What's the difference between American pancakes and Scotch pancakes?

Also called Drop Scones, Scotch pancakes are enjoyed for breakfast and as a snack in the United Kingdom. The main difference between Scotch and American pancakes is that the Scotch version is simpler . Ingredients include self-rising flour, salt, caster sugar, and eggs. Caster sugar provides a more caramelized taste.

How did scones become popular?

Around 1840, scones became an essential part of the fashionable ritual of afternoon tea in England . This was popularised by Anna, the duch*ess of Bedford, who was a close friend of Queen Victoria. One afternoon she requested some 'light food', which included tea, biscuits and scones.

What is the difference between a drop scone and an American pancake?

Drop scones are thicker than American pancakes, and a little smaller . If you read the Queen's recipe in the image above, note the use of "teacups" as measurements for flour and milk. Before Fanny Farmer we used teacups for measures as well.

What's the difference between British pancakes and American pancakes?

They are different. American pancakes are made with self raising flour (or baking powder) so they have a cake-like texture. British pancakes are made with plain flour and no raising agent . The batter contains a greater proportion of milk and egg to flour than the American variety.

Are scones Irish or Scottish?

Scones are traditionally Irish, Scottish, and English foods . However, nobody knows which of these countries invented the baked food. As far as history can trace back, Scones probably originate from Scotland. Yes, the first print reference dates back to 1513 and is from a Scottish poet.

What is an American scone called in England?

A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.) Both baked goodies use flour, fat, liquid and a leavening agent. The main differences are that scones tend to have less butter (because you'll add butter to it when you eating it — or else, clotted cream or jam) while American biscuits tend to have more butter and light layers.

Why is it called a Scotch pancake?

Scotch pancakes are also known as 'drop' or 'dropped scones', because soft dollops of mixture are dropped onto the cooking surface . Scones originated in Scotland, and the 'Scotch pancake' is one of its many forms. They are different to the traditional British 'crepe' because they are thicker and slightly risen.

Why are pancakes called Scotch pancakes?

Scotch pancakes or Scottish pancakes are also known as girdle scones, drop scones or drop pancakes. Created long ago in Scotland (Scotch is a slang term for Scottish ) these are thick, fluffy and golden brown pancakes that are similar to the larger American-Style pancakes.

What is the meaning of Scotch pancake?

Definitions of Scotch pancake. a scone made by dropping a spoonful of batter on a griddle . synonyms: drop scone, griddlecake. type of: scone. small biscuit (rich with cream and eggs) cut into diamonds or sticks and baked in an oven or (especially originally) on a griddle.

What's the difference between Scotch and buttermilk pancakes?

Scotch pancakes are not as raised and thick as American-style pancakes , so not as much leavening is needed in the batter.

My curiosity was satiated when I came across this recipe of hers on Reddit for "drop scones," also called Scotch pancakes. They're apparently very similar to American pancakes, but thicker and smaller in diameter. (2024)

Posted on Sep 15, 2022

They somehow taste way better than American pancakes — which, I guess, isn't that hard to beat considering some box pancake mixes can actually taste like cardboard. That said, these "drop scones" taste the way pancakes SHOULD taste.

by Jen Shiori AdamsBuzzFeed Staff

Ever since Queen Elizabeth II died last week, I have been thinking a lot about her life.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Her Majesty lived for 96 years and reigned for over 70 of them. And I feel like even though she was a monumental figure in history for so long, I didn’t really know too much about her day-to-day “normal” life. So, it got me thinking, what were the Queen’s favorite recipes? Like, what did she like to eat daily?

My curiosity was satiated when I came across this recipe of hers on Reddit for "drop scones," also called Scotch pancakes. They're apparently very similar to American pancakes, but thicker and smaller in diameter.

The Queen purportedly gave president Eisenhower this recipe 63 years ago, in 1959. For context, that's the year Hawaii became a state, and the year The Twilight Zone aired its first episode. Anyway, this is a photo of the two from that year.

I figured that seeing an old recipe of hers floating around the internet was the universe's way of telling me to give the drop scones a try. Plus, I thought it would be the perfect way to honor Queen Elizabeth II.

Here's how it all went:

@jennyadaams
#dropscones #pancakes #queenelizabeth #recipe
♬ Mozart 's a Little Night Music - Classical Music

I gathered all the ingredients the recipe called for, which included flour, caster sugar, milk, eggs, cream of tartar, butter, and bi-carbonate soda, also known as baking soda.

First, I cracked two eggs into a bowl.

Next, I measured out 4 tablespoons of caster sugar and added it to the eggs. Caster sugar is also referred to as "superfine sugar," although it doesn't seem to be as common in the US as it is in the UK. The size of each sugar grain is smaller than "regular" granulated sugar but larger than confectioner's sugar.

I followed that with 1 1/2 cups of milk, equal to 2 teacups, which is the first half of what her majesty's recipe calls for.

After mixing the wet ingredients together, I added 3 cups of flour, and then the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk.

I then added 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar.

Last but not least, I melted 2 tablespoons of butter and added it to the batter.

The mixture blended nicely together and — shocker — smelled exactly like pancake batter...in a really good way? It made me really hungry.

The batter was smooth but definitely a bit on the thicker side, or at least not as runny as American pancake batter.

There were no actual cooking instructions on the recipe, but after consulting the BBC and some comments on Reddit, it seems as if you're supposed to cook them like you would American pancakes. Drop scones are supposed to be small, so I decided to use a 1/4 cup measuring tool to scoop the batter into my butter-greased pan.

Don't worry, everyone's first pancake is always terrible.

Luckily, the second one looked way better.

And the third was perfectly golden.

There was a lot of batter, so it ended up making around 10 pancakes. (I will admit I ended up throwing out a few since I burned them so badly.) The recipe actually says it makes enough for 16 people, so I guess these were supposed to be even smaller than I made them. For reference, the drop scones pictured below are about five inches in diameter.

At last, it was time to give them a try. I would estimate that the cook time took around 35 minutes, including the preparation for the batter.

Per the suggestions of redditors, I decided to eat them with strawberry jam and butter.

After cutting them open, I noticed they were definitely thicker than the average American pancake. They smelled buttery and looked moist.

After taking the first bite, I was honestly a bit surprised by how delicious these were. They somehow taste way better than American pancakes — which, I guess, isn't that hard to beat considering some box pancake mixes can actually taste like cardboard. With that being said, these drop scones taste the way pancakes SHOULD taste.

They are delightfully chewy with a dense, pound cake–like consistency. They were great with some dollops of butter and jam. I would highly recommend everyone start making these instead of traditional American pancakes.

I guess I'll never know much about the Queen's personal life, but at least I now know that she had great taste in pancakes.

Have you tried drop scones before? Let me know in the comments.

P.S. I also made aTikTokof this entire process, if you want to check that out.