You have guests dropping in at short notice for morning or afternoon tea. What do you do? Grab some flour, lemonade and cream (yes, JUST those 3) and magically make these light and fluffy 3 ingredient scones in just 30 minutes. These are so much easier than classic scones but just as delicious topped with strawberry jam and cream. And no, they don’t taste of lemon!
What are lemonade scones?
Lemonade scones are a pretty famous and popular Australian recipe for scones. They were invented by a rural country women’s association (the CWA).
They’re made with just 3 main ingredients – self raising flour, thick cream and lemonade (lemon soda) – and are the easiest scones ever to make!
The great thing is that you don’t have to rub the butter into the flour and then struggle to gather all the crumbly bits up into a ball. Either by hand or with a food processor. Who hates cleaning those things as much as I do?
You can literally have your scone dough all ready to cut circles out of within 10 minutes. Less than 15 minutes later you’ll have delicious warm and fluffy scones all ready to have jam and cream piled on top of them.
The best part? These cheat’s scones don’t taste like you took any shortcuts, which is why I call them ‘magic scones’!
Here’s how they’re different to scones made the traditional way with butter:
- The texture is a little softer and fluffier.
- They generally rise slightly less.
- They’re small scones (a perfect excuse to have two).
But what they are NOT is less delicious. People always seem to rave about them.
Which is why these days, when I want homemade scones, nine times out of ten I use this amazing 3 ingredient scone recipe. Read on to find out why (and why I call them magic scones!).
Ingredients
I would call two of the basic pantry ingredients in three ingredient scones ‘secret ingredients’! Here’s what you need to know.
Self-raising flour: It’s essential to use self-raising flour to get the same rise you get with scones made in the classic way. If you don’t have any, you can use plain/all purpose flour and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder for each cup.
Just don’t use self-rising flour (US) which isn’t the same thing!
Lemonade: This is the first ‘secret ingredient’. I usually use ordinary sweet fizzy lemonade (store brand is fine). I assume that the ‘fizz’ reacts with the baking soda to help the scones to rise! Btw, the lemonade doesn’t really make the scones taste lemony.
Important: If you’re in the USA, I mean lemon soda, not the drink that you call lemonade made with lemon and sugar. There must be a fizz! Any lemon soda, Sprite or similar will work.
Cream: The second ‘secret’ ingredient! This is mixed with the lemonade as a substitute for the butter and milk in a classic scone recipe. If you think about it, it’s the same thing, but with a touch of sweetness…
Depending where you live, you can use double cream (UK), heavy cream (US), or thickened cream or dollop cream (Australia). Ordinary pouring cream works, too, as long as it’s full fat.
Throw in a pinch of salt too if you like, but that isn’t essential.
Tip: Make this lemonade scone recipe vegan by using coconut cream instead of dairy cream.
How to make 3 ingredient scones
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 430F/220C. This is important since the oven needs to be really hot for scones. Also line a baking tray with baking paper.
Step 2: Put the flour in a medium bowl or jug. Mix together the lemonade and cream, then pour it into the flour.
Step 3: With a blunt knife (a dinner knife is fine), stir together just until the flour is mostly mixed in.
Step 4: Turn out onto a floured work surface. The dough may still be a little wet and sticky (that’s fine). With floured hands, knead it gently a few times.
Step 5: Now pat the dough down just a little until it’s around an inch (2.5cm) thick.
Step 6: Trying to work quickly, cut out circles with a small(ish) cookie cutter (around 6cm across). Place the circles on the baking sheet. You might want to use a spatula or palette knife for this.
Step 7: Bake the scones for around 12 to 15 minutes until they have risen and the tops are golden brown.
Helen’s top tips
- Pre-heat the oven before you do anything else. The oven needs to be really hot!
- If the dough seems TOO runny/sticky, simply add more flour until you have a soft dough that you can cut circles out of.
- Handle the dough very gently. If you mix it too much, you can end up with heavy scones that don’t rise well. Knead only a few times, just until you can bring the dough together. Then pat it down lightly until it forms a disk.
