Clotted cream. For someone unfamiliar with it, clotted cream might not sound very appealing. I mean, it sounds like cream with lumpy bits in it so you might be forgiven for turning up your nose at it. It is, however, a deliciously decadent spread to go with fruit preserves on your scones. It is commonly associated with the counties of Devon and Cornwall in the southwest of England where debates rage over whether to put the clotted cream on your scone first and then the jam, or visa versa. The best answer to that question I have heard is, if the scone is warm put the jam on first and if it is cold put the cream on first. The reasoning being, a warm scone will soften the cream causing it to loose its thick, luscious, texture.

No longer confined to Devon and Cornwall (if it ever was), clotted cream is served in tea shops all across England as an accompaniment to cream teas – an afternoon snack featuring tea, sandwiches, scones and other pastries. Aside from being a substitute for butter on your scone, clotted cream can also be used to thicken sauces or add a dollop to top a slice of pie. It is very rich though (upwards of 60% milk fat) so a little goes a long way. Clearly it is not one of the more healthy food choices but you can treat yourself to a once in a while indulgence – totally guilt free!!!

Apparently what we now call clotted cream was in ancient times a method used to preserve buffalo milk. And although it is associated with the quintessential English cream tea it is thought to have been introduced to England around 2000 years ago from the Middle East region.

Now, you can buy clotted cream of course and pay a pretty penny for it too! Or, you can make your own. No, seriously! Clotted cream is incredibly easy to make and has only one ingredient: Cream! There is no ‘recipe’; you simply put some cream in a very low oven for 12 hours or so then chill it in the fridge for several more hours before harvesting your clotted cream. You can make as much or as little as you like depending on your needs. Any left over will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or so.

What kind of cream to use to make clotted cream:

It may seem obvious; it’s just cream, right? Not exactly. Cream is sold in a number of different forms with different levels of fat content and not all are suitable for making clotted cream. Here in the US we have a very light cream called half and half, weighing in at a mere 11% milk fat. When you ask for cream with your coffee, that’s what you get. So called ‘light’ cream has about 18% fat while whipping cream has between 30% and 35% fat. Heavy cream (single cream in the UK) has between 36% and 40% fat and the heavy weights, manufacturing cream here and double cream in the UK clock in close to 50% milk fat.

But that’s not all. Some producers pack their cream with additives to help stabilize the cream so it doesn’t separate after whipping and to extent its shelf life. I have never made clotted cream with these products so I cannot speak to how the additives might affect the end product, if indeed they do. I am an avid label reader and wherever possibleI I try to avoid food products with chemical additives. So, when buying cream the only ingredient I want to see on the carton is cream – and organic cream at that!

OK, here’s the super easy way to make clotted cream:

• Set your oven to 175°F (80°C) (about as low as a gas oven will go).
• Pour 2 cups of heavy cream into a non reactive dish just big enough to hold it, preferably a wide, shallow dish. In the UK, use a 600ml tub of single cream.
• Place the dish, uncovered in the oven for 12 hours. I usually start at 9:00pm the evening before and take it out at 9:00am the next morning. Most modern ovens shut themselves off after 12 hours anyway so there is no risk of burning the house down if you forget it.
• In the morning remove the dish from the oven and set it on the counter to cool for a bit. It will still be very liquid and you might think nothing has happened. Be patient.
• After 30 minutes or so, once the cream has cooled a little, cover it with a paper kitchen towel, wrap it tightly with foil and place it in the fridge for 4-6 hours. The paper towel will absorb the condensation and the foil will protect the cream from picking up fridge odors.
• Remove the foil and paper towel to reveal a thick crust of delicious clotted cream.
• Just one last step: insert a regular table knife at the edge of the dish and ease the clotted cream aside. Pour off the whey underneath and harvest your delicious clotted cream.
• The clotted cream will keep a good week or so in an airtight container in the fridge. And don’t throw out the whey; add it to mashed potatoes or a tablespoon or two to your scrambled eggs for extra richness and flavor. If you are making scones to go with the clotted cream, use the whey as part of the liquid ingredient in your mix.

In the UK I have made clotted cream with both single and double cream. I was expecting a higher yield from the double cream but I was surprised to find they both produced the same amount of clotted cream. The moral of the story being, no need to spend the extra £££ on double cream.