These delicious English rhubarb scones are quick and easy to make, moist, light, and fluffy! Perfect for High Tea or Afternoon Tea. This is a very popular recipe and for those searching for a good, reliable English scone recipe, this won't disappoint!
Many of you will have landed on this recipe if you've been searching for recipes to make to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. There will be street parties, afternoon tea events and lots of activities to celebrate Her Royal Majesty's historic milestone right across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth states over the four day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June 2022.
As it happens, rhubarb is plentiful and in season during the months of May through to August, and what better than to enjoy this lovely fruit by making some English Scones.
Classic English Scones are traditionally served with tea, and you would have jam and clotted cream spread on each half of the scone.
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In some parts of England, it is known as a 'cream tea'. Watch out for signs along the road saying there is Cream Tea available!! It's worth stopping and having one!
These scones are the softest, lightest and fluffiest, moist and flavourful, and remember when you make this recipe, light hands make a light scone!
Be sure to follow my tips and you too will love this recipe. So let's see how you make this lovely Classic English Rhubarb Scone.
Prep Time
10 minute
Cook Time
10 minutes
Yield
16
You will need
A baking tray & a 5 cm / 2 inch round cutter
Ingredients You'll Need
- 400 g self-raising flour *** Please seive, US Measure is 3 & ¼ cups
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp caster or regular sugar
- 3 oz or 85 g butter, cubed
- ¾ cup or 175 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A squeeze lemon juice
- beaten egg, to glaze
- 14 ounces or 400 g chopped rhubarb
NOTE: Please ensure you use Self Raising Flour for this recipe and not All Purpose / Plain Flour.
I cannot say if making your own mix of Self-raising will work.
The best scones need to rise properly and not taste of soda or baking powder, and so the above ingredients are what I can advise for best results.
Optional - You can add a couple of tablespoons of stemmed ginger to these scones if you wish.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 220C/ 425 F / Gas 7. Also, preheat your baking tray.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the sifted flour, salt and baking powder, and combine.
3. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
Using a flat bladed knife, stir in the sugar.
4. Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot.
Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then set aside for 2 minutes.
5. Make a well in the dry mix.
Then add the liquid and chopped rhubarb and combine it quickly with a flat bladed knife.
6. Once combined, place it on a well-dusted work surface.
When it starts coming together, I use my hand to gently gather the dough around the side of the bowl so it's nice and smooth. It will be quite a wet dough at first.
7. Dust some flour on the work surface and place the dough on the surface. Shake some more flour on the dough and your hands, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it's a little smoother.
Pat into a round about 4 cm (1 ½ inches) deep.
**** Please, the thickness is VERY IMPORTANT so measure if you are not sure!
When you turn the dough out onto the work surface, it will be sticky and a little wet at first. Don’t worry about this as you need to dust your hands and dough. Try to handle the dough as little as possible, and not be heavy-handed. This will cause the scones to be heavy and tough
8. Take a 5cm (2 inch) cutter -( Plain cutters cut more cleanly and give a better rise than patterned edge cutters ) and dip it into some flour. (see image below, for how to use the cutter)
Plunge in a single movement into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones.
By this point, you'll probably need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four.
Try not to overwork the dough, be light with your hands when reshaping.
Tips for cutting the scones
- To ensure your scones rise vertically in the oven, when you use your cutter, be sure to cut the scone in one vertical action straight down through the dough.
- When removing the cutter, DO NOT do a twisting action, but remove the cutter straight up
- If you twist the cutter, this will destroy the structure of the dough and you will not get the scones to rise properly with the classic break apart in the middle look.
9. Brush the tops with beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray.
10. Bake for 20 mins until risen and golden on the top. Then transfer to a cooling rack or serve warm from the oven.
These scones will freeze very well once cooked in an airtight bag, just defrost and reheat if you want them warmed through.
Serve with whipped cream and jam of your choice.
We've got a great savory scone recipe if you'd like to make that to serve with your afternoon tea, Cheesy Sausage and Jalapeno Scones. Delicious!
Recipe Card
English Rhubarb Scones
Classic English Rhubarb Scones. Quick and Easy to make, moist, light, and fluffy! Perfect for High Tea or Afternoon Tea. This is a very popular recipe and for those searching for a good, reliable English scone recipe, this won't disappoint!
Ingredients
- 400 g self-raising flour *** Please seive, US Measure is 3 & ¼ cups
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp caster or regular sugar
- 3 oz or 85 g butter, cubed
- ¾ cup or 175 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A squeeze lemon juice
- beaten egg, to glaze
- 14 ounces or 400 g rhubarb, chopped
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 220C/ 425 F / Gas 7. Also pre heat your baking tray.
- In a mixing bowl, add the sifted flour, salt and baking powder,and combine.
- Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Using a flat bladed knife, stir in the sugar. Then add the chopped rhubarb.
- Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then set aside for 2 minutes.
- Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a flat bladed knife. Once combined, place it on a well dusted work surface.
Try to handle the dough as little as possible, and not be heavy handed. This will cause the scones to be heavy and tough.
Take a 5cm (2 inch) cutter -( Plain cutters cut more cleanly and give a better rise than patterned edge cutters ) and dip it into some flour. Plunge in a single movement into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones.
*** See tip below for cutting.
By this point you'll probably need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four. Try not to over work the dough, be light with your hands when reshaping.
To ensure your scones rise vertically in the oven, when you use your cutter, be sure to cut the scone in one vertical action straight down through the dough. When removing the cutter, DO NOT do a twisting action, but remove the cutter straight up. If you twist the cutter, this will destroy the structure of the dough and you will not get the scones to rise properly with the classic break apart in the middle look.
Brush the tops with beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray. Bake for 20 mins until risen and golden on the top. Then transfer to a cooling rack or serve warm from the oven.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 159Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 410mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate
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