A great way to honor someone you’ve loved and lost, and connect with your memories, is to make a favorite recipe they shared with you. Bonus points if it’s written by the person’s hand or typed on an old typewriter. So anyone mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, aged 96, after more than 70 years on the British throne, may want to gather a few ingredients and make the ‘scones of drop” of the queen (or pancakesas we Americans call them), following the recipe that, according to the National Archives Catalog, he shared with US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960.
“Dear Mr. President,” he wrote, in a four-page letter dated January 24, 1960. “Seeing a picture of you in today’s paper in front of a quail-grilled barbecue reminded me that I had never sent the recipe for the drop scones, which I served you at Balmoral. I hasten to make them, and hope you will find them successful.”
Although the recipe, as shared, serves 16, the Queen told the president that “when there are fewer people, I generally use less flour and milk, but I use the other ingredients as directed.”
The Queen advised that “the mixture needs a great deal of beating while it is being made, and should not stand too long before it is cooked.” He also noted that he had tried the recipe “using golden syrup or molasses instead of just sugar, and that can be really good too.”
The royal, who would have been 33 at the time and less than eight years into her reign, signed her letter with charming warmth and informality: “Sincerely, Elizabeth R.”
In general, the Queen and the President seem to have enjoyed a warm correspondence. In a letter, written on June 29, 1959, to thank the Queen for a “particularly fortuitous and happy” visit to Canada that coincided with the official dedication of the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway, President Eisenhower said that “the highlight of the day,” for him and his wife, Mamie, was “the cruise on the BRITANNIA, the delicious lunch with you and your guests, and the opportunity we had to talk informally with you and the Prince Philip”.
Now, if you decide to try the recipe for yourself, available here, it might leave you with a few questions. (For starters, what is “baking soda”: answer: baking soda). Certainly some commenters responding to the recipe on Reddit, where it was recently posted. Fortunately, other Redditors provided some clarity.
“As an American, these aren’t the scones you know. They’re sort of thick pancakes/blini with a springy texture. Nice with butter and powdered sugar or toasted leftovers with strawberry jam,” advised one commenter, adding in parentheses: “(A typical teacup is 6 fluid oz. A dessert spoon in the UK is the largest spoon / soup spoon in US games).”
Others suggested drizzling the pancakes with honey or “golden syrup if your sweet tooth is calling.”
As for the baking instructions, which the queen didn’t include (“Maybe she never got around to making this piece, left it up to others,” one person opined), another Redditor advises: “Drop buns are baked in stove, like American pancakes. “
“They are cooked in a dry pan on the stove,” says another. “Drop the scones… drop a spoonful of dessert mix onto a hot (very lightly greased) pan, cook, flip, roll, then place on a linen cloth clean (towel) while you make the rest of the batch. The towel helps hold the steam to finish cooking the pancakes.”
I have it. To measure cups of flour…
