Simply The Best Fruit Scones Recipe (2024)

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.

1. Pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a jug
2. Add 150ml whole milk
3. Leave for 10 minutes to curdle
4. 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

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.

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 180ºC Fan / 350ºC F / Gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3. 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.
4. Stir through the caster sugar and sultanas then make a well in the centre.
5. 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.
6. Flour your worktop or a board and tip the dough out.
7. Bring the dough together with your fingertips, remember a light touch is essential.
8. 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.
9. It should only take a couple of minutes of kneading time until the dough comes together, it should feel soft and dry.
10. Put the baking tray in the oven so it's nice and hot before you put the scones on it.
11. Very gently roll the dough out to a thickness of 2-3cm.
12. 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!
13. Carefully tear the uncut dough away from the cut scones and place the scone rounds on to a baking tray.
14. 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.
15. Transfer all the fruit scones on to the hot baking tray and brush the tops and sides with beaten egg.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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

Yield: 8 Scones

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

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

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 180ºC Fan / 350ºC F / Gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3. 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.
4. Stir through the caster sugar and sultanas then make a well in the centre.
5. Pour the buttermilk into the well and use a metal spoon to bring the mixture together.
6. Lightly dust your worktop or a board with flour and tip the dough out.
7. Bring the dough together with your fingertips, remember a light touch is essential.
8. 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.
9. It should only take a couple of minutes of kneading time until the dough comes together, it should feel soft and dry.
10. Put the baking tray in the oven so it's nice and hot before you put the scones on it.
11. Very gently roll the dough out to a thickness of 2-3cm.
12. 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!
13. Carefully tear the uncut dough away from the cut scones and place the scone rounds on to a baking tray.
14. 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.
15. Transfer all the fruit scones on to the hot baking tray and brush the tops and sides with beaten egg.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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: 8Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 335Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 350mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 8g

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