Light and fluffy raspberry scones which are incredibly easy and quick to make, served with a rich and decadent homemade clotted cream.
There is a cosy but bustling café in Zurich called Babu’s Bakery & Coffeehouse which is a delight for anyone with a sweet tooth. As you enter the shop, to the left is a large wooden sideboard with an enticing array of cookies and cakes beautifully displayed on antique cake stands.
The front counter is abundant with freshly baked pastries and cinnamon scrolls, waffles and muffins, and their popular carrot cake tray-bake.
Earlier this week, as I was making my way to our table, I noticed an older lady with a little boy who may have been her grandchild. They were sitting at a table for two, giggling over something funny that had passed between them. I smiled at their affectionate display and then saw the grandmother lovingly break off a piece of cake which they were sharing and offer it to the boy. The cake in question was a raspberry scone.
Of course, I didn’t know what the cake was exactly at the time, but once I saw it on the main counter, I claimed the last one for my greedy self.
And I call myself greedy because, even though I had just ordered a stack of banana pancakes for my morning tea, there was no way I would have been able to eat a raspberry scone in the same sitting. It’s just that I knew I had to have it.
And when I eventually got around to eating the raspberry scone (later that day for afternoon tea), it was the most heavenly scone ever. It had a crunchy coating with a light and fluffy interior, with just the right amount of sweetness from the cooked berries.
I felt inspired to try and recreate these raspberry scones at home, not least because I adore scones but had never really deviated from making the usual plain scones or, in moments of nostalgia, pumpkin scones (which are very popular where I grew up in Brisbane, Australia).
How to Make Scones
To make scones, you start by rubbing cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks crumbly and resembles wet sand. You can do this with your fingertips, but I like to use my stand mixer with the flat paddle attachment.
Next, you add the milk to bring everything together into a soft dough. At this stage, you should handle the dough as little as possible to ensure that the scones turn out light and fluffy. Over-working or handling the scone dough too much will result in tough scones.
Once the dough has come together, I use a patting motion to shape the dough.
To make my raspberry scones, I simply press frozen raspberries into the top of each scone. You can also use fresh raspberries, but as they are quite fragile, you will need to make an indent in the scones (by using the end of a wooden spoon, for example), before inserting the fresh raspberries.
This recipe also works well with other types of frozen berries – think blackberries and even blueberries.
How to Serve Scones
To eat scones, I think they really benefit from some whipped cream and maybe a dollop of jam.
But as I have a habit of making a lot of things from scratch, proper scones are served traditionally with clotted cream, something which is not readily available in Switzerland but which can be made quite easily at home, provided that you organised enough to prepare it in advance.
If you have never heard of, or tried, clotted cream, think of a very thick cream with a rich, buttery taste.
As these scones already contain some fruit, I don’t think it is necessary to serve them with jam. But if you do decide to offer jam (raspberry jam would be my preference here), may I suggest a tip for serving?
My way of serving scones is to split them in half through the centre, spread as much jam as you like on each scone half, and then top with cream. If you spread the cream first on the scones and then apply the jam, you run the risk of the jam sliding off and making things a bit messy … just warning you 😉
Print![raspberry scones with homemade clotted cream](https://eatlittlebird.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/raspberry-scones-homemade-clotted-cream-10-250x250.jpg)
Raspberry Scones
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Makes 10-12 scones
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Australian
Light and fluffy raspberry scones which are incredibly easy and quick to make, served with a rich and decadent homemade clotted cream.
Ingredients
For the Raspberry Scones
- 3 cups (450 g) plain flour
- 6 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 cup (50 g) caster sugar
- 1/2 stick (60 g) cold & unsalted butter, diced
- 1 1/4 cup (310 ml) milk
- frozen raspberries for decorating
- 1 egg mixed with a tablespoon of milk for the eggwash
- icing sugar for dusting
For the Homemade Clotted Cream
- 4 cups (1 litre) double cream or heavy cream, preferably unpasteurised
Instructions
For the Raspberry Scones
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Place a metal baking tray in the oven during this time.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Stir through the salt and sugar.
- Add the butter. Using the flat paddle attachment, light mix until the mixture resembles wet sand. Alternatively, if you do not have a stand mixer, you can rub the butter into the ingredients using your fingertips.
- Slowly add most of the milk, taking care not to over-work the mixture. Add enough milk until the mixture just comes together into a ball. You may not need all of the milk.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and gently pat the dough together into a round shape, about 3 cm (1 inch) high. Again, try to not handle the dough too much, otherwise the scones may be tough.
