How to make Clotted Cream for the Perfect Cream Tea. It takes very little effort and really just time to make thick, rich, velvety cream perfect for slathering on fresh scones with your favourite jam.
Homemade Clotted Cream on Proper English Scones
One of the purist of pleasures there can be is thick, rich dairy cream and clotted cream just has to be the ultimate example.
Here in Newfoundland we have a very great fondness for “thick cream”. It has been enjoyed by generations atop pies and tarts or served with fruit and jelly for Sunday supper dessert. Fussels brand is an iconic pantry staple in many homes here.
Because of strict dairy import laws supplies it can be scarce to non-existent in the fall of the year when people begin to hoard it for Christmas or to use in some traditional baked goods for the season, like Cherry pound cake.
Shortages have on occasion even caught the eye of the national news media; our fondness for the product is so great. I remember well when growing up here, whenever the first blueberries of the season were turned into jam.
We would bake fresh homemade bread and enjoy thick slices slathered in a layer of Fussels cream and the freshly made wild blueberry jam. That remains to this day, one of my ultimate indulgences; there’s just nothing better.
Homemade Clotted Cream on Proper English Scones
At 23% milk fat, Fussels Thick Cream is indulgent indeed, but it pales in comparison to British clotted cream which can have twice the milk fat content. Commonly associated with the dairy producing counties of Cornwall and Devon, clotted cream is an essential part of a traditional cream tea where it is served with jam on freshly baked scones.
Residents of both counties are very particular about which goes first, the jam or the cream and they can be quite adamant about which is the better way, with the Cornish preference being jam first, then cream. Be sure to check out my recipe for Proper English Scones and conduct your own taste test to see if you have a preference.
How to make Clotted Cream for the Perfect Cream Tea
Long-time readers of Rock Recipes know that I have a particular fondness for British food, having featured many, many recipes from traditional roasted potatoes to Sticky Toffee Pudding. I’ve had readers from all across North America ask if the was a substitution for clotted cream when serving scones because it is not commonly available in many places, especially small towns.
When I received the latest question about clotted cream I did a little online research and found that it wasn’t that hard to make at home using whipping cream. I experimented with a few of the variables in what is essentially the same method of slow heating of the cream in the oven overnight, followed by a thorough 2 stage cooling before skimming the rich clotted cream of the top.
Clotted cream after skimming.
This is not so much of a recipe, it’s more of a relaying of the method variations I used that worked best in making this decadent cream.
I’ll be reminding all of my Newfoundland friends of this method that next time there is a Fussels crisis in the province. I’ve come to discover that clotted cream is even better!
Clotted cream after stirring the skimmed cream.
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Victoria Sandwich Cake. A must have for tea time.
- 1 quart litre whipping cream Do not use any cream that is labelled as "Ultra- Pasteurized" , 35% milk fat or higher
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Set your oven to regular bake at 170 to 180 degrees F. (170 is the lowest setting on my oven so that's what I used.)
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Pour the cream into a small covered casserole dish. The dish I used was about 8x8 inches. In my experiments that was the best size for 1 litre of cream but a 2 or 2 1/2 inch depth of cream in the casserole dish is a good guide. Having too large a casserole is a problem.
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Place the covered casserole dish in the oven for 10-12 hours. I usually do it overnight.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool to about room temperature before refrigerating for 8-10 hours as well. I usually let it go overnight again and skim it in the morning.
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Skim the solid cream off the top in to a small mixing bowl. There will be liquid white cream underneath the solid cream as well, so skim off as much of that as you can too. It gets stirred into the thicker cream to create the right consistency although many Brits do like to use it in that state for a mix of textures, I think.
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Store the cream in a covered container in the fridge. Clotted cream is meant to be consumed quickly, so use it up within a few days.
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Do not discard the liquid beneath the cream, use it as a milk substitute in baking. It can even be used in preparing the scones.
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Clotted Cream makes a great topping for pies and tarts too or on practically any dessert where you would add a dollop of whipped cream.
