Our Ultimate Scone And Jam Recipes

Scones are surely the most divisive food of all. Is it scone to rhyme with ‘gone’ or scone to rhyme with ‘cone’? Jam first or cream first? Is savoury OK, or should they only ever be sweet?

After ‘what is the meaning of life?’, we’re fairly certain these are the biggest questions humankind has to answer. And what better way to mull them over than with a homemade scone laden with jam and classic clotted cream?

Scones are an afternoon tea staple and an absolute must at any summer garden parties this year (you know, if you’re Charles and Camilla and regularly host your own) – who are we kidding, you’re just going to scoff them all yourself, aren’t you?

Well, do that you can, and become a jam-making pro, with our ultimate collection of scone and jam recipes.

OK, so having scones for breakfast probably isn’t something that you want to be doing every day of the week, but when you’ve got a little extra time on your hands, homemade scones would make an excellent alternative to your usual teacakes or crumpets.

Joy the Baker has a beautiful recipe for grapefruit, honey and yoghurt scones, which would work brilliantly for an indulgent breakfast, or for an afternoon tea with a difference.

The grapefruit brings a sharp yet refreshing fruity taste, while the honey adds a gorgeous sweetness to balance it out.

Spread them with marmalade, drizzle with more honey or simply butter them – you’ll never want plain old toast ever again.

A little more traditional, this recipe for sweet raspberry and white chocolate scones from Crumbs & Corkscrews is summery, light and absolutely perfect with strawberry or raspberry jam.

Swap the raspberries for strawberries or blueberries if you prefer, or switch the white chocolate for dark or milk; once you’ve mastered the basic concept of scones, you can experiment as much as you like. Banoffee scones with banana and fudge pieces sound very much like something we’d like to try, as do chocolate orange scones. All the scones, please.

If you have special dietary requirements, scones can easily be adapted to suit, and this recipe for blueberry scones that are both vegan and gluten-free from Nadia’s Healthy Kitchen will work for several different needs.

The recipe uses oat flour and ground almonds, as well as coconut sugar and coconut oil to give these scones a gorgeous unique taste. They’re delicious and certainly moist enough served on their own, if you’re worried about finding a suitable spread for your guests’ needs – and they can always dunk them in their tea (if they’re feeling brave, that is).

You could make plain or fruit scones and spread them with Nutella, sure. Or you could make Nutella-flavoured scones. Yes.

Using cocoa powder, chopped hazelnuts and a decent dollop of Nutella itself, Kitchen Konfidence has an amazing recipe for these absolute beauties, which just have to be spread with more Nutella. You can never have too much Nutella. Fact*.

*Please enjoy a responsible, balanced diet.

Now on to the savouries. Cheese scones are a classic in their own right, and a magnificent alternative to sandwiches for an afternoon tea. Spread them with butter, or go one step further and fill them with sliced ham and grated cheese for The. Ultimate. Savoury. Snack. A mind-blowing idea, we know.

One of the only foods better than cheese is bacon, as we think many will agree, so adding bacon to a cheese scone mix can only ever be a wise idea. Check out Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary to find out how to make your own, with added spring onion for extra yumminess.

We should all know by now that no gluten doesn’t have to mean no taste, but these gluten-free blue cheese and asparagus scones by Gluten Free Alchemist really take things to another level.

They use several different types of gluten-free flour, which combine to create a simply gorgeous crumb. With that strong cheese (you can’t go wrong with good old stilton in our eyes), distinctive asparagus taste and a drizzle of olive oil, these are beautiful as the savoury part of an afternoon tea. Or you could enjoy them dunked into vegetable soup or simply buttered, topped with more cheese and with a cuppa. Delish.

If you’re after something truly show-stopping to serve your sweet or plain scones with, then making your own jam is the way to go – we don’t think fruity jam would go great with savoury scones, but hey, a chilli jam would actually probably be tip-top with those cheese and bacon scones!

So, here are a few basic tips to start off your jam-making journey:

• You need to use the same weight of sugar and fruit every time – 500 grams of strawberries need 500 grams of sugar, for instance
• Put the ingredients in a pan over a low heat, stirring it until all the sugar has dissolved, and then you can let it boil – not before
• After a few minutes (five max.), the pan should be bubbling away, and you’ll be ready to see if your jam is set
• Place a little of your jammy mixture on a cold saucer (ideally, it should have been in the fridge for a little bit). Let it cool for a mo, then put your finger on it. If it wrinkles, you’ve got jam! If it doesn’t, keep going with the boiling, repeating the process until you’ve got wrinkles (well, until the jam has, not you)
• If you’re making a big batch of jam, it’ll need keeping in properly sealed sterilised jars to stop it going off
• Finally, grab a scone and cover it with your homemade jam! We’ll leave you to decide when you’re adding the cream…