The best way to eat a scone, according to an afternoon tea expert (2024)

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The best way to eat a scone, according to an afternoon tea expert? ›

'To have your scones at their best, eat them while they are still warm. This ensures that they are still light and fluffy. ' He also swears by the 2:1:1 rule - in other words the scone:jam:cream ratio.

Scoop out clotted cream and jams onto your plate, enough for one scone. Break apart a small bite-sized portion of scone with your hands or if using a knife, cut the scone horizontally. Use a knife to slather on cream and jam onto the broken-off piece of scone. The bite-sized piece of scone should be eaten in 1-2 bites.

Well, according to Darren McGrady, a former chef who worked for the Royal Family for over 10 years, the Queen prefered jam first. He tweeted: “The Queen always had home-made Balmoral jam first with clotted cream on top at Buckingham Palace garden parties in the royal tea tent and all royal tea parties.”

The Devon Way of serving Cream Tea is to split the scone in half, spread clotted cream on each half, and then add a dollop of jam on top. The Cornish Way, on the other hand, is to split the scone in half, spread jam on each half, and then add a dollop of clotted cream on top.

From what I've gathered, the proper way to eat a scone is to split it and spread clotted cream (or butter) and jam on both sides. Never sandwich the sides back together. If serving with clotted cream, spread the jam first, then the cream. If serving with butter, it's butter first, then jam.

“The only way to serve a scone is by putting on the jam first. It's easily spreadable, and visually, it looks much better with the jam on the bottom and a good spoon of Cornish clotted cream on top. We take a lot of pride in our clotted cream.

Although the English eat scones mainly at teatime, the Scots eat them at almost any time: with midmorning coffee, with soup and salad at lunch, at afternoon tea or high tea, and even with a glass of wine at the co*cktail hour.

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.

In Cornwall people traditionally spread jam first topped with cream. "Have you got that the right way round?" Charles quipped as he passed the boy. Not only was Charles following Cornish tradition, but also royal tradition, as it was recently revealed that cream tea in Buckingham Palace is always served with jam first.

How are scones traditionally served today? ›

What goes on a scone? Scones are most commonly made either plain or with raisins and sultanas. Although they can be enjoyed with any topping, the Brits traditionally enjoy scones as part of a cream, or afternoon, tea. Generally, scones are topped with clotted cream and jam – usually strawberry.

Traditional scones are bread-like biscuits that could be broken off of a larger dough. The earliest scones were unleavened and typically made with oats and milk. They were often cooked on a griddle and served with butter, jam, honey, or clotted cream.

So when it comes to the big question of jam or cream first you would imagine her is the definitive answer. And now her head chef Chris Tombling has revealed that at Buckingham Palace the cream is always smeared onto the scone first, followed by a good dollop of jam.

American scones are usually designed to be eaten unadorned, though a drizzle of frosting on top is not uncommon. They generally have a lot “going on” without adding jam or other toppings.

Secondly (and perhaps most importantly), scones should always be served fresh, preferably straight out of the oven. If you must reheat your scones, then you should only ever do so in a pre-heated oven and NEVER the microwave.

Usually consisting of a selection of teas, freshly prepared finger sandwiches, scones, cakes and pastries with all the trimmings, a light Afternoon Tea should allow for 4 sandwiches, 2 scones and 2 cakes (of different varieties) per person.