It is of course also possible to eat a cream tea in other areas of the country, not just the West Country. This dish is often found on the menu as an afternoon snack in large hotels for instance, or scones, jam and cream are served as part of a set afternoon tea (with sandwiches, cakes etc). 

You sometimes also see 'a High Tea' advertised (particularly in the north of England), but this is a more substantial meal, often with a hot snack included amongst the sandwiches, cakes and tea etc. It does not necessarily include scones.

A cream tea is normally eaten mid-afternoon, and hotels normally only serve it in the afternoon. However, cafes in the West Country often have it on their general menu and then you can have it at any time of the day if you wish.

If you order a Cream Tea you are normally given one or two scones, small quantities of jam and cream (often in little separate bowls) plus a pot of tea. You split the scones in half horizontally and spread them with jam. Usually you are given strawberry jam, but there is no reason why another flavour of jam couldn't be used. 

Once you have added the jam you then  add cream on top of the jam. Sometimes you are given whipped cream but a superior Cream Tea is served with thick clotted cream. Its quite fattening, but it is not something you eat everyday! Its an afternoon 'treat'. 

Some people claim that the correct way to make the cream tea is to put the cream on the scone, before adding the jam. I don't make them this way personally, but it makes no difference to the flavour, so 'live and let live' as we say. 

Bake your own scones for the Cream Tea. Here's a recipe -

40g (1.5oz) slightly salted butter
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
25g (1oz) caster sugar
Large pinch of salt
150ml (5fl oz) milk

1 Preheat the oven.

2 Mix the flour and salt together and rub in the butter to form a crumbly mixture. Add the sugar, and then gradually add in the milk until a soft dough is formed.

3 Turn out the mixture onto a floured board and knead very lightly. Roll out the dough into a round about 2cm thick.

4 Using a scone cutter (about 5cm) cut into rounds and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly knead and roll out the remaining dough and cut out further scones, until all the dough is used up. 

5 Brush the top of the scones with a little milk, and bake them in the oven at a temperature of 220C or 425F. for 12-15 minutes until well risen and slightly brown on top. 

Leave to cool. The scones are best eaten when fresh, and even better when they are still slightly warm from the oven! 

If you would like to add a little variety to your scones, it is possible to add some sultanas or other fruit. Small fragments of cherry are also a nice addition. Savoury scones can be made by adding cheese (but not the sugar) to the scone. These cheese scones are normally eaten with butter, not jam and cream.

I ate this sultana scone in a National Trust cafe. Delicious! Particularly after building up an appetite by walking around the estate.

If you make your own cream tea do write and tell us how you got on!