A Bite of Blighty: Cream Tea / Scones

Like many British foods (hello Yorkshire “pudding”), the name here is misleading. Whenever I heard “cream tea” I assumed that the cream went into the tea, however “cream tea” actually refers to just regular tea alongside scones with clotted cream and jam.

The Cornish way: jam, then cream

A little history:

We have the Duchess of Bedford to thank for the tradition of afternoon tea, as she often ordered tea and treats to her room in the space between lunch and dinner. This then turned into a social dining affair which caught on and spread throughout England.

The first printed reference to a scone is in a Scottish poem which dates 1513, however it isn’t known whether the scone originated in Ireland, Scotland, or England. Traditionally they were made with oats as opposed to today’s flour-based scones. There is also some debate as to where the name “scone” comes from.

I’m a Devonshire lady: cream, then jam

My thoughts:

I discovered the delicious little biscuits called scones yesterday (at work) and I am an instant addict! While they may look dry, they actually have a creamy, doughy, melt-in-your-mouth type of texture sort of like a tea biscuit. While they don’t have much of a taste, they are lovely smothered in butter or cream and jam.

I had mine with cream which is surprisingly non-sweet (I was expecting clotted cream to be similar to whipped cream but it is more like thick milk). I find British food to be much less sweet and salty than back home in Canada. However even though the scone and cream aren’t sugary, the raspberry jam adds just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy this Canadian :).

All put together it is heaven on a plate, and what better to wash it down with than a lovely cuppa tea?

What do you lot think, cream or jam first? 😉