Fluffy, light and buttery, this easy recipe makes the best sultana scones. They rise to magnificent heights and are packed with juicy fruit. These fruity scones are perfect for slathering with butter while still warm from the oven, or why not spoil yourself and add a spoonful of whipped cream?
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Sultana scones
It might be a bit of a bold claim to say that these are the best sultana scones ever, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself!
These sultana scones are soft, light, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth delicious. They are exactly what you expect when you bite into a scone. With the first bite, you experience the softness of the texture, but as you continue to chew, the buttery flavour comes to the fore, with little pops of sweetness from the juicy sultanas. These are scones as they are meant to be made!
I like to eat them with fresh butter (you might like to try and make your own homemade butter – it’s really easy), but there’s nothing to stop you from spreading them with jam, or even jam and cream.
There’s always a debate that goes on around the order in which jam and cream should be spread on scones. Some people say jam first, others say you should add the cream first. As far as I’m concerned, it’s jam first, followed by a spoonful of whipped cream. Have you ever tried spreading jam on top of cream? The cream goes everywhere.
The other bone of contention around scones is the pronunciation. I’m from the north of England, and up there we pronounce it ‘scon’ to rhyme with ‘gone’. Other (probably posher people) pronounce it ‘sc-one’ to rhyme with ‘own’.
And just to add to the confusion, we were on a touring holiday in Scotland a few years back and we arrived in the village of Scone – which is pronounced ‘Scoon’ to rhyme with ‘boon’!
The other thing I love about these scones is how easy they are to make. If you have a spare half an hour, that’s all it will take you to have these sultana scones baked and ready to eat. All you will have to do then, is wait for them to cool down enough to spread the butter on.
Tips for perfect scones
- Tip number 1 – handle the dough as little as possible. I don’t even roll the dough with a rolling pin, I just press it gently until it is the thickness I need.
- Tip number 2 – when cutting the scones don’t twist the scone cutter. If you twist it you will pull the edges of the scones and they won’t rise evenly. Just press down and lift.
- Tip number 3 – to prevent the scones from sticking to the cutter, dip it in flour before cutting the scones.
- Tip number 4 – keep all your ingredients as cold as possible. Use the butter and milk straight from the refrigerator – don’t let them come to room temperature.
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a mixing bowl. I like this earthenware one because it’s big enough to let you lift the flour and butter when you rub the butter into the flour, without the flour going all over the table.
You will also need a scone cutter. These are made of stainless steel, which gives them a nice sharp edge to cut through the pastry easily. If you don’t have a scone cutter you can just use a drinking glass to cut out the scones.
A rolling pin is nice to have, but not essential. I find it easiest to press the dough to the required thickness using my hands.
And finally you will need a baking tray for baking the scones. This is nice large one that will take 12 scones easily. You can brush the tray with oil to prevent the scones from sticking, or line it with baking parchment.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 12 scones.
**You can get the complete recipe for making sultana scones on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
- Flour – plain all-purpose flour. You can use self-raising flour if that’s all you have handy, but then you should leave out the baking powder.
- Baking powder – this helps the scones to rise – you will need one teaspoon of baking powder per cup of plain flour.
- Egg – large or medium, it doesn’t matter. This is going to be mixed with milk to give the liquid component for the scones.
- Milk – full-fat or semi-skimmed. This is mixed with the egg to make one cup of liquid.
- Sugar – I used caster sugar, but you could substitute it with granulated sugar.
- Butter – adds the buttery softness to the scones. You can substitute with yellow baking margarine but you won’t get so much buttery flavour. Also, make sure the butter is used from the refrigerator – don’t let it come to room temperature. Cold butter will coat the flour much better than warmer butter, and lead to a lighter scone.
- Sultanas – I like to use plump sultanas but you can substitute them with any dried fruit such as raisins or currants.
- Salt (optional) – a little salt adds to the flavour.
What to do
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (if using) into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and add.
Use your fingertips and rub the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is completely incorporated and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Lift the flour and butter as you rub, to incorporate as much air as possible into the mixture.
Add the sultanas and mix to distribute them evenly through the flour.
Break the egg into a measuring cup and beat it lightly with a fork. Top up with milk until you have one cup of liquid.
Make a well in the flour and pour in the egg and milk.
Use a flat-bladed knife or a spatula and mix the liquid into the flour until it starts to come together, then tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press the dough together with your hands.
Handle the dough as little as possible and do not knead.
Using your hands, gently press the dough into a circle of approximately one inch or 2 centimetre thickness (or use a rolling pin).
Cut rounds using a scone cutter and transfer the scones to a greased or lined baking tray.
Brush the top of the scones lightly with milk.
Bake in a preheated oven (200C / 400F) for 15 to 20 minutes until the scones are lightly browned on top.
Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the baking tray.
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Variations
This recipe makes the best cheese scones. Just swap out the sultanas for a cup of grated cheddar cheese. You may also like to snip a few chives into the mix too, and sprinkle the top of the scones with additional grated cheese before baking.
Freezing and storage
Yes, just allow the scones to cool then pack them into a suitable freezer container. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Let them defrost on the kitchen counter and then reheat the in a hot oven for 5 minutes, or pop them into the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
These scones will stay fresh for up to 3 days. After that, they will still be edible, but may have started to dry out.
I keep my scones in a Ziploc bag in my breadbin.
Save for later
If you’d like to try out these sultana scones, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards. Just click on the image below.
Alternatively you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also like to try some of my other easy baking recipes:
- Quick and easy homemade scones
- 3-ingredient lemonade scones
- Homemade Chelsea buns
- Easy banana walnut bread
- Chocolate Weetabix crumble slice
The recipe
Best sultana scones
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Rolling Pin optionl
- Baking parchment optional
Ingredients
- 3½ cups / 490 grams plain all-purpose flour
- 3½ teaspoons baking powder
- 3½ ounces / 100 grams butter
- ⅓ cup / 80 grams caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup milk or enough to make one cup of liquid with the egg
- ¾ cup /100 grams sultanas
- ½ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (if using) into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and add.3½ cups / 490 grams plain all-purpose flour, 3½ teaspoons baking powder, ⅓ cup / 80 grams caster sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 3½ ounces / 100 grams butter
- Use your fingertips and rub the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is completely incorporated and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the sultanas and mix to distribute them evenly through the flour.¾ cup /100 grams sultanas
- Break the egg into a measuring cup and beat it lightly with a fork. Top up with milk until you have one cup of liquid. Make a well in the flour and pour in the egg and milk.1 large egg, ¾ cup milk
- Use a flat-bladed knife or a spatula and mix the liquid into the flour until it starts to come together, then tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press the dough together with your hands.
- Using your hands, gently press the dough into a circle of approximately one inch or 2 centimetre thickness (or use a rolling pin).Cut rounds using a scone cutter and transfer the scones to a greased or lined baking tray.
- Brush the top of the scones lightly with milk.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the scones are lightly browned on top.Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the baking tray.
Notes
- Tip number 1 – handle the dough as little as possible. I don’t even roll the dough with a rolling pin, I just press it gently until it is the thickness I need.
- Tip number 2 – when cutting the scones don’t twist the scone cutter. If you twist it you will pull the edges of the scones and they won’t rise evenly. Just press down and lift.
- Tip number 3 – to prevent the scones from sticking to the cutter, dip it in flour before cutting the scones.
- Tip number 4 – keep all your ingredients as cold as possible. Use the butter and milk straight from the refrigerator – don’t let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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