Treat yourself like royalty.
This authentic English scones recipe, the royal recipe enjoyed by the King of England at Buckingham Palace, is delicious. This recipe bakes up a batch of buttery, tender, just-sweet-enough scones. Serve with jam and clotted cream or butter, along with a cup of tea. Below, learn how to make scones, what to serve with them, and check out a step-by-step video.
The King’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 when you are next in London, you now have this very official, very royal, best English scones recipe.
These are British scones, which are different from an American scone. Traditional British scones use less butter, and have a round shape.
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How We Know the Palace’s English Scone 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.
How to Make English Scones
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.
Step-by-Step Video
Here’s a helpful video that takes you through how to make this English scones recipe. After that, you’ll see the ingredients and written steps.
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)
Instructions for making English scones
More thorough instructions are in the recipe card, but here is the general outline:
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Mix the dry ingredients (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, until the texture resembles large peas in sand.
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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 and smooth.
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Flatten the scone batter dough to a 1” thickness and cover. Wrap and let rest for 30 to 45 minutes in the refrigerator.
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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. Cover and rest the scones for another 20 minutes in the fridge.
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Egg wash the top of the scones.
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Bake on a 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.
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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.
Baking Tips for Making the King’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
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 over-mix 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 over-bake 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.
What to eat with English scones
Most importantly, enjoy your royal best English scones with, what else? A lovely hot cuppa English tea. Serve with fresh jam such as homemade strawberry preserves, and some clotted cream.
If you’re pulling together an afternoon tea, you should also get the recipes for English cucumber sandwiches and smoked salmon sandwiches. Afternoon tea never felt so special.
You will also love these British-inspired recipes:
This recipe was originally published in April 2023, and updated April 2025.
Traditional English Scones (Official Buckingham Palace Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (500g)
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon baking powder (24g)
- 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 or sultanas in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain before adding to the recipe.PRO TIP: Why soak the raisins? One, soaking softens the dried fruit, which tastes better in the finished recipe than a hard, tough little raisin. Second, it helps keep the scone dough moist. Raisins (sultanas) naturally want to rehydrate. By letting them soften I water, the hard raisins pull moisture from water, not the scone dough.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your hands until crumbly, like the texture of large peas in sand.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk two eggs and the buttermilk together. Stir the egg mixture into the butter and flour. 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. 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 scone dough from the refrigerator and cut to the desired shape using a round biscuit cutter. Place the scones onto a baking sheet greased or lined with parchment paper. Chill for an additional 20 minutes, covered.(Note: I use 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). 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.
Video
Notes
A quicker method
This best English scones 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.Making the scones in advance
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.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.Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
101 comments
Elizabeth
Prepared these wonderful scones.( I did not have buttermilk on hand so I used whole milk with Orangejuice. )
Hosted a Ladies Afternoon Tea served the Scones and I will say that were truly well received. … friends from England. Excellent recipe
Linda
Hi Elizabeth,
Whole milk and orange juice sounds genius! May I ask, how much of each did you use?
Unpeeled
So glad to hear this, Elizabeth! Thank you for writing.
Robyn in Oz
I’m looking forward to trying this version of the ubiquitous scone recipe. Thank you for publishing it.
My father is a master scone maker. He learned his craft in the orphanage he grew up in in the 1940s/50s.
I have tried for decades to emulate his amazing scones. I have watched him closely over those years to see what he does that gives him the lightest, fluffiest scones compared to my hockey pucks.
A friend helped me work it out : he has cold hands, which is the requirement for rubbing butter into flour.
His recipe would never be made in a bowl, just on a very clean bench, flour and salt sifted onto the bench, butter in small cubes rubbed in, a well made for the milk, knead the dough, roll it out (he used a glass milk bottle for a rolling pin). His scones would be rolled out around 1/2 inch, and then onto a baking tray, close together. His would rise to about 1-1/2to 2 inches. They’d be just divine.
And regarding Sultanas v Raisins : sultanas are quite moist in their own right, whereas raisins seem to me to be drier.
