I have always loved afternoon tea although I actually drink coffee instead of tea. I love the whole ceremony with which the fresh scones and butter and jam are placed in front of you with a flourish, on a tiered stand. The best part of the actual eating is the thick rich clotted cream which is such an integral part of the whole thing and this led me to trying out different recipes for clotted cream at home.
Clotted cream is very rich and has an extremely high fat content, which is probably why it tastes so delicious. Both Devon and Cornwall – counties in the South West of England – are famous for their thick cream, which is mainly produced on farms, and in small dairies. The most famous of all is clotted cream which achieves its thick clotted texture by heating cream of high-fat breed cows, such as the Jersey type, in pans, traditionally made of copper but latterly stainless steel, to about 190°f and allowing it to cool slowly.
The cream is usually packed in shallow trays a few inches deep and forms a yellow crusty surface. The consistency is thick and heavy, almost like treacle, and is traditionally served by scooping the cream out into cups or small cartons. In the farmhouses, the pans were heated crudely over a fire or stove and the cream was rich in acid and aroma-producing bacteria. At home there are three main methods of making clotted cream:
- The oven method
- The double boiler method
- The stovetop method
The slow cooker method is the least labour intensive of all techniques. Essentially, you put some cream in your slow cooker, turn it on, and walk away for eight hours; it is as easy as that. There is no one recipe for clotted cream, although the important thing to remember is that no matter the recipe, clotted cream is best made with the highest quality cream. Some slow cookers run hotter than others, so you may find that your particular model cooks faster or slower than what is recommended in the recipe. It is recommended that you check your cream every 2 hours to see how it’s looking.
- Pour heavy cream into the vessel of your slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, and then set it to the “warm” setting and let sit for 3 hours. Do not stir!
- Gently remove the crock from the slow cooker, being very careful not to move the cream around and agitate the fragile top layer. Allow the cream to come to room temperature, and then slide the crock into your refrigerator to sit for 8 hours.
- Once the top layer is solid, use a slotted spoon to gently skim the thick layer of clotted cream from the surface.
The only problem is that trying out different recipes for clotted cream and different methods leads to a lot of “just tasting!” and this in turn leads to an expanding waistline. Still, at least the taste is worth it.
Kellys Clotted Cream Ice Cream UK 