By:Nagi
625 Comments
Lemonade Scones are the fastest and easiest scones you will ever make! Incredibly fluffy, moist scones madefrom scratch using only 3 ingredients – self raising flour, cream and lemonade. The secret ingredient is lemonade – but they don’t taste of lemon at all!
This is the faster way to make classic scones which call for butter to be rubbed or blitzed into flour. Lemonade Scones rise ever so slightly less, but the difference is barely noticeable!
Lemonade Scones
Scones are as Australian as Meat Pies andLamingtons. Made the traditional way, butter is rubbed into flour using your fingers – or a food processor. Not particularly difficult, but it does take time, calling for fridge cold butter to be diced into cubes.
I don’t know who discovered this genius shortcut way of making scones, but I am forever indebted to them.Sometimes I do enjoy taking the time to make scones the traditional way.But I usually makethese Lemonade Scones which honestly come out so similar and yet takeless than half the time to make.
If you’ve never tried these before, you’re honestly going to be amazed. Seriously AMAZED!
Scones are an afternoon tea favourite in Australia, brought to our shores when the British settled here just over 200 years ago. It’s a regular at quaint tea houses, especially in the countryside, and at local bake sales!
What’s the difference between an American biscuit and a scone?
🇺🇸That’s biscuits as they’re known in America that look like our scones! A southern classic served savoury, fabulous with grits, sausage gravy and eggs.
A comparison of the classic Aussie scone recipe with this New York Times Biscuits recipeis all it takes to verify that they are indeed made the same way – just used for different purposes. 🙂 Lemonade Scones are slightly more different because they are a touch sweeter than classic scones.
What you need for Lemonade Scones
Here are the 3 ingredients you need:
Self raising flour – this is just plain flour (all purpose flour) and baking powder that’s already been combined. It’ssold as “self raising flour” in the UK, Australia, NZ. It’s easy tomake your ownself raising flour simply by mixing 2 tsp baking powder for every 1 cup of flour.
Cream– thickened or heavy cream works best I find. But it does work fine with ordinary cream too, but it needs to be full fat (I found low fat didn’t work as well, not as soft inside); and
Lemonade-the “secret ingredient”, the namesake of this scone recipe!! I don’t know the science behind why it works. I like to think the fizz activates the baking powder to make the scones rise and make them fluffy, but I’m totally guessing here!
What type ofLemonade to use?
Schweppes and Kirks Lemonade are the two brands I use. I’ve made it with “no frills” too and it worked fine, so I am pretty sure any lemonade brand should be fine. Sprite and 7 Up also work – tried it and it comes out exactly the same!
How to make Lemonade Scones
Just dump the flour, cream and lemonade into a bowl, mix, turn out onto board, cut out scones and bake.
Yep. That’s it.Really!
Lemonade Scones – Tips!
Few tips to share to ensure your scones come out soft and fluffy every time!!
Less dough handling = fluffier scones. So only mix the batter until the flour isalmost fully incorporated (ie can still some flour), then scrape onto work surface and knead as few times as possible to bring together into a disc shape with a pretty smooth surface (I aim for 5 kneads, 8 is ok).
Do not twist the cutter – press the cutter straight down and up, resist the urge to twist! If you twist, the sides of the scones gets “smeared” which affects how well they rise.
Avoid touching sides of scones – use a big kitchen knife or similar to transfer scones to tray to avoid touching the sides of the scones.
Place so they’re touching each other ever so slightly – because they help each other rise (isn’t that just so sweet? 😍)
Don’t be tight with the jam and cream – there’s nothing sadder than running out of cream mid scone scoffing!!
Whether Lemonade Scones or traditional made scones, they are best served warm but MUST be served with copious amounts of cream and jam. There’s just really no getting around that part. It’s like having a grilled cheese sandwich without cheese. It just ain’t right. Just saying.😇
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More Aussie favourites
Scones– made the classic way
Pikelets
Caramel Slice
Lamingtons
Pavlova
Sausage Rolls
Party Pies
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Lemonade Scones - 3 Ingredients From Scratch
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 25 minutes mins
Baking
Australian, New Zealand, UK
4.98 from 143 votes
Servings10 scones
Tap or hover to scale
Recipe video above. Moist and fluffy scones, made with only 3 ingredients! These are truly miracle. They must be served with copious amounts of cream and jam. That's a given!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups self raising flour , plus extra for dusting (flour sub - Note 1)
- 1 cup thickened cream (heavy cream), not whipped!
- 1 cup lemonade (Note 2)
To serve
- Whipped cream
- Jam
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan). Line tray with baking/parchment paper.
Combine the flour, cream and lemonade in a bowl and mix until flour is mostly combined. Do not over mix, it will make the scones dense! The dough should be soft and fairly sticky.
Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead gently just 3 - 5 times to bring dough together, then gently pat into a disc shape 2.5cm/1" thick.
Use a 6cm/2.5" round cutter to cut rounds - press straight up and down (don't twist), flour cutter in between. (Note 4)
Use a knife or similar to scoop up (avoid touching sides) and place on tray, slightly touching each other (they help each other rise).
Brush the tops lightly with milk. (Note 5)
Bake for 15 minutes until golden on top. Place on rack to cool. Place tea towel over them to stop the tops from getting crusty.
Serve with copious amounts of cream and jam, and of course tea!
Recipe Notes:
1. Self raising flour (called self rising flour in the US and Canada) is simply flour that's already got baking powder in it. To make your own self raising flour, just add 7 tsp baking to 3 1/2 cups plain/all purpose flour (no need to minus 7 tsp flour, dough is quite sticky).
