Living thousands of miles away and a yearning for fresh clotted cream easily justifies the reasons for wanting to making it myself. And if you’re familiar with traditional English cream teas (in England), you know what I am talking about. This cooked cream is a luxurious and decadent buttery treat that’s heavenly when spread over freshly baked scones topped with sweet preserves. Of course, you don’t have to stop at scones, clotted cream is also delicious served with warm or cold sweet tarts, baked puddings and lightly poached fruits such as figs.
With no accesses to a dairy farm I have used the freshest cream available from our local supermarkets. I knew the process of making clotted cream was simple but not using the right cream might pose a problem. Carried out a google search and as expected found some variations and contradictions as too what you should and shouldn’t do. So this is my humble attempt to create and satisfy a longing by making clotted cream at home and if you have any tips or other information please do share.
Managed to find two brands of fresh cream to work with. The first was Awal (local) fresh whipping cream (minimum 36% fat) and the second, Country Life (imported) (50% fat) double cream. Both creams are pasteurized and are not ultra heat-treated (UHT), but the Awal whipping cream did mentioned added stabilizers on the tub. Apparently you cannot make clotted cream with UHT cream… but then again there were others who said you could. Both creams clotted, but there were differences.
After twelve hours in the oven the Awal whipping cream had thickened with a golden-yellow crust forming on top. And when left to cool and chill completely, thickened further. When removing the clotted cream from the dish into jars I noticed the cream nearer the bottom was not as thick (maybe because of the stabilizers) so I left this behind, so as not to dilute the thickness of the clotted cream. It was soft enough to use straight from the fridge.
After twelve hours in the oven the Country Life double cream was very thick and had set all the way through. And when refrigerated was quite firm. So you might need to leave the clotted cream at room temperature for about 5 to 8 minutes to soften if you want to scoop spoonfuls over desserts.
In a nutshell… pleased with the results of both clotted creams. However, the Country Life double cream produced a much firmer clotted cream with a silkier and buttery texture and had a nuttier flavor over the Awal whipping cream which was softer and creamier in texture. And you can guess which was the more fattening one!
When cooking the cream a low oven temperature is important, use an oven thermometer if you feel your temperature gauge is not very reliable. The clotted cream should never brown at any stage. Leaving the cream to cook for twelve hours thickens it, forms the golden-yellow crust on top and gives the clotted cream a slight nutty flavor. You also need to use a dish with a wide surface area and the cream no more than one inch deep in the dish, some tips I picked up while watching this video on clotted cream. A 300ml pot of cream makes almost three-quarters a cup of clotted cream, double up the recipe if you need more.
Clotted cream is delicious with lightly poached figs and I have use dried hibiscus flowers for its color and tart cranberry like flavor to balance the sweetness of the honey. If you can’t find hibiscus you could try a sprig or two of fresh rosemary or add a little lavender for different flavors.
Homemade Clotted Cream with Fresh Poached Figs
Ingredients:
fresh cream with a fat content of 36% to 50%
For poached fruit:
6 fresh figs, quartered
3 to 4 tablespoons of honey
juice of half an orange
1 tablespoon of dried hibiscus flowers
You will need a shallow Pyrex or ceramic dish with a wide surface area.
How to make:
Pre-heat the oven to 180°F/80°C/70°C Fan oven/Gas Mark 1/2.
Pour the cream into the dish filling no more than one inch deep. Place the dish (uncovered) into the oven for twelve hours. When done a yellowish crust will have formed over the surface and depending on the brand of cream used it should have thickened. The clotted cream should never brown, this means the oven temperature is running high and will spoil the results.
Remove the clotted cream from for the oven and when cool, cover and leave in the fridge 6 to 8 hours to set and thicken further. Spoon the clotted cream into clean jars or containers, cover and store in the fridge until needed. Keeps for about four days.
To poach the fruit:
Using a medium saucepan, add the honey, orange juice and dried hibiscus. Over a low heat cook for about 3 minutes and until you draw some of the color and flavor from the dried hibiscus. Add the figs and gently coat with the syrup and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and place the figs with the syrup into a bowl to cool. Remove and discard the dried hibiscus before serving. Divide the figs between 3 or 4 serving plates and place a small dollop of clotted cream on top. Serve immediately.
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I am so glad you posted your experiments. So far I have only seen UHT cream here in Greece, but I have yet to explore the larger supermarkets. Scones with jam and clotted cream are favourites, so it might also be worth experimenting here.
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Debi, hope you are settling well into life in Greece. I haven’t tried UHT cream but some have said it worked… if you experiment do let me know 🙂
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Thanks so much for posting your experiences with clotted cream, something that has been on my To Do list for months – you just moved me a step closer 🙂
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It was on my to do list too. Katherine, hope you give the clotted cream a go and maybe you too can share your experience 🙂
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Oh Moya, my waistline! I looove clotted cream and lucky for me it’s tricky to find locally, i know I will succumb to your recipe!
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I have to think of my waistline too Sandra but on special occasions you can be forgiven 🙂
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Really good to know, although I probably can’t get my hands on either brand, being in the US! I have purchased little jars from IGourmet.com, but my, they were so expensive for like 2 ounces! Beautiful photos.
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I don’t know about US brands Mimi but I am sure someone might supply fresh pasteurized cream with a good fat content. Yes, they do charge quite a price for some of those little jars of clotted cream 🙂
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This is a recipe that I have always wanted to try! We get our milk straight from a farm. I wonder if it would work if I skimmed the cream off the milk.
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Laila, you sure can. I am sure this is how it was originally made.
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Laila using milk from the farm would be perfect, but not sure how much milk you would need to have enough cream. I know there is a Turkish version that is similar, where you put the whole milk into a shallow pan and follow the same instruction. The cream will rise to the surface and clot. And when cooled and set you skim off the clotted cream called Kaymak. It is traditionally done with buffalo milk but also cows milk is used too. You might want to look into that too 🙂
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Moya, you are a devil. This must be so delicious and sooooo fattening. I have never tried to make clotted cream. Now I know how. Thanks.
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It is Glenda… but don’t tell anyone. I have been wanting to make clotted cream for ages and now that I have it wont be the last. But I will keep this for special occasions and make sure I share the calories with others 🙂 Would love to have milk straight from a farm like Laila.
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Moya, I would love a cow but balk at the responsibility of looking after another being or two. Three dogs are enough 🙂
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Me too Glenda and apart from not having enough room would have to provide air conditioning throughout the summer too 🙂
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I also make my own clotted cream – such a pleasure as we don’t get the ‘real’ stuff here 🙂
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Yes I am glad I decided to make clotted cream Tandy and will definitely make it again. 🙂 Have you ever tried it using UHT cream?
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Thanks for this recipe! I love your blog!
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Your welcome Zirkie, its pretty easy to do but keeps your oven busy for awhile 🙂
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