Poppy seeds drop scones with plum jam and cream cheese

Easy poppy seeds drop scones, made from ground poppy seeds, dairy free milk and low gluten flour. These drop scones are delicious served with plum jam and dairy- free cream cheese or your favourite pancake toppings.

This recipe & me

This recipe is inspired by a traditional Czech fried yeasted doughnuts, which are served with plum jam (or thick plum jam butter) and vanilla cream cheese.

I’ve taken the topping idea and changed the doughnut base from fried yeasted dough to a thick pancake also called drop scone.

Another favourite cake of mine has plums and poppy seeds, so that’s where the poppy seeds come from.

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What are drop scones?

Drop scones are usually slightly thicker than pancakes in texture and much smaller in size than crepes. They are eaten like pancakes for breakfast, but they also make a great mid morning or afternoon snack.

How are drop scones different to American pancakes ?

Drop scones and American pancakes are both types of pancakes, but they differ in quite a few different ways:

1. Ingredients: Drop scones are typically made with flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and baking powder, while American pancakes are made with flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence, melted butter, buttermilk, and baking powder or baking soda.
2. Size and shape: Drop scones are smaller and thicker than American pancakes. They are typically about 2-3 inches in diameter and 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, while American pancakes are larger and thinner, typically about 4-5 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick.
3. Texture: Drop scones have a denser, more cake-like texture than American pancakes, which are lighter and fluffier.
4. Cooking method: Drop scones are typically cooked on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat (because the batter is slightly denser), while American pancakes are usually cooked on a griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat.
5. Serving: Drop scones are often served with butter and jam or honey, while American pancakes are often served with butter and maple syrup or fresh blueberries or ther fruit.

Are drop scones the same as pikelets?

Drop scones and pikelets are very similar and are often used interchangeably in different parts of the world. They are both small, thick pancakes that are typically cooked on a griddle or frying pan. However, there are some subtle differences between the two:

1. Origin: Drop scones are a Scottish speciality, while pikelets are more commonly seen in recipes from Australia and New Zealand.
2. Ingredients: The ingredients for drop scones and pikelets are similar, but can vary slightly. Drop scones typically contain flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and baking powder, while pikelets may also contain golden syrup or honey.
3. Texture: Drop scones are denser and thicker than pikelets, which are thinner and more delicate.
4. Serving Style: Drop scones are often served with butter and jam or honey, while pikelets are often served with butter and golden syrup.

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Notes on Ingredients

Poppy Seeds

To get the right type of flavour it’s best to use ground poppy seeds.

If you are lucky enough you can buy them ready ground or ground them yourself with a fine coffee grounder or something similar.

If you live in UK, find the nearest European corner shop (Polish or Russian) and you can get the dried ground poppy seeds or even prepared poppy seeds mix for traditional cake fillings.

Gluten Free Flour & Spelt Flour

I’ve used pre-mixed gluten free plain flour, but you can use any kind of flour you like. If you want to use non-gluten flour, omit the xantham gum, which is in the recipe instead of gluten (it binds the flour together).

I like spelt flour, partly because of it’s taste and because it’s Low FODMAP, which means that it’s released slowly into the body and the sugar content is not that high.

Again, you can replace the spelt flour with other types of flours (such as wholemeal or plain cake flour), but I like the wholemeal style of these drop scones.

Sugar

I’ve only used one teaspoon of sugar in the pancake batter, so most of the sweetness comes from the plum jam.

Any kind of sugar will work well with this recipe, especially light brown or dark unrefined sugars (such as coconut sugar or coconut sugar substitutions).

Milk

I’ve used dairy free milk in this drop scones recipe to keep the recipe lactose free. This is because it’s easier to digest. If you don’t have any digestive issues, you can easily swap the milk for any kind of dairy or plant based milks – the recipe will work fine with any type of milk.

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What to serve with drop scones – suitable toppings

If you don’t have plum jam or dairy free mascarporone or cream cheese, you can use any kind of jam, chocolate spread, peanut butter or even homemade vanilla ice-cream.

I love to add a dollop of dairy free cream cheese or mascarparone cheese, but I know that’s not to everyone’s taste.

