Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (2024)

Queen Elizabeth’s drop scones recipe — a very British treat — was sent by Queen Elizabeth II to Dwight David Eisenhower, on January 24, 1960. Get the recipe here, and see the letter the Queen wrote along with it!

The story behind Queen Elizabeth’s drop scones recipe she shared with the President

This scone recipe was sent by Queen Elizabeth II to Dwight David Eisenhower, on January 24, 1960, in response to the President’s earlier request.

When President and Mrs Eisenhower visited the Royal Family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 1959, they apparently loved the little British breakfast treats, which were apparently more like thick pancakes than biscuit-type scones.

Here’s the letter that accompanied the recipe:

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (1)

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (2)

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (3)

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (4)

Queen Elizabeth’s drop scones recipe letter, transcribed

Dear Mr. President,

Seeing a picture of you in today’s newspaper standing in front of a barbecue grilling quail, reminded me that I had never sent you the recipe of the drop scones which I promised you at Balmoral. I now hasten to do so, and I do hope you will find them successful.

Though the quantities are for 16 people, when there are fewer, I generally put in less flour and milk, but use the other ingredients as stated.

I have also tried using golden syrup or treacle instead of only sugar and that can be very good, too.

I think the mixture needs a great deal of beating while making, and shouldn’t stand about too long before cooking.

We have followed with intense interest and much admiration your tremendous journey to so many countries, but feel we shall never again be able to claim that we are being made to do too much on our future tours!

We remember with such pleasure your visit to Balmoral, and I hope the photograph will be a reminder of the very happy day you spent with us.

With all good wishes to you and Mrs. Eisenhower.

Yours sincerely
Elizabeth R

The Queen’s drop scones recipe

Ingredients

4 teacups flour
4 tablespoons caster sugar
2 teacups milk
2 whole eggs
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons melted butter

Note: Apparently a “teacup” is about 3/4 of a standard cup measure

Instructions

Beat eggs, sugar, and about half the milk together, add flour, and mix well together adding remainder of milk as required, also bicarbonate and cream of tartar, fold in the melted butter.

Note: These are apparently cooked on a griddle, much like pancakes

Enough for 16 people

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (5)

About the Queen’s trips to Balmoral (1968)

Britain’s Queen vacations; enjoys scones and cakes

By Margaret Saville in London, in The Kingston Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY) September 4, 1968

For a little while each summer, Queen Elizabeth II does what almost every woman occasionally longs to do — eat all the fattening goodies she wants.

The queen’s six weeks vacation at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands provides the occasion for this indulgence, and then it’s back on regime.

Elizabeth doesn’t diet to keep her slender figure, actually, but she does “watch the menus,” as she puts it.

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At the age of 42, and after four children, she still has the same measurements she had at

Her figure is what British haute couture calls “the small lady,” an ideal 24-inch waist, 34-inch bust, 34-inch hips and a height of five feet four inches.

She rations her starch and sweets, cats plenty of salads and fresh fruit. At her meals in the privacy of Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle at weekends, she drinks only tea or fresh orange juice diluted with soda water. Even at public Parties, she accepts a single glass of sherry as a cocktail and often leaves her glass of champagne or wine half-empty on the table.

But at her Scottish retreat, she gets so much open air exercise that she does not worry about putting on extra weight by eating what she pleases.

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (6)

She enjoys the Highland baking, the scones and cakes with honey and raisins.

The freshly-caught herrings are rolled in oatmeal before being fried. Salmon caught in the morning from the River Dee alongside the castle are served grilled.

She has coffee with cream, fruit pie with ice cream, and thick sandwiches filled with cheese and cold meat when she goes out on the moors surrounding Balmoral.

For all her necessary residence in London, the queen is essentially a fresh air lover and revels in the life at Balmoral. She rides every day, plays outside with her children. goes fishing, walks for hours stalking deer on the moors, scrambling over the rocks when an animal is sighted.

Every morning she exercises her four pet Corgi terriers, Heather, Whisky, Sherry and Jane, in Balmoral’s big wooded gardens.

As often as not, she dances after dinner for an hour or two. Balmoral is many miles from the nearest town and entertainment is home-made.