- It’s best to keep the scones quite small. Since the dough is quite soft, smaller ones are easier to handle and behave better in the oven.
- Don’t twist the cutter as you cut out the scones. Just dust it with flour regularly as you cut out the circles. Push it straight down, then straight up again.
- Get the scones into the oven as soon as you’ve made them. They may not bake as well if you let them sit.
How to serve them
This one’s SO easy!
The most classic, crowd pleasing way to serve these scones is just like any good scone – with a good quality jam (preferably strawberry, but why not offer a selection?) and whipped cream on top. If you can get hold of it, traditional English clotted cream (a buttery tasting cross between cream and butter) will elevate your tea party even more.
The only ‘rule’ is to slather the jam and cream on generously. Don’t forget you’ll be washing it all down with plenty of cups of tea. (There is no debate here. Scones absolutely have to be served with a hot cuppa to go with them!)
Any kind of scones – including these super easy cheat’s scones – are the perfect easy bake for Mother’s day, baby or bridal showers, a birthday afternoon tea, picnics… literally any occasion you can think of that you want to give a classy feel to!
Top tip: Any ‘leftover’ lemonade scones are great for snacks. If there ever are any! Just re-heat for around 20 seconds in the microwave or lightly toast and enjoy with butter and jam (or perhaps lemon curd – yum!).
Variations
You might be wondering if you can use this 3 ingredient scone recipe to make different kinds of scones? Well, why not?! Here are some ideas.
- Add a large handful (or 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of dried fruit (sultanas, currants, dried berries, glace cherries…) for fruit scones. This works well since there’s already a little sweetness in the dough from the lemonade/lemon soda.
- Add chopped dates (again 1/4 to 1/2 cup) for delicious date scones (pretty popular in Australia!). Optional: why not throw in some chopped walnuts, too?
- Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk, dark or white!).
- Add 1/2 cup blueberries or raspberries (fresh or frozen).
- To make savory cheese scones, add around 1/3 cup tasty/mature cheddar cheese, plus a little more sprinkled on top. In this case, use unsweetened soda water or sparkling water instead of lemonade). Serve warm with butter!
- For citrus scones, add the zest of a lemon, lime or orange to the dough. After the scones are baked, make a quick icing to drizzle over the top with the juice of the fruit and some icing sugar/powdered sugar. Lemon blueberry scones, anyone? 😉
- Feel free to add a teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the dough.
Tip: It’s best to add any mix-ins BEFORE you stir in the cream, so that you don’t risk overmixing the dough.
Recipe FAQs
You can also make 3 ingredient scones using unsweetened soda water or carbonated mineral water instead of fizzy lemonade/lemon soda. This is perfect for savory scones such as cheese scones. You can also try sour cream or Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream.
Occasionally a reader reports that the batter was too sticky. In this case, just add more flour little by little until you have a soft dough that you can cut circles out of. Remember to flour the cookie cutter each time you cut out a scone shape to stop sticking.
It’s possible the dough was handled too much. These work best when you handle the dough gently and bake the scones as quickly as you can. Also try to use fresh flour. If the self-raising flour is old the scones might not rise as well.
Like any scones, these are at their very best eaten the same day they’re made – even while still warm. However, they will last for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container. If eating the next day, I usually re-heat them in the microwave for around 20 seconds or lightly toast them. Alternatively you can freeze any leftovers for up to 3 months.
American scones are often large and triangular shaped. British style scones are usually smaller and round. The texture differs, too. American scones are sweet, dense and buttery and often eaten on their own, while English scones are lighter and contain less fat but are usually piled high with butter or jam and cream.
More Australian baking recipes
- Anzac biscuits (low sugar version): You just can’t get more Australian than these!
- Hedgehog slice is the Aussie version of Prince William’s favorite chocolate biscuit cake. Perfect for picnics, bake sales, BBQs and more.
- These 1-hour cinnamon scrolls are so easy to make for a morning tea or special breakfast. Can you guess the secret ingredient?
