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!
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!
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?
đşđ¸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. đ 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’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.
- 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 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!
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 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? đ)
- 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.đ
– 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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Lemonade Scones - 3 Ingredients From Scratch
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (525g) self raising flour , plus extra for dusting (Note 1)
- 1 cup (250 ml) thickened / heavy whipping cream (not whipped)
- 1 cup (250 ml) 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:
Nutrition Information:
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 đ˝)
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Hi Nagi, Can I use Greek yogurt in place of cream in your scones recipe?
Cheers Jean
Hi Jean, this one needs cream sorry as greek yogurt would be too heavy – N x
Can you use gf raising flour with this recipe
Hi Ranie, I find GF flour results in a more dense scone – definitely doable just not as fluffy as regular scones – N x
Is it best to use cold or room temp lemonade . I am hopeless with scone making . They never rise for me . What am I doing wrong ? And yet everything else I make turns out great . Rosemarie
Room temperature would be better Rosemarie – N x
Thanks Nagi . I tried again after sending the message . Used room temp lemonade .
Not very happy with end results . Just can’t get lovely high light soft scones .They seemed to be quite dense . Think I am ready to give up . Thanks Rosemarie
Hi, Rosemarie! Though, to be honest, I’ve never made scones this way, I have made them many, many times using eggs with butter and milk, or heavy cream, and biscuits using butter and milk. If your scones are heavy, you are quite probably over mixing them. I tend to think of the mixing as almost a folding. You want everything wet and “mixed” but not “blended,” if that helps. Scones need a light hand. I hope you’ll try again sometime. :0)
Use really cold lemonade, cold cream and a butter knife to mix it just enough to wet the flour. heavily flour the work surface and turn the dough out and only touch it just enough to get your scones separated. I don’t use a cutter and I don’t knead the dough. Dense dough is normally just from handling a bit too much. Keep trying and make sure to preheat the oven. Youll get there. Baking is trial and error.
Thank you for sharing your receipi
You’re so welcome Khoo!
Best scones ever! Full approval from hubby! 𤣠And delicious when served warm with lemon curd and (much) whipped cream. Important to follow instructions and tips from Nagi! đ
Hi Nagi.
I have yet to try those delicious looking scones but will soon.
I am messaging you because of an issue that many of your readers might have. NYT website only allows a couple free visits before they require a paid subscription. Therefore I wasn’t able to view your link to the biscuit recipe. I’m hoping you can either print their recipe or use only links to free websites. Thx
The other reasons I’m writing are probably only of concern to your American readers.
Biscuits in the US are both a savoury and a sweet item. As you said they are often served with sausage and gravy with or without eggs but they are also served with butter and honey either on their own or accompanying a chicken dinner.
The following issue Americans will face has to do with the type of lemonade that Brits and Aussies are referring to in this recipe. Most Americans only know lemonade as what Brits (and maybe Aussies?) call still or cloudy lemonade. They do not have access to the other “lemonade” unless it can be found in their import section. The closest products they have are all lemon-lime flavour. All of them vary in the lime intensity and often are made with corn syrup which alters the flavour and baking chemistry. Maybe you could do them a kindness with the addition of one of your fabulous notes. I’m fairly British and American fluent as an American expat living in Liverpool UK.
Love love love you, your recipes, your email updates, your mom with her recipes, and dozer. Thx for this wonderful site.
Sprite, 7up, etc are all readily available in the US. Regardless of whether itâs lemon/lime mix, itâs exactly the same. Corn syrup or not it makes no difference in this recipe. Youâre over complicating something so simple
Can you find Sprite or 7 Up or something similar in the UK? Very similar to Aussie âlemonade â. I am Canadian and lived in Oz for 30 years. I learned a lot about substitutions!
PS You could probably even use club sofa and then just add some white sugar to the flour for sweetness.
Those lemonade scones look so tempting but as I am dairy-free do you think using full fat coconut cream would work? Thanks Nagi as I am an avid fan (plus Dozer of course) as well as your great tips & detailed fabulous recipes and your endearing sense of humour of course. Enjoy! KK
Hi Nagi
lemonade scones are yummy, I so agree with you. We have two coeliac kids though who canât eat them. It would be so great if you could publish a scone recipe that is GF. I do have an old Womenâs Weekly recipe for them but it is very fiddly and while cream and jam disguise a lot đ, thereâs no denying that the GF scones donât come out as light and fluffy as the lemonade scones.
Hi there Nagi..it’s a lovely easy peasy recipe. .and DOZER AGREESđđ..
Hello Nagi…..I’m wondering if almond flour can be used instead of the self-rising flour?? Of course I understand I’d have to add extra baking power and perhaps even a tad of baking soda. Can you please advise on the almond flour substitute. TIA
Hi, Nagi!! I regularly follow your blog, but I rarely comment on anything (just my nature, I guess), but I thought I’d drop a note to try to clarify a couple of things for U.S. readers. Scones are a sweeter, and often richer, form of what we in the U.S. call biscuits. Some biscuit recipes here call for eggs, but some (including the one I use) do not. The same is true for scone recipes I’ve seen here. Some call for eggs, some don’t. The main thing I wanted to point out, in case there is any confusion, is that the lemonade you mention in your recipe would be lemon soda or lemon pop (depending on where you are in the U.S.) here….Well-known brands in our country are Sprite, 7-Up, and Sierra Mist, though I’m sure store brands or less widely circulated brands would also work. You mention Schweppes in your recipe. Schweppes is a major ginger ale soda/pop brand here in the U.S., so I’m wondering if ginger ale would work as well? I, too, suspect it is the carbonation that is reacting with the baking soda for the raise, or perhaps the acid in the soda/pop/lemonade?
I have always been hopeless making scones…mine are rocks that truly clang when going in the bin. Certainly inedible. BUT I made some yummy light ones not long ago, using Lemon, Lime and Bitters. Freeze well also. Me thinks using Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale would give a twist too. Thanks Nagi love your recipes and blog…not to mention the other star ..Dozer.