Queen Elizabeth’s Drop Scones

Amazing! Just like I had when I was a kid. Thank you for the recipe!!!

In Australia we call them pikelets now days we do not use the baking soda* or cream of tartar as we just use self raising flour
we make then about the size of the bottom of a glass and smother them in butter for afternoon tea YUMMO

I live in Scotland and these here are simply known as pancakes. My Mother however was English and she called them “dropped scones” (because they were dropped onto the girdle from the pointy tip of a tablespoon which helped them form a natural circular shape.) I have a Welsh friend who calls them “singing hinnies” as they have a thicker mixture and the addition of a handful currants which “sing” as they cook on the heat. All basically the same mixture which has travelled with families as they roam the globe and swap and learn from each other. Whatever you call them, try them, and enjoy. Regards to you all on both sides of the puddle -it is getting smaller-have a go – they’re easy and so tasty warm with butter and honey.

Nice recipe, but as I live just beside Balmoral, in Deeside, Scotland-I am 45yrs old & we just don’t call these “dropped scones”, they are just pancakes-plain & simple thesedays. Maybe a few decades back they were called dropped-scones but certainly not for a very long time.

Nice that someone from another country see’s fit to introduce us to this recipe, bit too much blarney added though!
Nice recipe, very heavy mixture though & definetly impossible to “spread”, needs more milk if you want the pancakes to be evenly spread & bit more presentable for the table. Taste’s nice.

Yes, “drop scones” are also known as “Scotch pancakes”. If you do a search on the UK version of Google, you’ll find more information, and photos for drop scones. ~Elise

I found the recipe good, with 2 essential adjustments (New Zealand measures)

– reduce the sugar down to 1, or at most 2 tablespoons. Otherwise they are MUCH too sweet, especially if you want to put jam on top later!
– increase the milk to around 2 cups (500 ml), to a consistency a bit thinner than for a pancake but not as thin as a crepe. You may need to add a touch more milk as you’re cooking, since the batter thickens on standing.

As the pikelets are cooked, put each batch on a cooling rack, covered above and below with a teatowel to keep them moist, but to also let the steam out so they won’t be soggy.

And if you’re cooking with kids, it’s fun to make shapes such as letters of the alphabet, or an aeroplane, etc, with the batter. The only problem then is to stop them eating too much and getting a tummy ache!

They’re called Pikelets in Australia and New Zealand, and they’re still one of my favorites. An Irish friend told me they call them drop cakes in her county.

My mum made them most often for a late night supper if we kids were staying up late for a special reason, or for Sunday breakfast.

If you can get golden syrup, it’s perfect with them.

Also, they are Fantastic cold the next day with butter or thick cream and jam, or butter and vegemite!

I can’t think of pikelets without thinking of my mum’s other childhood standards – pumpkin scones and stewed apples with custard. Good memories!

Looking at the pictures they remind me of welsh tea cakes
http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/1588/Recipe.cfm

When I was a kid we use to drive to Montrose PA for their 4th of July festival and they would have these for sale.

Yes, very similar. ~Elise

We have just tried these Drop Scones and they are absolutely delicious. Not too sweet, so perfect with jam or maple syrup. They were very easy to make. Thank you for a great recipe which has become a family favourite.

I’m from England and we used to make drop scones/scotch pancakes for tea on Sunday (when we’d have a roast at lunch time so just eat a light meal in the evening). I’ll have to give this recipe a try sometime.

To me pikelets and drop scones are not the same at all but I think this varies regionally and my perception is largely based on the commercial versions. I’d say pikelets are more akin to a crumpet probably made with a thinner batter/not cooked in rings. Like a crumpet you’d pour the batter and cook until bubbles break on the surface and the top is mostly dry before flipping to retain the holes. Drop scones, as discussed already are just little pancakes which are a good deal thicker than your usual UK pancake (and so more like a regular US pancake).

Also fwiw, I usually think of treacle as being more like molasses. Technically treacle is anything from golden syrup through molasses that’s refined from sugar cane I believe but the lighter coloured stuff is more usually referred to as syrup and the darker as treacle in my experience. In my family we most often spread butter and golden syrup on top of our drop scones before eating, maybe I’ll try one with some molasses next time.

Elise, actually, though it sounds counterintuitive, but no, fizz doesn’t mean that leavening power is gone, it gets activated. Where I grew up we didn’t have baking powder, and everyone I know from there used this method and it is often still used. Unless one uses buttermilk or sour cream in the recipe, because they provide the same acidic environment for the baking soda.
I’ll be making these drop scones today for when my son gets home from school. They look good, just the way he likes his pancakes :)

Hello Elise,
Actually this recipe that is so simple went well, these “royal” pancakes are tasty.Thanks.
From the website link you gave, I understand that what is called butter in US is not the one sold in France, which composition is very precise and defined by law: cream and lactic ferments.
I’ve learned something!

Hi Elise, these sound very good! You mention the Queen made suggestions for using treacle instead of caster sugar. Do you know what those suggestions might have been? We keep golden syrup on hand – and I believe that it is a form of treacle – so I was wondering how we might use it instead.

Your guess is as good as mine. ~Elise

I prepared these “scones” for my May Queen this beautiful, but cold May Day. They were magnificent! The cream of tartar and European butter made the difference. This recipe was declared “a keeper”.

Tried these for breakfast this morning (day after the wedding); they turned out very well and retained their light, high characteristics all the way through the batter being cooked. I used the baking powder, since I didn’t have cream of tartar and used 2% milk instead of whole. Delicious and guests were impressed. Thank you!

I can’t wait to try this recipe tomorrow; it’s likely to keep the wedding spirit alive!
I must admit I had never imagined the Queen having a hand at cooking.Nice info.
On an other hand, Elise, I can’t figure out why you write :”European butter has a much higher fat content than standard American butter”.
Do you mean American butter is not only made of cream? Are other ingredients added? In France, such a product could not be labelled butter.
Thanks for your nice and interesting blog.

Hi Claude, Here’s a link that explains it European butter versus American butter. ~Elise