Get the newsletter.

Buckingham Palace’s Royal English Scones

Treat yourself like royalty.

This official royal English scones recipe, enjoyed by the Queen of England herself, is (as you would expect) delicious. Here is the official Buckingham Palace scone recipe, adapted for home kitchens. Buttery, just sweet enough, and the perfect companion to your cup of afternoon tea or coronation watching. 

platter of English Royal scones with tea and jam

The Queen’s Own English Scones Recipe

The only thing better than a good cup of tea is a good cup of tea paired with a perfect scone. And if you are going to bake scones, why not bake the very best? In case you are not invited to royal tea at the palace this week, you now have this very official, very royal, best English scones recipe.

English food does not exactly enjoy a positive reputation. But there is an exception to every rule, and Buckingham Palace’s English scones are it. These are British scones, which are different from an American scone. Traditional British scones use less butter, and have a round shape.

scone dough on marble countertop
Gather the scone dough on a clean work surface before lightly kneading until smooth.

The Story of the Best English Scones Recipe

In May 2020, perhaps because we all needed a bright spring boost to our Covid lockdowns, the Palace released the recipe for the official English tea scones enjoyed by the royal family and its guests. They even did an instagram video about it. According to the palace:

Every year at Garden Parties across The Royal Residences, over 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cakes are consumed! The Royal Pastry Chefs are happy to share their recipe for fruit scones, which traditionally would be served at Buckingham Palace every summer.

scone dough being cut out on countertop
Use a two-inch round cutter to cut the scones. You can gather the scrap, re-roll once, and get about two more scones from that.

How to Make the Royal English Scones Recipe

The Buckingham Palace royal scones recipe is surprisingly basic. To make this classic buttermilk English tea scone, you will need basic baking ingredients you likely already have on hand, and simple equipment. Round cutters are the only “specialized” tool you will need, easily purchased online or at any good kitchen shop.

Scone Recipe Ingredients:

The recipe makes simple buttermilk scone with butter and leavening, folded with sultanas. “Sultanas” are British for golden raisins, FYI.

These best scones are just as good without raisins, in case fruit scones are not to your taste. You could also divide the recipe into both types. (And feel free to substitute the sultanas for blueberries or chocolate chips, though that is less traditional.)

To make these scones, you will need the following ingredients:

  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Large eggs
  • Buttermilk
  • Sultanas or golden raisins (optional)
brushing scones with egg wash before baking
Brush the scones lightly with an egg wash before baking to get a golden crust.

Here are the main steps to making Queen Elizabeth’s favorite scone recipe:

  1. Mix the dry ingredients — the flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt — with the cold, cubed butter and sugar in a large bowl. Work the butter into the dough a bit, as you would pie dough, with your fingers or a pastry cutter.
  2. Separately, whisk two large eggs and the buttermilk together in a small mixing bowl. Stir the liquids into the buttery crumb flour mixture. Add the raisins, if using, and mix until evenly distributed. Knead by hand just until smooth.
  3. Flatten the scone batter dough to a 1” thickness and cover. Leave to rest for 30 to 45 minutes in the refrigerator.
  4. Turn the scone dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Cut to the desired shape using a round biscuit cutter. I prefer a 2-inch cutter, which is the standard width for tea scones.
  5. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cover and rest the scones for another 20 minutes in the fridge. Egg wash the top of the scones.
  6. Bake the English scones at 400°F on a prepared baking sheet lightly greased or lined with parchment paper for around 12 to 15 minutes, until light golden brown. Transfer the baked scones to a wire rack to cool. A wire rack allows air to circulate on the bottom of the scones, so they do not get soggy from steam.
  7. Serve your English tea scones very fresh, warm or at room temperature, with jam and clotted cream. I prefer strawberry jam, but other flavors will be just fine.
Royal British Scones on baking sheet
Freshly-baked English scones on a baking sheet, ready to serve with strawberry jam.

Baking Tips for Making the Queen’s English Scone Recipe

There are good scones, and there are great scones. A scone fit for royalty (and thus, us) should be:

  • Tender, not tough or bready
  • Moist, not dry or crumbly
  • Not too sweet, and
  • Hold together well and not fall apart when you spread jam and clotted cream on top

Royal English scones with tea and strawberry jam

What’s the secret to making good scones?

To check all these boxes, you need a good recipe (check!) and the right technique. Here are the secrets to making good scones — what to do, and what not to do, technique-wise.