- This no bake caramel slice recipe is a very Australian take on what you may know as millionaire’s shortbread. You have to try it to believe how easy it is!
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, LET ME KNOW HOW YOU GET ON BY LEAVING A COMMENT AND RATING BELOW… AND DON’T FORGET TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE ALL MY NEW RECIPES BY EMAIL!
‘Magic’ 3 Ingredient Lemonade Scones
Equipment (affiliate links)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 2¼ cups self-raising flour Plus a little extra for flouring the surface, hands and pastry cutter. To make your own self-raising flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every cup of plain/all-purpose flour. For this recipe make 2½ cups to allow for any extra you'll need.
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
- ⅔ cup lemonade NOT American style lemonade. It needs to be fizzy/carbonated. If you're in the US, Sprite would work!
- ⅔ cup thick cream Double, thickened, heavy cream depending on where you live.
to serve
- strawberry jam and whipped cream
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 220C/430F.
- Sift the flour into a medium to large bowl. Add the pinch of salt if using.2¼ cups self-raising flour, 1 pinch salt
- Stir the lemonade and cream together, then pour into the flour. Gently fold everything together until just combined. Then bring dough together into a ball with your hands (it will be soft and a bit sticky).⅔ cup lemonade, ⅔ cup thick cream
- With floured hands, pat dough down onto a lightly floured surface so that it’s about 3 cm thick (1 inch). Then use a small round pastry cutter (2.5 inches/6cm) to cut out rounds. Keep gathering the dough back up and patting it down again. You should get 8 to 10 scones.
- Place the scones on the baking tray so that they’re close but not touching (1 to 2cm apart). Brush the tops with a little extra cream thinned with water if you like. Then bake for around 12 to 15 minutes until nicely risen and lightly golden on top.
Julia Stuart says
Hi Helen, I use your recipes all the time and this is the first time one hasn’t worked. I’m in the UK so used the metric conversions you provided, and double cream. A wet sloppy batter I’m afraid despite adding more and more flour.
Could you possibly check the conversation for the flour please? And then I can at least rule that out? Many thanks 😊
Julia Stuart says
Conversion…not conversation! 😊
Helen says
Oh my goodness Julia, I owe you a big apology. Coincidentally I was making these again today for a family birthday and you’re right – the metric flour amount was wrong! I’m so so sorry. I know how frustrating it is when you waste ingredients and this was totally my fault. I hope you’ll forgive me and give these another go. I’ve now amended the metric amount to 310 grams of flour. If you need to add any more after that just add it little by little until you have a soft dough you can cut circles out of. Sorry again and let me know if you do give them another go 🙂
Cheryl says
Yum Helen first time I have been able to make scones,my mum used to make scones all the time,every time I tried they never turned out.💕
Helen says
Yay! So happy to hear this, Cheryl! I feel the same. I always felt like scones were a bit hit and miss for me, but they always turn out well and I get lots of compliments when I make them this way! 🙂
Ngaere Farquhar says
Make these for scones all the time as only scones I can make successfully. Have made with dried fig and ginger, cranberry, sultana etc real light scones.
Helen says
Haha, me too, Ngaere! I just don’t bother with other recipes any more, since these are so easy, light and fluffy. Thank you for the feedback!
Susan Walker says
Very strange taste and not sweet enough. Made them yesterday and I wondered whether they would taste any good without butter, (and I also put a beaten egg in my usual recipe). and no they do not taste any good. I will stick to my usual recipe with butter and egg. These were just a total waste of time and ingredients.
Helen says
Hello Susan. Sorry to hear that you didn’t like this recipe, but I’m happy that you took the time to pop over and leave your feedback. These have always worked out well for me and I’ll use the recipe again, but of course you should stick to the recipe you’re most happy with.
Happy New Year!
Lori says
Hi! I made these and the dough was so “wet” I couldn’t do anything with it…it was more lIke a btater than a dough..had to add almost an additional cup of flour to make it workable.
The results were still pretty good but I’m still confused why I seem to have had such an “odd” result.