Lemon or lime flavour also pairs well with poppy seeds, so my homemade Lime Curd would work really well as a topping for this drop scones recipe.

If you prefer just a light drizzling of pancake syrup, you can try my Earl Gray Sugar Syrup, because it’s also infused with lemon and the flavours are perfect together.

Special equipment to make drop scones

I’ve used a pancake frying pan, but you are welcome to use any frying pan or a griddle.

The reason why I even have a pancake pan is because I’ve started to make a lot of pancakes, drop scones and zucchini (courgette) egg omelettes and the pancake pan has a handy portion size control.

The sides of each pancake area are also nicely deep, which makes the drop scones well risen and quite thick.

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Dietary requirements

I’ve developed this recipe so that it’s Low FODMAP, dairy-free and low in gluten (you can make it fully gluten-free if you swap around the spelt flour) and served it recently when my mum came around for brunch before we were heading out to explore Prague.

Can you make these drop scones without sugar?

Yes, absolutely! I’ve only included 1 teaspoon of sugar in this recipe, which makes this drop scones recipe already low sugar. If you want to make drop scones without sugar, you can easily leave the sugar out. The poppy seeds and spelt flour will give the drop scones enough flavour, so that you won’t feel like the pancakes are too bland because you’ve not included sugar.

If you want to make the flavour more interesting, you can add a large pinch of ground cinnamon or mixed spice or other warming spices.

Can you make drop scones egg free ?

Yes, if you want to make your drop scones egg free, you can swap the egg for 1 1/2 tablespoon of oil (sunflower, vegetable or only unflavored type of oil), 1 1/2 tablespoon of water and and extra large pinch of baking powder.

Leave the rest of the recipe ingredients as they are.

Recipe quantity

This drop scones recipe will give you a perfect quantity if you just want drop scones recipe for one. You’ll notice that this recipe only makes 4 medium sized drop scones, which gives you a single serving.

I usually cook just for myself and find that this drop scones recipe is the perfect portion for me – I eat two drop scones for breakfast and keep two for an afternoon snack.

If you are cooking for more people, just double or triple the recipe to get the number of drop scones you need.

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How to make drop scones

In the mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients together first and mix – the plain and spelt flours, xantham gum, sugar, salt and baking powder.

Add all the wet ingredients – vanilla extract, milk and egg – and mix thoroughly.

Heat frying pan or a pancake pan to a low to medium heat and add a tiny bit of coconut oil or butter to grease the pan (or leave out if you have a non-stick one).

This recipe makes 4 drop scones, so I split all the batter mixture between the 4 cavities and leave on low heat until bubbles appear on the top. You can check the sides and once they are lightly brown, you can turn the drop scones over.

Carry on baking/frying on the other side until it’s medium brown (second side always takes less time)

Serve hot with your choice of jam (I used thick plum jam) and mascarporone or cream cheese topping. Extra poppy seeds on the top (with a bit of sugar) also taste good!

Can you freeze drop scones?

Yes, drop scones freeze really well. Make sure you freeze them on the same day you’ve made them and use a suitable freezer container.

I usually leave them to freeze first on a tray (individually lined and not covered) and then put them in a container with greaseproof paper in between. This prevents the drop scones from sticking together.

In this way, I can only take out what I need – even if it’s just one drop scone for an afternoon snack!

I defrost the drop scones either in the fridge overnight or defrost them on a low setting in a microwave.

Can you reheat drop scones?

Yes, you can reheat drop scones by warming them up in a toaster, microwave or oven.

To reheat your drop scones in a toaster, simply place the drop scones in the toaster on a low setting until heated through.

To reheat drop scones in the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), place the drop scones on a baking sheet, and warm them up for 5-7 minutes, or until heated through. I usually only do this if I have already something in the oven or I’ve just finished baking (and can use the residual heat from the oven) otherwise this is not the most economical way of heating up your drop scones.

You can also reheat drop scones in a microwave, but this may make them slightly soggy. To reheat drop scones in the microwave, place the drop scones on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 10-20 seconds, or until heated through.

This blog post was originally written on 19 October 2020 and last updated on 31 March 2023