  • DO NOT overmix the scone dough. Kneading the dough too much will make it tough and bready because it develops gluten. As soon as the scone dough looks smooth, stop.
  • DO check your bake. The scone bottoms will look light golden brown and feel hollow when tapped. Because of their small size, scones overbake and become dry easily, so be sure to get it right.
  • If using the golden raisins, soak them in warm water for at least 20 minutes, then drain before adding to the dough. This prevents them from absorbing moisture from the scone dough.
  • The prep time is not much. The total time adds up, though, because it is imperative to rest the dough to relax the gluten. This will keep the baked scones nice and tender.

best british scones recipe

Notes on Adapting the Royal English Tea Scones Recipe

The original recipe, as written, was very vague on some small points, and definitely presumes a certain level of baking experience. So I have added a bit more detail, and converted this English scone recipe to American-friendly volume measurements from metric.

But other than adding a smidge more buttermilk because the original recipe seemed a little dry, the recipe and technique is exactly the same, and you’ll be able to enjoy a lovely cream tea.

Additionally, I am fairly certain that the original recipe was written for a convection oven, which would be normal in a professional kitchen. The temperature, as written, was way too low for a standard oven for the amount of time listed. So I have adjusted the temperature and time for a conventional oven, not convection.

Most importantly, enjoy your royal best English scones with, what else? A lovely hot cuppa English tea. Afternoon tea never felt so special.

platter of Buckingham Palace Royal English scones with tea and jam

You will also love these British-inspired recipes:

Best English scones recipe for tea

English Scones (Official Buckingham Palace Recipe)

British royalty's official English scones recipe, because your tea time deserves the very best scones of all. Serve with clotted cream and good jam.
Ed. note: If the recipe temperatures and quantities seem a little odd, don't worry. It's because the scone recipe was converted precisely from European measurements and temperatures supplied by Buckingham Palace's pastry chef. .
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Resting Time50 minutes
Course: brunch, Snack, tea
Cuisine: english
Keywords:: baking, biscuits, Buckingham Palace, coronation, easy, english, royal, scones, tea
Servings: 12 to 14 scones, depending on cutter size
Author: Adapted from Buckingham Palace
Print

Ingredients 

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (500g)
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder (28g)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 7 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (94g)
  • 1/2 cup sugar (86g)
  • 3 eggs, divided
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, less 1 tablespoon (175ml)
  • 2/3 cup sultanas or golden raisins, optional (100g)

Instructions

  • If using, soak the raisins in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain before adding to the recipe.
    PRO TIP: Why soak the raisins? Two reasons. One, it softens them, which tastes better in the finished recipe than a hard, tough little raisin. Secondly, it helps keep the scone dough moist. Raisins naturally want to rehydrate. By letting them soften I water, the hard raisins pull moisture from water, not the scone dough.
  • Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, pinch of salt), butter and sugar together in a large bowl until crumbly. Work the butter into the dough a bit, as you would pie dough.
  • In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk two eggs and the buttermilk together. Stir the liquid into the crumb mixture. Add the raisins, if using, and mix until evenly distributed. Continue to gently knead the dough by hand just until smooth.
    PRO TIP: Do not overmix or knead the scones, as this could make the scones a bit tough and bready instead of tender.
  • Remove the dough from the bowl onto a clean countertop lightly dusted with flour. Lightly dust the top of the scones with flour. Flatten the dough to a 1” thickness and cover. Leave to rest for 30 to 45 minutes in the refrigerator. Resting the dough allows the gluten to relax. This helps achieve a tender, flaky scone.
    PRO TIP: You could simply use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough. But I suggest a rolling pin for a more even result. Roll from the center out, and rotate the dough as you go to prevent sticking.
  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut to the desired shape using a round biscuit cutter.
    (Note: I used standard 2-inch and 2 1/4-inch round cutters. The original recipe did not specify, but this is standard. If you use a 2-inch cutter, I suggest making the height a little shorter.) 
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Cover and rest the scones for another 20 minutes in the fridge. Whisk the third egg and gently egg wash the top of the scones with a pastry brush.
    PRO TIP: If you do not have a pastry brush, just use your fingers. 
  • Bake on baking sheets for around 12 to 15 minutes, give or take depending on your cutter size, or until light golden brown. Leave at least 1 1/2" of space between each scone. Cool on a wire rack before serving warm or at room temperature with jam and clotted cream.
    PRO TIP: These will bake best if you bake them one sheet at a time, or at least rotate the baking sheets top to bottom, front to back halfway. If you have a convection setting on your oven, adjust the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Notes

