Queen Elizabeth II Scones

It was a stumble over this recipe that places it on my blog today. While visiting Washington D.C. in December of last year, my husband and I made a trip to the Archives in order to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and a copy of the Magna Carta (which happened to be unavailable for display at that point). In The Archives, they have a rotating display that, in December 2011, was on food. In the midst of a number of memorabilia, was a handwritten note from Queen Elizabeth II to a United States president (I believe it was President Reagan, but I could be mistaken). In it, she detailed the recipe below, which the President had enjoyed and requested the recipe for. Since pictures were not allowed, I hastily wrote down the recipe. Who doesn't want to try scones approved by Queen Elizabeth II? 

The Recipe:

4 cups flour

4 tbsp sugar

2 cups milk

2 whole eggs

2 tsp bicarbonate soda

3 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp melted butter

1. Beat together eggs, sugar and 1 cup of the milk.

2. Add flour, bicarbonate and cream of tartar to the milk mixture. Mix well, adding more milk as required. Fold in melted butter.


3. Bake at 450ºF until browned on top (about 12-15 minutes)


Makes 12 large scones or 24 small scones.

The Process:

Dry ingredients sitting atop the 1 cup milk, eggs and sugar before mixing.

Mixed.

Ready to bake. 

Nicely browned.

My Notes & Tips:

I found myself with a sticky dough after just 1 cup of milk, so refrained from adding even part of the second cup. Regardless, I opted for drop scones, instead of forming them into the traditional scone shape. Had I added more milk, they would have turned out to be more attractive drop scones.

Served with a little raspberry curd.

Results:
These were great scones. Plain, yet not eggy or too salty, etc. They came out just right, in my opinion. They were also incredibly simple to make and fast to bake. They would work well if you wanted to add some currants, cranberries or any other type of dried fruit. They tasted wonderful with a dollop of raspberry curd in the middle. Would also taste good with some Devon cream or fresh fruit. Went well with tea and coffee as well. A wonderful, quick, all around scone.