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It’s a coincidence that you just posted this. I tried this very method last week to go with scones and it turned out beautifully! It reminds me of my neighbour and her cow, she would milk the cow and do whatever processing needed to have drinking milk, scaling and whatnot, and then put some of the creamier milk in a a glass container on the back of her wood burning oven to have cream for the next morning. Yum yum yum!! This is an excellent recipe and even nicer than canned cream if you could believe in that being possible.
Yes, this works perfectly, even though I was a sceptic when I made it for my daughter’s High Tea Bridal shower this past summer. The length of time waiting for it to preform magic was my problem,, My friend who ran a tea shop in Manitoba had given me instructions and laughed at me to stop looking at it! The cream was a show stopped for my husband’s mini scones!
Can this recipe be scaled down?
I think it would take a little experimenting with times and the size of baking dish. Truthfully though if it were successfully scaled down by half it would only yield 3/4 cup or so of clotted cream.
Thank you. I plan on making this and will make the full amount. I did some sleuthing and found out that clotted cream can be frozen so there is no need to make a lesser batch.
I was in Newfoundland in August and there was a dearth of bakeapples. Did they ever ripen? I did manage to buy up more than a few jars of bakeapple jam at the tea room where Random Passage was filmed so I am not totally bereft. But I sure missed the fresh ones……..
Yes they did indeed ripen. I’m told they were plentiful although I’m not much of a berry picker myself. I prefer to buy a winter stock from those that enjoy the activity. There is nothing quite like the flavour of bakeapples.
This is fascinating! Who would have thought of cream in the oven? I have to try this you know! I’m not even sure what else to use it on except the scones. Your picture makes it look delicious.
Wishes for tasty dishes,
Linda
An English Victoria Sandwich Cake is a great use ( I added a photo to the post) or anywhere you’d add a dollop of whipped cream to a dessert.
I would use it on waffles, I would put it in a mini breakfast trifle, I would scoop a small spoon in my butternut squash soup, on plain pasta sprinkled with Parmesan and lemon, salmon mousse…
Oh my gosh and to top it off I find the clotted cream recipe! And then the cake I have been searching for not knowing a name for it and here it is Victoria Sandwich Cake! I’m so happy. I’m going to be doing some baking. The clotted has me a bit scared to be honest. I will let you know how I do. Happy Day to you.
Karla
Barry, I’m glad I found you on Pinterest. I am in the US but make lots of British recipes (it’s my heritage). So many times when I click on a clotted cream recipe, it’s actually a “faux” version. But this is the way I make clotted cream. I believe in the recipe I posted I used a pint (16 fluid ounces) of cream. It makes 1 cup of clotted cream.
Hi, most whipping cream in Australia contains gelatine. We do have pure cream as well which is 25% fat from memory. And some which is about 55%.
So, should I use the one with gelatine or try and find some 35% cream without gelatine for the clotted cream recipe?
I would definitely not use a product that contained gelatine.
One of my favorite recipes!
I make yogurt in a similar way using milk and a yogurt starter. I make it in a crock pot. I would think that using a crock pot instead of an oven for 4 hours or so, letting it cool to .uckwarm( here I add my starter) allowing it to rest over night ( I put mine in a cold oven with a kettle of boiling water) would result in clotted cream. The only difference is in the milk fat.
I think you’d have to test the temperature of the liquid in the crock pot. If it’s above 170 F there may be an issue. I don’t think cutting down the time is a good idea.
I attemped this last night and my husband turned off the oven about two hours in, thinking our child had turned it on. (Never mind that I told him specifically I was cooking something at low heat). How important is the heating process? He seems to think it is still going to be ok based on experience of making butter with raw milk that wasnt refrigerated.
I would think the heating process would have to go the full length of time.
Hi, I just followed your recipe and 12 hours later I’ve taken the dish out of the oven to find that it is still very liquid. There was only a very thin skin on top. I used 1 litre of 35% cooking cream. Will it thicken up? I was so looking forward to a warm scone with clotted cream tomorrow!
