Clotted Cream Recipe

​If you are new to making your own dairy products, this clotted cream recipe couldn’t be simpler and doesn’t require any fancy tools or cultures. 

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What is clotted cream?

Cream is poured in a shallow pan and heated at a low temperature for a long time. The cream further separates itself and the fattiest (and most delicious) bits of cream form a thick layer, almost butter-like on the top.

This is skimmed off and stirred up to make a thick creamy/butter/ wonderful treat you can use to put on fruit, pancakes, baked goods, etc. It takes minimal effort and it is one of the most delicious things you can make.

Where is Clotted Cream Popular?

Shockingly the first time I ever had clotted cream was in the United States when I was working at a vegetable farm. They had a milk cow so we had all sorts of cream and my friend suggested we make it.

I say this was shocking because I lived in England for five months and never encountered it. England, specifically southern England, is where it is said to have gained popularity and originated from.

There is debate whether it came from Devon or Cornwall, so you might also hear it referred to as Cornish Cream of Devonshire Cream.  I lived in the North of England so maybe it just wasn’t as big a thing there.

You are likely to enjoy it on homemade scones or a biscuit, topped with strawberry jam during afternoon tea. 

What does clotted cream taste like?

The best way I can describe it, is sort of like a mildly sweet creme brulee. As you bake the cream the top layer lightly caramelizes, which brings out the natural sugars in the milk. It gives it a depth of flavor sort of like when you brown butter. It’s almost like ice cream, cream cheese, and brown butter had a baby and this is the result. 

Does it take a long time to make clotted cream?

Yes. While it is unbelievably simple to make, this is a slow process. It takes in total 20 hours of sitting around until it is ready to eat.

Can I Buy Clotted Cream?

You won’t find clotted cream in most grocery stores. However, you can sometimes buy it from specialty stores or here on Amazon. Personally though, I shy away from dairy products that are shelf-stable. Just seems a little odd to me. 

How to Make Homemade Clotted Cream

I’m going to share with you the oven method for making clotted cream. I’ll touch on slow cookers later on, but you truly get the real thing using the oven. 

Ingredients

• Four Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

This can be freshly skimmed from your cow or bought at a store. I haven’t used ultra-pasteurized cream before, but I believe it will still work fine for this.

Equipment 

• 13×9 baking pan- Preferably a thick-bottomed glass pan, though another large-bottomed baking dish will also work. We are looking to maximize surface area. 

• Airtight container for storing the final product
• Spoons for Stirring
• Whisk for whipping (optional)

Make the Clotted Cream

Before bed, pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

​Pour four cups of cream into the glass pan.

Place it in the oven and allow it to bake for 12 hours.

The next day, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature.

You will notice the thickened cream is on the top. It may have an almost flakey layer that is yellow or golden brown. That is the caramelized part, and soooo good!

Once cooled, place it in the fridge for eight hours. 

Next, use spoons to scoop the thick surface layer from the milky bottom layer. 

Keep that leftover liquid for use in other recipes or even just for drinking. It takes on that nutty flavor from the clotted cream so it is absolutely delicious. I used the remaining liquid to make these biscuits. 

Place the scooped cream into your storage container or a mixing bowl.

Here is where you can make your own call as to how you like the texture. True clotted cream is stirred until smooth like butter. I like mine kind of fluffy and bits of caramelized top dispersed throughout, but still kind of lumpy.

Either way, stir it to your desired consistency. If you find it is too thick or lumpy add in some of the leftover milk a spoonful at a time, stirring after each addition.

Storing Clotted Cream 

Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and use within a week. It has a pretty short shelf life but trust me, this won’t be a problem. 

I haven’t ever frozen it myself (I always eat it before I’d need to) but you could certainly try. Let me know in the comments if you do! 

How to Use Clotted Cream

I’ll be honest. I just eat this stuff by the spoonful. It is so.good. 

However, Here are a few other ways you might enjoy it.

• With fresh strawberries or other fresh fruit.
• My family loves it on waffles or french toast to replace butter, then drizzled in maple syrup
• Spread on a biscuit with raspberry jam
• Scooped onto a warm scone

Making it in a Slow Cooker

The only trouble with clotted cream is we tend to have a lot of cream on hand when the weather is hot as blazes. Who wants their oven running all night when it is 90 degrees outside? 

Crockpot

You can make clotted cream in a slow cooker, but please proceed with caution. My crockpot boils things on low for goodness sake, which certainly would be too hot for this.

If you want to make it in the crockpot, you’ll need to do a temperature test to see how hot it gets. I would add water to the crockpot and leave it on high for a few hours and see how warm it gets. 

Instant Pot

As to an instant pot, yes you can.

You have the ability to use a temperature control to keep it from getting too hot.

One negative of the instant pot is you have less surface area, so you’ll have less caramelization of the milk fat and won’t get that nutty flavor.

For best results I say keep it in the oven.

Ways to Flavor the Cream

I like clotted cream just as it is, but you can also add in some other flavors to spruce it up! Here are some mix-ins I think are a good idea.

• Honey
• Maple Syrup
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla
• Dash of almond extract

Is Clotted Cream Pasteurized?

If raw dairy makes you a little nervous the good news is, the process of baking it actually pasteurizes it!

I have a whole article about pasteurizing milk at home so you can learn more about it here.

The gist of it is, if milk is heated to a minimum of 145 F for thirty minutes it becomes pasteurized. 

More Great Recipes for Homemade Dairy

• Milk Kefir
• Mozzarella
• Feta
• Yogurt with No Yogurt Maker or Insta-Pot