- Use a 2 inch (5 cm) cookie cutter, or even a small bowl or glass, to cut out rounds from the dough.
- Gently work the remaining dough together to cut as many rounds as possible.
- Place all of the rounds close together on a sheet of baking paper (which you will later transfer to the baking sheet in the oven).
- Brush all of the scones generously with eggwash.
- Press some frozen raspberries into each scone.
- Transfer the baking sheet with the scones onto the heated baking tray.
- Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes, or until they are golden and well-risen.
- Dust the scones with some icing sugar before serving. Serve them warm or cold with whipped cream and jam, or with clotted cream.
For the Homemade Clotted Cream
- Preheat the oven to 200°F (100°C).
- Pour the cream into a shallow stainless steel saucepan with oven-proof handles.
- Place the saucepan into the oven, and leave it there for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight. During this time, a thick and golden crust will form on top of the cream. This is the “clotted cream”.
- Remove the saucepan from the oven and leave it to cool at room termperature for 10 to 12 hours.
- Scoop off the golden crust (or the “clotted cream”), and place it into a sterilised glass jar. Refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving.
Kitchen Notes
For the Raspberry Scones
The scones are best eaten on the same day they are baked.
To freeze the scones, place the scones in a single layer in a large ziplock freezer bag and place in the freezer. To bake, simply brush the frozen uncooked scones with eggwash and decorate with raspberries (or skip the raspberries if you are making plain scones), and bake as per the recipe. If you are baking them from frozen, they will need an additional 5-10 minutes in the oven.
For the Homemade Clotted Cream
Unpasteurised cream works best when making clotted cream because it “clots” better. However, you can also get good results with pasteurised cream, but you may need to leave it in the oven for longer. What would not work in this recipe is ultra-pasteurised cream (UHT cream).
The clotted cream will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.
The cream which is left below the golden crust can still be used for cooking or baking.
OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scone
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 212.5mg
- Fat: 4.5g
- Carbohydrates: 31.7g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 4.7g
- Cholesterol: 22.4mg
Is it bad that I really want this for breakfast now? ? They look so adorable they put a smile on my face!
Not at all! I consider scones to be breakfast fare 😉
These scones look absolutely amazing! I don’t think I’d be able to stop at one — or even two. I’m making these for our Easter celebration.
Thanks, Lisa! I hope you will enjoy this recipe 🙂
They look great and I bet they taste amazing! Especially with raspberries in them!
Thanks, Julia!
I love anything raspberry flavor, these look so good and that cream ?
I’m a big fan of raspberries too, especially in baked goods. And clotted cream is irresistible with scones!
Love love these!! I have never made scones yet but Wien you have inspired me
Homemade scones are absolutely lovely! I hope you will get a chance to make them soon 🙂
Sorry for the dumb question, but do you leave the oven ON for 8-12 hours?
I am only have access to PASTEURIZED dairy. Will it still work?
Thanks!
Hi Monika,
Not a dumb question at all! Yes, you have to leave the oven ON for 8-12 hours. I find it best to make this overnight – just pop the saucepan into the oven before you go to bed.
Unpasteurised cream works best in this recipe because it “clots” better. However, I have also made it with pasteurised cream, and the process takes a bit longer, hence why I have suggested up to 12 hours. What would probably not work is ultra-pasteurised cream, i.e. cream that has been ultra heat treated for longer shelf-life and which is sold unrefrigerated.
Whether you are using pasteurised or unpasteurised cream, I would suggest checking on it from about 8 hours to see if a lovely thick crust has formed yet. Hope this helps!
Yours look absolutely gorgeous and no cellulite haha They look so delicate and pretty with the raspberries studded in
Thanks, Maria! The original scones from the coffee shop were much prettier, which is why I was inspired to make my own 🙂
Wow, I had no idea that’s how clotted cream was made! I always assumed it was just heavily whipped cream. This sounds dreamy for a lazy Sunday morning.
Clotted cream is really expensive where I live, so I was curious to try and make it at home. Thankfully, the homemade version is even more delicious 🙂
mmm…this looks delicious!!! I need to try this! I’ve never had anything like this. Looks good!
I have enjoyed reading your recipes, and hope to try a couple soon, great pictures as well. You mention that you have difficulty getting clotted cream in Switzerland, but I think that you’ll find Gruyere double cream gives a similar taste, and I think better with scones than Chantilly cream.
Yes, Gruyère double cream goes very well with scones 🙂 Since I first published this recipe, clotted cream has become readily available in the Coop supermarket. So tea time with scones is now a real treat!