flour so that likely affected the end result too. Thanks again, Amy
[email protected]
Thank you Amy, I appreciate your reply. I think maybe you're right & could be the homemade buttermilk.
Amy Treasure
Oh dear oh dear! So many people have had amazing results with this recipe - myself included, as you can see by the pics and vid. I didn't realise people struggled with scones so much. I will have to simplify the recipe at some point, maybe do another one without buttermilk as I think that's what trips people up.
Amanda J Nichols
Hi Amy:
Quick question, is it ok to use 00 flour instead of plain flour?
Thank you