Comparing Recipes for Clotted Cream with an Old Friend

Competition is often strongest among people who have a history between them, such as old friends, siblings and ex-spouses. This can lead to each party trying to outdo the other in order to be the winner, often going to extreme lengths. Last month I met an old friend and as we sat catching up, the conversation turned to the summer we had spent in the south west of England. It was here that we had discovered the recipe for clotted cream and had spent a lot of time perfecting it.

If you are one of those people who struggle to correctly follow a recipe clotted cream is one of the simplest things to make. There are various recipes for clotted cream which are available and most of them are very easy to follow. My friend and I had tried out different ones over the years and now we sat there comparing which ones had worked out the best.

Clotted cream has been around for such a long time but some people have never even heard about it, let alone tried it. For the uninitiated, the first taste can seem to be a taste of heaven, or feel too rich and heavy, depending on the individual preferences. Clotted cream produced commercially in Devon Cornwall and Somerset England. It is a thick, rich, yellowish cream with a scalded or cooked flavour that is made by heating unpasteurized milk until a thick layer of cream forms on its surface. The milk is then cooled and the layer of cream is skimmed off. Clotted cream has 55-60 per cent fat content and is so thick it does not need to be whipped.

If you do decide to try out a recipe for clotted cream at home, then begin by taking unpasteurized cream and letting it stand for about 12 hours (during the winter months) or 6 hours (during the warm summer months). Then to sterilize the cream; place the cream over very low heat (do not boil) until rings form on the surface of the cream. Store in a cold place for at least 12 hours and then skim the thick clotted cream from the surface of the cream. This is the clotted cream and the content that is left can be used in baking instead of being wasted. The clotted cream will keep in the fridge for a few days and make sure that you keep it in an airtight container so that it does not absorb any smells from the fridge.

Using recipes for clotted cream which have been tried and tested is the best way to get good results. The clotted cream that you will end up with should be thick and yellowish in colour. The taste is very rich and it is also a sweet cream. The perfect place to use this is as an accompaniment to homemade scones which are still warm from the oven and served with strawberry jam as an option for the traditional English cream tea.

Asking for an Old Cornish Clotted Cream Recipe from a Local

While I was on holiday in Cornwall last year I became addicted to clotted cream and clotted cream ice cream. Clotted cream is one of the loveliest tastes in the world and I now know why the quintessential English cream tea is so popular that it is considered a tourist attraction. There was one clotted cream icecream recipe which was just heavenly and I just had to ask the lady at the serving counter about how it was made.

I was told that it was an old Cornish clotted cream recipe which was the base for the clotted cream ice cream, and to try and find it out, I would have to speak to the owners of the farm where we were having tea. Deciding to try and find out the recipe, I tried to make inroads with the farmer’s wife by promising that I would not share the recipe with anyone. In the end, even though I did not get the proper Cornish clotted cream recipe, I was given tips and advice on how to make clotted cream at home.

Once you have got the basics right, i.e. you have the perfect clotted cream, then you can use this to make different types of clotted cream ice cream. There are so many different flavours which you can try out, but the most popular ones tend to be the classics such as various types of berries and fruits. Adding fruit to ice cream not only gives you lots of different flavours, it cuts through the richness of the ice cream and makes it a little bit tangier and not as cloyingly sweet.

This is even more so when it comes to ice cream made fro clotted cream as opposed to normal cream. This is because clotted cream is richer and creamier than normal cream and you need something to cut through the creaminess. There are many fruits which are used, such as strawberries, raspberries, mango, blueberries, orange and even lemon curd, which although not a fruit, still has the same effect. Chocolate is also used but somehow this is the one place where chocolate is not the best selling flavour or a particular food type.

The good thing is that clotted cream is very easy to make at home and once you have mastered how to do it, you can use the stuff in other dishes apart from ice cream. If you feel that making clotted cream at home is not your cup of tea, then there are various companies which do sell mass produced clotted cream in the market.

If you decide to buy your clotted cream from a shop rather than making it at home, remember that you really should get the best one that you can afford. This is so that if you decide to make clotted cream ice cream at home, you will get a rich thick creamy taste which should not be too synthetic tasting, and then whatever fruit or flavour you wish to make.

Reading about How To Make Clotted at Home

I was browsing through a pile of old cookbooks in a second hand bookshop last week and can across a small book telling you all about the delights of cream and various ways to use the different types. In these times when people see cream and dairy as the enemy, it was nice to see recipes on how to make clotted cream at home and how to make clotted cream ice cream.

Desserts have always been a part of our family life and my kids do not think that a meal is complete without something sweet to finish it off. This is why I have always tried to make sure that we have something ready for dessert, even if it is just a scoop of ice cream, or some berries and tropical fruit. I decided to buy the book and try out a few of the recipes in it and the first thing that I learned was how to make clotted cream. This is so easy and requires the minimum effort and ingredients. There was also a small section on the history of clotted cream, which was very interesting.

In the 19th century it was regarded as better nourishment than “raw” cream because that cream was liable to go sour and be difficult to digest, causing illness. An article from 1853 calculates that creating clotted cream will produce 25% more cream than regular methods. In Devon, it was so common that in the mid-1800s, it was used in the formative processes of butter, instead of churning cream or milk. The butter made in this way had a longer lifespan and was free from any negative flavours added by the churning.

