I have wanted to visit London ever since I watched What a Girl Wants when I was 10. I mean, who doesn’t want to have a royal dad, and meet a beautiful bad boy in a gorgeous city? Also Harry Styles lives there, so obviously if I go, we could meet and fall in love. Anyway, back to real life. Today, we’re going to explore one of the most famous places in London, Buckingham Palace, and we’re going to learn how to make absolutely delicious blueberry lemon scones. (Because tea with royalty is the dream.) Enjoy a 3D sneak peak of your Buckingham Palace visit here, and have a little staycation at home with your blueberry lemon scone.
About Buckingham Palace
One of the most iconic symbols of England and home to the British monarchy, Buckingham Palace is the working residence of Queen Elizabeth II. John Nash designed much of the architecture that is featured in the place, and the decor is reflective of King Edward VII’s time in the Palace. When you visit Buckingham Palace, you will see many of these details, and will get to take in (but please don’t touch) the treasures from The Royal Collection.
How to Visit Buckingham Palace
Tourists can only go inside of the Palace when the queen is away. The summer is the most popular time to visit Buckingham Palace, as The Queen typically takes a summer holiday away, but there are also select days during the year when they allow tours. However, keep in mind that this is a living residence, so tours can be cancelled if the queen comes back. Tour dates are available on the website for the Royal Collection Trust.
You definitely want to be sure that you purchase tickets ahead of time, and give yourself about 2.5 hours to get through the entire tour. Note that visiting the Palace has very specific rules. (In case you’ve forgotten, literal royalty lives there.) You must go through airport level security, and photos are not allowed inside of the Palace, but are allowed in the Palace Garden. No food or drink are allowed inside (sorry you can’t bring your blueberry lemon scones), except for bottled water.
Included in your ticket are specific State Rooms. Some highlights are:
- The Throne Room–where The Queen was coronated in 1953, and the home to the thrones of The Queen, King George VI, and Queen Victoria.
- The White Drawing Room–where The Queen and the royal family gather before official events.
- The Palace Gardens–where I like to think The Queen walks her corgis. If you want to see the Gardens, be sure to book a tour during the day.
After your tour, stop at the Garden Cafe to get a great view of the Palace Gardens. You can sit and enjoy a cup of tea, and a piece of cake, or maybe even a scone. (wink, wink)
Other Royal Experiences
- The Royal Mews
- The Changing of the Guard
- Tower of London
- St. James’ Palace
And now the Blueberry Lemon Scones
I have always loved a good cup of tea, and these Blueberry Lemon Scones are the perfect pair. (Side note: please use loose leaf, I promise it it superior to the bags. The Queen and I will thank you.)
In college we got to use our meal plan at Starbucks (a truly genius but also very dangerous move, thank you JWU), and my favorite snack was a London Fog latte (almond milk, please) and a blueberry scone. Now, if you love the Starbucks blueberry scone as I so clearly did, you are going to be obsessed with these. They beat Starbucks way out of the park.
I was surprised at how easy scones were to make. I have loved them for so long, but always thought that they were too advanced for me. But I promise they really are super easy to make. These blueberry lemon scones are perfectly crumbly and delicious without being too dry. The blueberries give the pastry a great freshness while the lemon zest brightens everything.
Tips & Tricks for the Perfect Blueberry Lemon Scone
- Hot tip – if you hate breaking up the butter in the batter– try grating it into the flour mixture. You won’t have to do so much mixing yourself.
- When you turn your dough out, make sure your surface is lightly dusted. The dough really isn’t that sticky, and if you put too much flour, your scones will be a bit sloppy.
Take Those Scones to the Next. Level.
- Get fancy: Top with a lemon glaze. Just combine confectioners sugar and lemon juice. Start with one cup of sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and make it to your taste and thickness. Then drizzle on top and you’ve got the freshest scone on the block.
- For a lovely fall flavor: Use orange zest in place of the lemon and fresh or dried cranberries with the blueberries. Emeril Voice “BAM!” Two recipes in one.
Blueberry Lemon Scones
Ingredients
- 2Ā½ cups flour
- Ā½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- Ā½ tsp baking soda
- ā cup granulated sugar
- zest of one lemon
- Ā½ cup unsalted butter cold and cut in small cubes
- 1 egg beaten
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 cup blueberries
Egg Wash
- 1 beaten egg
- 1.5 tsp milk or water
- sugar in the raw for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 400Ā°F.
- In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and lemon zest.
- Place the butter into the flour mixture and combine quickly until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- In a small bowl combine egg, cream cheese, and milk. Add to flour mixture, and combine with fork or your hands until a dough forms.
- Add the blueberries to the dough and mix them in gently. Some berries will burst.
- Pour the dough onto a lightly floured and clean surface and shape into an 8 inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 triangles and place them onto the sheet pan you prepared.
- Mix together egg and milk for egg wash and brush lightly across the tops of the scones. Sprinkle with sugar in the raw.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes, until tops are golden brown.
- When done, let for 10 minutes and serve.
Yummy! This looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it! Thank you for sharing š
Thank you so much! If you try them, let me know how it comes out.
I love the combo travel and recipe style here. I just picked some wild blueberries so it looks like scones are in order this morning.
Omg, that would be awesome! Let me know how the recipe goes for you!
These look so good!! Iām adding them to my cooking list this week! š
Omg, that’s great! Let me know how they come out for you!
I love the combo of sightseeing and recipe! Fun!
I’m so sad I found your post after starting a gluten free medical diet. They look so yum!
Aw, me too! If you try the recipe with any substitutions, please let me know. I’m always trying to make my recipes more inclusive to different diets, so I’d love to add that in!