How to Make Clotted Cream

 In literature , one always reads of elaborate tea scenes with Devonshire Cream. The authors always make it sound so appetizing. In the United States your don't see it so much except for small little jars in some groceries which I have seen both in and out of the refrigerator. That unrefrigerated ones always freaked me out , and thus I stayed away from it.

 So the other day I was killing time before meeting Certain Someone for dinner. I stopped by Pastoral, an artisnal cheese shop off the Mag Mile and browsed through there selections. A magazine caught my eye called Culture. Imagine a whole magazine devoted to cheese. I purchased a copy and was tranfixed by both the articles and the advertisements. They actually had recipes to make your Feta and such. I found a cheesemaking supply company and ordered on their kits to make my own Camembert. Click to left on the sidebar to see what else they have to offer. Yes. thats coming down the line. Patience. I decided to look at the magazines web site to find other recipes, and I found a recipe that intriqued me . Home Made Clotted Cream. Its not as hard as you would think.

 So what is Clotted Cream,  some of you may ask? It's

divine.A thick almost butter like cream with little yellow clots from the crust formed while the cream rises to the top, while being  processed over 12 hours. The recipe calls for a double boiler type set up as you heat the cream on a very low heat for 12 hours, cool, then allow to set overnight in the fridge while not upsetting the crust formation on top. I used the leftover cream that was left after the crust formed, to bake my scones that morning.So this a project that you need to stay home for and check on your stove top. The taste is almost like caramel. One slathers it on scones with jam or can use it in other desserts. The origins of the Dairy jewel is from South west England in both Devon and Cornwall. Of course the dairy there has a distinctive taste that makes it unique.

 In the United States is hard to find unpasteurized milk or cream unless you have access to a trusted dairy farm. Living in the city , I don't. Some people say your cream cant be pasteurized to be true Cornish clotted Cream.. Mine was . The recipe I used stated as long it wasn't Homogenized or Ultra Homogenized. So consider this the American version of Clotted Cream. 

With Easter coming up, dainty Spring High Teas, Summer garden parties, mix up a bath of this delightful cream. I just want to gobble it up with strawberries. But in the meanwhile I'm content with some blueberry scones. For the full recipe with step by step photos, click here.