The cream will thicken at the surface as it cools. This is one that definitely requires patience. …no real skill but lots of waiting!
I don’t have acovered casserole. Would it be ok if i used foil to cover the casserole dish?
Yes indeed. Just don’t let it touch the cream.
Barry I am wondering if I could do this in my Instant Pot on the yogurt setting. You preheat the milk to 180*F and then pour in and leave for length of time desired. I do so wish you would get one of these pots and do recipes for it. The magic pot they call it and it is the most favourite new appliance in North America. thanks in advance.
I’ve just made my first batch. Came out very nice, Now I’ve got to make scones and try one of those cakes.
So glad it was a success. I’m planning some for this weekend.
This is how I make my clotted cream. I would say that the whipping cream you buy in the grocery store does not have a high enough butterfat content. (in USA) If you can find a local dairy that sells cream it will work much better. It really is easy just be careful about the size of the dish.
Our whipping cram is 35% milk fat, so it does work just fine….if you can find a higher milk fat cream it will yield more clotted cream, as you say.
Has anyone else had theirs come out salty? I tried it last night into this morning and it came out tasting like melted butter that had salt in it. It even looked somewhat like melted butter on the top.
That is very odd. There is no salt in cream…no idea why it would taste salty.
I can’t find cream that is not ultra pasteurized in the USA. Why can’t I use that?
I’ve never tried it. It’s not ultra pasteurized here.
Hi, I’ve found regular pasteurized heavy whipping cream in Whole Foods. Do you have one near you?
Cannot wait to try the real deal!
How long can you keep this cream in the refrigerator after use?
Use the same best before date as your whipping cream.
I’ve found a good 42% cream, and by accident made a very simular product to clotted cream. I put in the freezer, after defrosting I was left with big globs, i rinsed these with fresh water and put it a nice crock to use as a sweet butterish cream.
Hi Barry
I’m only doing a half batch as I accidentally only purchased a half litre of cream. My question is, do I still cook this for the full amount of time or do I cut the cooking time in half? Any help you can give me is appreciated.
Cheers
This would be very difficult to make in smaller batches. The size of the dish would be critically important; too big and the cream will be too shallow to separate and may dry up. I’d make a full batch for sure.
In the 1930s there was a device for making cream of various thicknesses. Found one at an antique shop. Also have a “Bel” cream maker; the bowl is old melmac so it’s old, too. Great in a pinch. Not sure if you can still find them. Check vintage sites on line.
Interesting!
I made this almost exactly to the recipe and it came out perfect. I did not cover the dish while in the oven.
4 cups of heavy cream, baked for 12 hours at 180F, no cover. I used a 8 inch round Pyrex casserole. The depth of the cream was at 2 inches, and kept a thermometer in it just in case, checked it every 3 hours to make sure temp stayed at 180F.
When it came out of the oven it looked perfect, lite golden yellow with a small amount of butter on top. I thought the recipe had failed because it seemed to only have a thin 1/4 inch thickness of almost crust and was very runny underneath, it did look just like your picture as shown above. I refrigerated for 9 hours and almost 85% of it clotted up, only had less than a cup left as a runny milkish product. The cream itself was really thick, I had to pour some the leftover back into it to make it creamy/spreadable, you did say to do this in the recipe and you are correct. The taste is fantastic. I will make this again.
The only hard part was finding the non ultra pasteurized heavy cream. Every normal grocery only had ultra pasteurized but I went to Whole Foods and they had some litely pasteurized, non homogenized heavy cream. WooHoo, I hit the jackpot there, however it was $12 for a half gallon.
I have tried this recipe before with normal store bought heavy cream and it fails, it won’t clot or clots very little. It has to be litely pasteurized/non homogenized heavy cream to clot up correctly.
Overall 5 star rating, the recipe is right on.
Are you supposed to remove the yellowish skin from the top and then skim the thick cream off of the milky bottom layer?
No just mix it through the rest of the skimmed cream. It will incorporate when you stir it all together.