Here's Queen Elizabeth's drop scones recipe that she gave to President Eisenhower (1960) - Click Americana (2024)

FAQs

What is Queen Elizabeth's pancake recipe? ›

Beat two eggs with 4 tablespoons of sugar and about one teacup (or 3/4 of a cup) of milk. Add 4 teacups of flour and mix in another teacup of milk "as required" Mix in 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda (baking soda) Fold in 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

Why is it called a drop scone? ›

The name comes from they way the batter is, very simply “dropped” onto the hot cooking surface. Back in the day, a girdle would have been used to make pancakes and (girdle) scones.

Did Queen Elizabeth like scones? ›

Darren McGrady, who was a chef to the queen for 11 years, had earlier revealed that she liked to top the scones with jam, made with strawberries picked from the garden at Balmoral Castle, followed by clotted cream. “The queen was always jam first,” he said. “The jam went on followed by that delicious, clotted cream.”

Are drop scones the same as American pancakes? ›

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 was Queen Elizabeth's favorite dish? ›

Queen Elizabeth adhered to a daily teatime meal; her preference for delicate sandwiches with the crusts cut off was well-publicized. Her favorite version was reported to be smoked salmon with cream cheese. If the old adage is true, one should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper.

What kind of sandwiches did Queen Elizabeth eat? ›

Cucumber sandwiches are loved for their refreshing flavour and were a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II for this very reason. But to make them fit for a royal, the Buckingham Palace staff add an extra ingredient into the mix.

What the heck is a scone? ›

United States. American scones are sweet, heavy, dry and crumbly, similar to British rock cakes. They are usually triangular, and often contain fruit such as blueberries or sultanas, or such flavorings as pumpkin, cinnamon or chocolate chips. They may also be topped with icing.

How do queens eat scone? ›

Well, according to Darren McGrady, a former chef who worked for the Royal Family for over 10 years, the Queen prefered jam first. He tweeted: “The Queen always had home-made Balmoral jam first with clotted cream on top at Buckingham Palace garden parties in the royal tea tent and all royal tea parties.”

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.

Did Queen Elizabeth have a crush? ›

She fell hard for him—she was 13 and he was 18. She wrote to Phillip, and they began a correspondence which lasted through World War II. During that time, he was a pilot. She kept a framed picture of him on her nightstand, and he carried a photo of the princess in his pocket.

Was Queen Elizabeth a picky eater? ›

Given that she was England's reigning monarch for 70 years, Queen Elizabeth's food preferences were well-known in the Buckingham Palace kitchen. Not only did she have a famous hatred for garlic, but Elizabeth was also picky about how she ate fruit, and had a very particular way of eating bananas.

Did Queen Elizabeth like sugar? ›

Foreign dignitaries visiting the court of Queen Elizabeth I often remarked upon the shocking condition of the monarch's teeth. They were rotten, a deplorable condition aggravated by her addiction to sugar.

What do Southerners call pancakes? ›

Pancakes are sometimes called hoecakes in the South. Most Southerners are familiar with lacy cornbread, aka hot water cornbread. A hoecake is a rustic fried version of a pancake made with ground cornmeal.

What do British call pancakes? ›

In the UK, the word pancakes refers to the same thing, but the word flapjacks refers to something entirely different: a baked good made from oats, resembling what elsewhere may be called a granola bar or oat bar. The word flapjack is traced back to the late 1500s.

What do French people call American pancakes? ›

The common word is “crêpe”. But if you refer to American or English ones, people use the English one. Otherwise, if you make pancakes with buckwheat only or a mix of wheat and buckwheat, you'll say “galettes” or “ crêpes salées”.

What is Queen Elizabeth cake made of? ›

Queen Elizabeth cake is a lightly sweet, moist, and low-fat date cake, topped with a brown sugar, butter and broiled coconut mixture. "Queen Elizabeth cake" is named after the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, and may have first been made in 1953 for her coronation.

What was Queen Elizabeth's favorite breakfast food? ›

Breakfast. Queen Elizabeth prefered to keep it simple when it came to breakfast. A bowl of Special K with some assorted fruits was apparently her go-to meal to get the day started the right way. On special occasions, she allegedly treated herself to some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon if she felt like it!

What is the queen of England eat for breakfast? ›

For breakfast she keeps things simple. Royal biographer, Katie Nicholl, has previously said: "HRH typically starts with a simple cup of tea and biscuits, followed by a bowl of cereal." (The Guardian previously reported she likes to keep it in Tupperware to preserve its freshness.)

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