Even if you can't afford to live like the British royal family (apparently, castles in the U.K. don't come cheap. Who knew?), you can afford to bake like them. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II treated then-President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife Mamie to her drop scones, a sweet also known as scotch pancakes, during their stay at Balmoral.
The first couple were such fans of the griddle cakes that the queen sent them her personal recipe, following their return to the States.
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"Dear Mr. President," she wrote in the letter, which is available in the National Archives. "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 hope you will find them successful."
In addition to the steps below, she also included a few baking tips in her letter. For example, "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."
And, "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."
Ingredients (Enough for 16 people):
- 4 teacups* flour
- 4 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 teacups* milk
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
- 3 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
How to make:
Beat eggs, sugar and about half the milk together, add flour, and mix well together adding remainder milk as required, also bicarbonate and cream of tartar, fold in the melted butter.
Her recipe ends there, but seeing as these are similar to pancakes, one can then assume the batter would be dropped into a pan by the spoonful and flipped when bubbles started to appear on the surface.
*One teacup is approximately equal to half a cup.