2. Lemonade - I use Schweppes and Kirks. "No brand" lemonade works fine too, as does 7Up and Solo so I presume any brand of any of these should work fine. Just need something fizzy and sweet!
3. Cutting tips - If you don't have a round cutter, which I didn't for ages, use an empty tin (cleaned!) or you can just cut them into squares with a knife. Just be sure to flour the knife between cuts so the dough doesn't stick to it.
TIPS: Push cutter straight up and down, do not twist. Flour the cutter in between so the dough doesn't stick. I usually get 6 out of the first batch, then I combine and pat out the offcuts to make another 3 - 4.
4. Milk brushing -This makes the tops nice and golden, and helps smooth the top too.
5. Storage - keeps for 3 days in an airtight container but needs to be reheated to serve. Also freeze well, for up to 3 months.
6. Nutrition per scone - jam and cream not included (I cannot be held responsible for how much you pile on!!).
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 74gCalories: 188cal (9%)Carbohydrates: 31.5g (11%)Protein: 4.1g (8%)Fat: 4.8g (7%)Saturated Fat: 2.8g (18%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 16mg (5%)Sodium: 6mgFiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2.6g (3%)
Keywords: lemonade scones, scones recipe
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
Originally published January 2014. Long overdue to add a recipe video and fresh new photos!
Life of Dozer
Now you see it… now you don’t! (Except for the smear of cream on hissnout 🐽)
Hi, I'm Nagi!
I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!
Read More
Free Recipe eBooks
Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!
Related Posts
Glazed White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf
Pistachio Cake
More Baking
Reader Interactions
Leave a Comment
625 Comments
Lisa says
Such a quick and easy recipe that results in light and fluffy scones.
I did half quantity which made 7 scones.Reply
Lenae Terrill says
This is the same recipe as my Grandmothers and it is amazingly simple. One of the first things I ever learnt to cook as a child. I can also confirm this works perfectly with sugar free lemonade if you want a sugar free scone. It doesn’t effect the flavour at all.Reply
Laura says
Tastes delicious, my whole family lived them. Easy to follow recipe. Couldn’t be happier!!! Nagi- u r the bees kneesReply
Bob says
Just made the lemonade scones, I mixed with a knife, (mum taught me) they came out great, so quick and easy cleanup , thanks Again Nagi.Reply
Lisa says
Nagi, I realise this makes no sense, but looking at the recipes for US biscuits, I see they sound like they should be the same, but they aren’t. I lived in Georgia, USA for 8 years. And until you have fried chicken on a biscuit and know it’s a match made in heaven – you can’t call Australian scones the same thing. Chick-Fil-A for the breakfast biscuit win. If I could return – this would be my first stop. https://www.chick-fil-a.com/menu/chick-fil-a-chicken-biscuit
Reply
Charmaine Moss says
Hi just wondering if I could add dates to this recipe
Reply
Heidi says
Amazing!! So quick and easy! I didn’t knead! I added dates! So good! Will make often! Thank you Nagi! 😊Reply
Alysia Song says
Such an easy recipe! The scones turned out perfectly fluffy and light. I made about 16 and had to freeze some. What’s the best way to reheat frozen scones?Reply
Jannie says
This recipe looks so easy i have no reason not to make this for my partner as she loves scones. Can I substitute the lemonade with zero sugar lemonade or soda water to make it not as sweet? will it change the texture or anything about the scones?Reply
Jenny says
Made this dairy free using plant based cream and it still worked a treat! Delicious and so fun for the kids to makeReply
Lia says
The BEST scones I’ve every baked, soft and fluffy with a slight crust. Beautiful.Reply
Kelli says
This is such a great recipe and so easy!
I had a craving for Bakers Delight Berry and White Choc scones, so I used this as a base and added white choc bits and finely chopped dried cranberries. They were a good replica and just needed an extra 2 minutes I found. Yummmo!Reply
Nadine says
Easy recipe to make & to remember!!!
But too sweet for my taste for scones jam & cream.
I use sparkling filtered tap water – we have a soda stream (it’s like sparkling spring water – not mineral or soda water) work great in airfryer too ❤️ xnxReply
Janice says
What is the best way to reheat scones please?
Reply
Jackie says
Personally, I put mine on a paper towel or plate & pop them in the microwave for 9 to 12 seconds for one scone & 14 to 20 seconds for two scones, depending upon how warm you want them. Every microwave varies, of course, so start with the least amount of time & increase as needed. Hope this helps!
Reply
Ena says
Wow this was so simple and quick. Turned out perfect, rose well and looks great!
Next time I would like to experiment with adding salt, no sugar lemonade and wholemeal flour.Reply
Kelly says
These scones are quick and simple to make. Absolutely delicious.Reply
Madeline says
Turned out an absolute treat and scoffed with cream and jam. Everyone really enjoyed them and came back for more. Thanks!Reply
Judith Maier says
Made them for the second time yesterday, this time for a christmas party, served them with whipped cream and strawberry jam. They were all devoured and everyone commented on how lovely they were. Thanks for another brilliant recipeReply
Leanne says
These are really easy and so yummy!Reply
Katrina says
So delicious, simple and easy. Made these as part of a brunch – savoury first followed by scones and sweeter foods. Prepared them and had them on the table within 25 of finishing the earlier course – amazing … light and fluffy and easily comparable to the hard slog of normal scones, definitely my new recipe!Reply