This best English scone recipe was adapted very carefully from the official Buckingham Palace recipe for tea scones.
That said, if you would like to simplify things a bit, my effort-saving trick here is to roll the scones out and cut them with the biscuit cutter at the same time, instead of two separate chillings. Place the scones on prepared baking sheets, cover, then let them rest in the fridge for a full hour to hour and a half. Then just egg wash them and pop them in the oven. 
These English scones can be rolled, cut, and frozen in advance in an airtight container, such as a freezer bag. Just freeze the scones on a baking sheet first before putting the scones in the airtight container into the freezer, so they keep their shape and don't smush.
You can bake frozen scones exactly as you would chilled scones, directly from frozen. They may just take an additional minute to bake.

78 comments

  • 5 stars
    Perfect scone recipe. You can make them plain, or add raisins, chocolate chips, etc.

  • Victoria

    Hello,

    We just returned from the British Isle and I very much enjoyed the scones. Would love to make this recipe.

    I only use King Arthur flours, AP 3 1/2 c = 420 grams; will this conversion work? Or should I use 4 1/8 c KA AP?

    Thank you,
    Victoria

    • Unpeeled

      Hello, Victoria! Sounds like such a lovely trip. I only use King Arthur flour as well 🙂 The 420 grams conversion (3.5 c AP) is the correct conversion, but you can take it up to an even 4 cups (about 500 grams) if the dough seems too sticky or wet. Bear in mind: You will also use an additional amount for dusting the dough and countertop.

  • 5 stars
    not sure about the comments where the recipe did not work. these came out perfectly well and we enjoyed them very much. glad the palace released the recipe!

  • 5 stars
    Turned out beautifully and I will make again.

  • 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe, I will try it today. How many scones would this recipe yield if I was to use a 2 inch cutter ?

    • Unpeeled

      Hello, Andre! Thank you for writing, and good question! A 2-inch cutter would give you about a baker’s dozen, give or take one scone.

  • Theresa W.

    5 stars
    Just wonderful. I usually make American scones that have a triangle shape, so it was fun to make this English style. I did half with raisins and half plain. Thank you for this good recipe.

  • Alexandra Doman

    5 stars
    If I use regular (salted) butter in this recipe instead of the unsalted, will this impact the scones?

    • Unpeeled

      That’s a great question. The amount of salt in the butter won’t be enough to really affect the flavor of the scones, so feel free to substitute. You can also eliminate the pinch of salt from the recipe and use the salted butter.

  • Jane Goldstein

    5 stars
    Fabulous recipe, I can imagine that Her Majesty the Queen enjoyed this super recipe many times. I have a regular oven and used your lovely tips, everything came out beautifully. The next time I am going to make my own Clotted Cream first.
    Do you think I could use the left over whey to make the scones with or not?
    I will let you know how everything turns out if I use the whey.. Thank you very much for such a wonderful recipe. P. G..

    • Unpeeled

      I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. I have never made my own clotted cream but that sounds beyond lovely. I do not think the leftover whey would work quite right in this recipe, but it is certainly worth a try, right? The acidic pH of the buttermilk interacting with the baking powder helps leaven the scones. Thank you again for writing!

      • I used the leftover whey from making clotted cream and just added some lemon juice to boost the acidity and it worked great. I seldom have buttermilk so i often use this trick and it seems to work well.

  • My family dislikes raisins of any kind, including dried cranberries. What suggestions for altering other ingredients for making these scones without extra moisture from raisins?

    • Unpeeled

      Hi, Maggie! Hmm…I think a plain scone just just lovely, of course. But some non-raisin ideas would be dried apricot cut into small pieces, candied ginger pieces, chocolate chips, or even small-diced apple if you wanted a more autumn flavor. Hope you enjoy.

  • Neelam Chi

    Thank you so very much for this fantastic recipe! I’ve often made scones according to various recipes including the one from School Home Economics but they were always rather dry, hard and boring. Your recipe, in particular with your adjustments for home baking, however, are just perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’ll never be baking them any other way than like this! I’d give you 10 stars if I could!

    • Unpeeled

      Hi, Neelam! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, and thanks for this fabulous comment! Don’t you just love a good homemade scone? Thanks again for writing.

Add a note

Recipe Rating




Never miss a recipe.

Sign Up for the Weekly Newsletter
Green leaves

You have great taste!

Get the weekly newsletter of recipes and more.
Salmon and quinoa dish