Lori
Lori says
more lIke a btater than a dough should say batter…sorry
Helen says
Hi Lori … hmmmmmm. To be honest, I’m as baffled as you over this one. It’s a pretty tried and tested recipe. Did you use heavy cream? I know the dough ends up pretty soft, but not like a batter. It’s definitely a soft dough. I’ll make these again in the new year, just to double double (double!) check the consistency. Sorry about that, but at least they still turned out OK! 🙂
Lori says
And I’ll try again too and double check my quantities.
Thanks so much!
Helen says
Hope you get a better result next time, Lori! 🙂
Moya says
Have never made scones with lemonade before… and they do look beautiful and bet taste gorgeous 🙂
Helen says
Hello Moya! These really do taste good – so light and fluffy. Please do try them!
[email protected] The Gastronomic Bong says
Only 3 ingredients!!! how amazing is that! these scones look wonderful, Helen.. lovely share! 😀
Helen says
Thanks so much, Arpita! Do give these a go some time – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Aimee / Wallflower Girl says
Scones are my favourite! I love that there are only 3 ingredients, I’ll have to try a veganised version of this 🙂
Helen says
Hello Aimee! Would be really interesting to see how you made this vegan … hope you give it a go! 🙂
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
What a great recipe for scones… with only 3 ingredients and done in 20 minutes!! This is a definite go-to, in a pinch recipe.
Helen says
Glad you like it, Thao, and hope you try it! 🙂
Gretchen says
Looks amazing, can’t wait to try it. Already pinned for next scone emergency. I never would have though of lemon soda plus no cutting in the butter is a definite cleanup perk.
Helen says
It’s great, isn’t it? Glad you like it too, Gretchen!
Kirsty says
Wowsers Helen, just three ingredients whip up looking this good! What a fabulous recipe to have tucked away for emergency drop-in visits, impromptu morning teas, or whoops! its someones birthday at work the next day!
Helen says
They do look remarkably good for a 3-ingredient scone … I agree! Really happy you like them!
Joanne T Ferguson says
I love your magic scones and would not have believed that scones could be made with three ingredients! Well done! Glad we are connected through our love of scones!
Helen says
I’m glad we’re connected through our love of scones, too! Thanks so much for passing by, Joanne!
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
3 ingredients? You’ve got to be kidding…and these scones look absolutely perfect!! I honestly can not wait to try this recipe.
Helen says
Love your enthusiasm, Marissa! Please do try them soooon! 🙂
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
What?! This is such a crazy recipe to me, Helen, I’ve never heard of putting lemonade/sprite in a scone! I’m so intrigued. They look delicious!
Helen says
I’m really happy so many of my blog friends haven’t heard of these … I thought they were something everyone knew about, but I’m learning that it’s probably an Australian thing! Really glad you like the idea, though … do give them a try!
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
Wow! These 3 ingredients scones are really magical. Fabulous and delicious! Also loved how simple and easy these are.
Helen says
Thank you, Anu! Really glad you like them, and thanks for passing by!
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
I am so glad your timing was perfect to take part in ISW2015. I made these 3 ingredient scones over the weekend as was amazed at how perfect they were 🙂
Helen says
It was a pleasure to take part, Tandy … thank you again! Also really happy that you tried the recipe out and liked it! 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh, WOW! I LOVE how super easy these are! But even better, I LOVE that they still look seriously delicious and like they took a lot more energy!! Seriously clever! Can’t wait to try these scones! Cheers to a beautiful day! 😉
Helen says
Easy recipes that don’t seem easy are my fave! Thanks, Cheyanne! 🙂
Laura says
I love the ease of making these scones. My sisters wedding breakfast shower is just weeks away (i’m hosting) and i’m collecting ideas! And honestly, I need easy!! Don’t want to make anything too complicated. And that teacup on the side is gorgeous. Love it. So pretty.
Helen says
Happy to hear these might help you out, Laura! How exciting that your sister is getting married! The teacup is sweet, isn’t it? It was dirt cheap from a sort of Aladdin’s cave kind of shop!