Recipe: Cream Tea + Cranberry Scones

Something about cream tea reminds me of the holidays. Although, I don’t think cream tea has any holiday connotation. So now you may be asking yourself…what IS cream tea?

Cream Tea:

Traditionally in England, cream tea a form of afternoon tea. The tea is served with scones, clotted cream and jam. When I traveled around England I had my first cream tea in Cornwall. There are two variations of cream tea which depend on where you are in England. In Cornwall, they serve scones, then butter, then jam then clotted cream. In Devonshire, they serve scones, then clotted cream, then jam. It’s quite the debate as to which is the “proper” way, but it all tastes pretty amazing.

It’s hard for me to find clotted cream here in the USA unless you are at a specialty grocery store. I can find mine at stores like Zupans or Market Choice. It keeps in the fridge for quite awhile, so make extra scones! I love making my own scones instead of store bought. One of my favorite recipes is a dried fruit scone. Thanks to Graceland Fruit, who helped sponsor this post. I made some delicious cranberry scones for my holiday cream tea. Graceland prides themselves on having the best, wholesome fruit. Truthfully, several people commented at how the cranberry flavor was so vibrant in this recipe. In this recipe, it’s important to really use quality ingredients – so I was very pleased with the final results – thanks to Graceland!

The Recipe

Scones are pretty simple- I’m not a seasoned baker and I seem to have good luck with them!

Ingredients

2 cups of flower
1/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons of COLD butter (the colder the better!)
1/2 cup Graceland dried cranberries. (This can be substituted for any Graceland dried fruits you fancy!)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg

Steps

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in Graceland cranberries.
3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
6. Get a good quality jam and clotted cream. Serve in whichever order you see fit. For me, it’s Scone, Cream, Jam! Serve warm for best results!

Enjoy!

Thanks again to Graceland Fruit for sponsoring this post- Your product is wonderful! For more information on where to find Graceland Fruit near you- please check out their website.

Love, Rachel