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Home Baking

Lemonade Scones (3 ingredients)

By:Nagi
Published:11 Oct '19Updated:8 May '20
579 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Lemonade Scones are the fastest and easiest scones you will ever make! Incredibly fluffy, moist scones made from 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!

Close up of Lemonade Scones with jam and cream

Lemonade Scones

Scones are as Australian as Meat Pies and Lamingtons. 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 make these Lemonade Scones which honestly come out so similar and yet take less than half the time to make.

If you’ve never tried these before, you’re honestly going to be amazed. Seriously AMAZED!

Overhead photo of Lemonade Scones fresh out of the oven

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 recipe is 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.

Hand holding Lemonade Scones with jam and cream

What you need for Lemonade Scones

Here are the 3 ingredients you need:

  1. Self raising flour – this is just plain flour (all purpose flour) and baking powder that’s already been combined. It’s sold as “self raising flour” in the UK, Australia, NZ. It’s easy to make your own self raising flour simply by mixing 2 tsp baking powder for every 1 cup of flour.

  2. 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

  3. 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 of Lemonade 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!

What goes in Lemonade Scones

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!

How to make Lemonade Scones

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 is almost 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!!

Stack of Lemonade Scones, ready to be eaten

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

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Close up of Lemonade Scones with jam and crean

Lemonade Scones - 3 Ingredients From Scratch

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 25 mins
Baking
Australian, New Zealand, UK
4.98 from 114 votes
Servings10 scones
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 1124
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 @RecipeTinEats.

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 his snout 🐽)

Dozer hoovering lemonade scone

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

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579 Comments

  1. Warren says

    January 29, 2023 at 11:27 am

    Hi Nagi. I have been an avid follower of yours for some time and have tried many of your dishes with great success ….

    Until I was diagnosed as diabetic.
    Sadly, many of my favourites are now off the menu, such as lemonade scones.
    How do you think a recipe like this would go with a third whole meal flour and “no sugar” lemonade?

    Reply
  2. Shakthi says

    December 12, 2022 at 4:54 pm

    Halved the recipe and used an air fryer. Turned out super fluffy and absolutely perfection. /160 degrees c for 11-13 mins.

    Reply
  3. Brittany says

    November 20, 2022 at 6:51 am

    I know you sort of note this, but in North America “Lemonade” is very different to what it is in Australia and the UK.

    For North Americans: ***Lemonade here = Sprite or 7up***

    In US and Canada, Lemonade is sweetened lemon juice with no fizz… I imagine this difference is the reason for some people’s scones not working out

    Reply
    • Lindz says

      January 8, 2023 at 8:44 am

      I was going to say the same thing. In Canada, lemonade has no fizz which this recipe needs.
      Nagi, I would suggest adding or editing the recipe to state that it needs to be carbonated lemonade for it to work properly.

      Reply
  4. Rebecca Montagu says

    September 26, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    5 stars
    Made these yesterday. My husband accidentally picked up vegan thickened coconut cream and the recipe worked perfectly regardless!

    Reply
  5. Nari says

    September 9, 2022 at 10:30 am

    Great recipe, but don’t place them too close together as suggested, but overall very yummy scones!

    Reply
  6. Petra says

    August 30, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you, Naji!

    This was so quick and easy and turned out perfectly. I don’t recall ever making scones before although I may have in the distant past and I was a little nervous as it seems one of those baked items that requires great skill but it seems that simply following your instructions results in perfect scones. Rather than brush my scones with milk I brushed them with the cream left over from the 300ml tub I used.

    Reply
  7. Sue says

    August 21, 2022 at 4:04 pm

    Hi Nagi
    Love your recipes but I notice that your nutritional info for the lemonade scones states that sodium per serve is only 6 mg. Surely this must be a mistake given how much sodium there is in self-raising flour? I only noticed because I’ve been trying to find a scone option for a low sodium diet.

    Reply
  8. Katrina says

    August 15, 2022 at 10:04 am

    5 stars
    Another fantastic recipe thank you
    I have a soda stream and sometimes I just use the carbonated water and that works just as well😊

    Reply
  9. Marie-Louise Willis says

    August 14, 2022 at 4:27 pm

    5 stars
    I made the scones with Orgran gluten free flour and zymil lactose free cream and they were fantastic. I did add a little more lemonade than the recipe asked for as the dough wasn’t coming and despite making them a bit smaller than Nagi (I got 13) the baking time was a longer than the recipe stipulated. Everyone really enjoyed them and couldn’t believe they were gf (I didn’t even bother to tell them they were lactose free as well). Really easy recipe and definitely on the ‘make again’ list.

    Reply
  10. Trish says

    August 13, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    Hi Nagi, I tried this recipe today and for some reason they didn’t turn out like yours in the video. I had to keep in the oven longer for them to brown when I cut them they were very crumbly and broke apart. They were still delicious though. Do you know what went wrong? I do many of your recipes which are all amazing and this is the first one that didn’t turn out right for me.

    Reply
  11. C says

    June 30, 2022 at 11:49 am

    I have made these a few times and I love them so much I make them so often and they are a success every single time. I really can’t believe it, so simple, yet so delicious.

    Reply
  12. C says

    June 30, 2022 at 11:48 am

    I have made these a few times and I love them so much I make them with my brother

    Reply
  13. po says

    June 29, 2022 at 8:50 am

    scones are yummy

    Reply
  14. Terri-leigh says

    June 23, 2022 at 3:53 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing and so easy. I halved the batch and put cheese in so yum

    Reply
  15. Jamela Mthembi says

    June 21, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    Just wanted to find out if I can switch the self raising flour for whole-wheat flour.

    Reply
  16. The Farmer’s Wife says

    June 18, 2022 at 2:01 am

    5 stars
    Delicious scones and heaps of compliments. Thanks for the recipe.
    I’m going to try baking as a slab and when cold, covering with chantilly cream and macerated strawberries. Portion size to be determined 😉

    Reply
  17. Rita says

    June 14, 2022 at 9:19 pm

    5 stars
    I made them today added chopped dates and served warm with butter.
    Yummy 😍

    Reply
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