Unpeeled
What a wonderful comment. Thank you for sharing this. I do find the art of a good scone comes down so much to technique–specifically, not overworking the dough–and temperature. That butter has to be cold! And in pastry school, they often recommended that we even chill our flour. I hope you enjoy the scones, and thank you again.
Lisa
Oh, thank you for the idea on chilling the flour!! That’s a great idea!! I am teaching a little kids cooking class and we won’t have time to chill the dough, but if the flour is pre-chilled it might not be a problem. Thanks again, Lisa.
Unpeeled
Always happy to help–especially with baking questions!
Robyn
I played around wth the recipe: used oatmilk with a splash of lemon juice and added a spoonful of creamcheese for volume. I always add a bit of salt and I halved the amount of sugar. together
with combining self raising flour with spelt flour and raisins wth cranberries. The amount of baking powder is indeed way too much… I used 1 tsp and added 1 tsp of baking soda as well. The scones came out great & very tasty! Thx for the recipe!
Sherry
I made the scones this morning and was disappointed. The recipe didn’t have any salt. The recipe was too sweet and made to taste even sweeter and unbalanced by the lack of salt. I have had scones hundreds of times. This recipe tasted more like a biscuit but not as complex.
Karl
These are not the queens scones! There is a photo of the recipe that the queen gave to Eisenhower and buttermilk is nowhere to be seen and regular milk is used which does not feature in this recipe. These are more akin to American biscuits than British scones.
Tracey
Yes, there is buttermilk in the recipe.
Here is the link below.
A Royal Recipe for fruit scones
https://www.royal.uk/royal-recipe-fruit-scones
Unpeeled
Hmm…interesting. My guess is that there are several recipes for scones used at the various palaces and such, especially over the years. I adapted the recipe released by the palace several years ago: https://www.royal.uk/royal-recipe-fruit-scones . My guess? We are both right! I’d love to have the recipe that you have as well–I bet it’s delicious.
SBeals
I have an annual Christmas tea for children and their moms and I made these scones as written and they were absolutely wonderful. We have a British Tea Room in our area now, and we all love their scones, but we all agree that this recipe rivals them, and we can make them at home! Thank you!
Unpeeled
I am so happy you liked it! There’s nothing like a fresh scone. Your Christmas tea sounds so lovely; I am honored that this recipe was able to be a part of it.
bakingdancer
I was about to make these but got confused regarding the flour measurement. The recipe calls for 3.5 cups of flour or 500g. This works out to 143 grams per cup. This is close to 15% more than I am used to in Canada.. What is correct?
Unpeeled
Hi and great question. The tricky part of converting weight to volume is that it is never quite perfect. Volume measurements are a bit of a blunt tool. Weight–especially in grams–is more precise. On top of that, you found a secret edit and are a close-read recipe genius! The official palace recipe calls for 500 g flour. Technically, this would be 4 cups flour. However, I reduced the amount in volume to 3.5 cups because I found the 4 cups flour to be too dry, and more flour is incorporated when dusting/rolling the dough. Both are correct, just slightly different results.
Donna
I’ve made this several times and I love the recipe! I’ve also tried with with dried apricots and walnuts. Quick questions- would frozen blueberries work with this recipe? Thank you!
Unpeeled
I think that sounds absolutely delicious! I would go with the smaller wild blueberries if you can find them. They’d be more proportional to the scone size. That said, standard blueberries should work very well also. Enjoy, and thanks for writing. Glad you enjoy the recipe.
Jean
Buttermilk is not readily available in the UK. Did you substitute for regular milk in this recipe for a North American audience?
Unpeeled
How interesting! The original recipe (linked in the text of the piece and here) does call for buttermilk.
Alastair
I’m waiting for these little guys to come out of the oven. Here’s my problem; I’m not going to eat 15 scones. How best to seep them for a couple of days?
Unpeeled
Hi, Alastair! I hope you enjoyed your scones and my apologies for not writing back quite in time. The answer is that they freeze easily after they are baked and cooled. Just place in an airtight container. You can also cut the scones, freeze them unbaked, and then bake them directly from frozen when you like–they’ll just take a minute or two longer.