‘Magic’ 3 Ingredient Lemonade Scones
on Jul 11, 2022, Updated Jul 31, 2022
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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!
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‘Magic’ 3 Ingredient Lemonade Scones
Ingredients
- 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.
These scones turned out fairly well but not as good as the more traditional recipe. I added a bit of sugar as the uncooked dough did not taste sweet enough. They are also a bit more light and spongy than traditional scones – not as dry or crumbly. They still taste good and work well with jam and cream though. Thanks!
Hello Robina! I appreciate your feedback! You’re right, these are slightly different in texture to classic crumbly scones with butter rubbed through. I like both, but mostly make these because they’re easier (and also my family always request them!). I’m happy you still enjoyed them!
Make these scones all the only ones I make the ifference is I use 4cups self raising flour and 1cup sugar free lemonade and 1 cup cream. I make them plain, savoury, and feijoa, fig and ginger as, they are the only scones I make that work for me. The weather in the lower south island of New Zealand has been quite cold and we had a day of snow last sunday week the at caused traffic problems but was fine next day in most places. Keep warm.
Ooh, the feijoa, fig and ginger sounds wonderful! I bet it’s cold over there but beautiful with the snow. No snow here in Perth – ever!! It’s cool and showery, but I really like it! Lovely to hear from you, Ngaere!
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 😊
Conversion…not conversation! 😊
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 🙂
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.💕
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! 🙂
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.
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!
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.
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!
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
more lIke a btater than a dough should say batter…sorry
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! 🙂
And I’ll try again too and double check my quantities.
Thanks so much!
Hope you get a better result next time, Lori! 🙂
Have never made scones with lemonade before… and they do look beautiful and bet taste gorgeous 🙂
Hello Moya! These really do taste good – so light and fluffy. Please do try them!
Only 3 ingredients!!! how amazing is that! these scones look wonderful, Helen.. lovely share! 😀
Thanks so much, Arpita! Do give these a go some time – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Scones are my favourite! I love that there are only 3 ingredients, I’ll have to try a veganised version of this 🙂
Hello Aimee! Would be really interesting to see how you made this vegan … hope you give it a go! 🙂