Traditionally, clotted cream was created by straining fresh cow’s milk, letting it stand in a shallow pan in a cool place for several hours to allow the cream to rise to the surface, then heating it either over hot cinders or in a water bath, before a slow cooling. The clots that had formed on the top were then skimmed off with a long-handled cream-skimmer.

To make at home simply follow the recipe below and enjoy:

Ingredients

• 5 cups heavy cream (not ultra pasteurized)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175°F.
2. Pour the cream into a wide, heatproof bowl and place in the oven. No need to cover. Let it “cook” for 12 hours.
3. Remove the bowl from the oven, cover, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning you will have a bowl that contains 2 layers — one very thick, one, very thin. With a slotted spoon, scoop the thick layer into another bowl or jar. You can eat it immediately, slathered over warm scones, or cover and chill for up to 5 days.

Once you know how to make clotted cream at home, you can make it easily and then use it to make clotted cream ice cream which is also delicious and has a richer taste and creaminess than regular ice cream and you can add different flavours.

Celebrating Excellence – Why Kelly’s of Cornwall is Proud to Fly the Flag for Local Produce

Here at Kelly’s of Cornwall we consider ourselves very lucky. As one of the UK’s leading clotted cream ice cream producers, we know that the quality of our ingredients is everything to us and our customers. Only the best milk and clotted cream goes in to our world-famous clotted cream ice cream – and luckily for us we can source it all in our local area. We’re passionate about our ingredients and here in the south-west we have access to the cream of the crop.

Cornwall has always been famous for its amazing clotted cream – and with good reason. This is a county that has been producing the richest, most luxurious dairy products for centuries and here at Kelly’s of Cornwall we’re proud to be a part of that ongoing tradition.

It means that each one of our range of award-winning clotted cream ice creams is made with lashings of love AND, a huge dollop of local expertise and in-depth knowledge about the source of our products.

Working with Trewithen Dairy, on the edge of Bodmin Moor, means we know exactly where our ingredients have been – including which cows they have come from.

When we say they’re local, we mean they’re local. The dairy is just 22 miles from our Kelly’s of Cornwall HQ meaning the milk and clotted cream we use is as fresh as it gets.

Owned by three generations of dairymen, there isn’t much this family-run operation doesn’t know about dairy produce and in the height of summer they regularly supply us with a staggering 17,000 of best-quality milk to help us meet demand.

To be able to do this, they have an extensive network of 20 trusted, local farmers. The milk we use for our Kelly’s clotted cream ice cream is bought in to them every evening.

It’s then pasteurised, before the cream is taken off and slowly heated in a vat. The rich, luxurious cream is then put into a nine kilo box and chilled – before being delivered straight to our door.

Keeping it local means we can be sure that the people we work with are playing fair too.

Trewithen Dairy has a contract with all of its farmers; offering security for them and us.

They even pay above the market rate for their produce – reflecting the quality and strict welfare standards we insist are always met.

It’s this partnership approach that allows us to support local producers and a regional industry that has world-wide appeal. And working so closely together means we can always deliver what we believe is the UK’s best-tasting clotted cream ice cream.

Combining great produce, amazing natural flavours and hundreds of years worth of heritage means we’re proud to be able to offer a taste that’s truly unique – luscious, local and totally Cornish.

Enjoy a Taste of Luxury with Perfect Cornish Clotted Cream

It’s a Great British favourite that never goes out of fashion. Whether it’s lending the finishing touch to a genteel afternoon tea, providing the perfect accompaniment to a freshly-baked scone or adorning a special dessert, there is something fantastically decadent about Cornish clotted cream We all enjoy it but have you ever tried making it? Just how do you create the perfect clotted cleam? If you’re looking for the real thing then who better to ask than the experts at Kelly’s of Cornwall?

As one of the UK’s oldest producers, they’ve been in the clotted cream and ice cream business for more than a hundred years, they’re understandably proud of their reputation for creating great quality Cornish ice cream.

And that rich heritage means there’s not much they don’t know about this mouth-watering treat. Cornish clotted cream enjoys Protected Designation of Origin status, which means to be considered authentic; it has to be made from milk produced in Cornwall, which has at least 55 per cent fat content.

Kelly’s of Cornwall do that in style. Based in the picturesque area of Bodmin, they use only the finest Cornish clotted cream and milk to create their world-famous frozen treats. All their rich, luxurious tasting ice cream is made using fresh milk supplied by the lovely cows at the local Trewithen Dairy – and using recipes and methods they’ve perfected over decades.

Head of production at Trewithen Dairy explains: “There are two different methods used for making clotted cream. One of them, the Float Cream technique, sees a layer of double cream ‘scalded’ on top of milk which has been heated in trays using either steam or very hot water.

“Once the liquids have been heated up for an hour, they are cooled very slowly – for about half a day – before the cream is separated and packaged up.

“The second method is known as the Scald Cream technique. Here, the milk layer is removed from the first stage of the production process and the layer of cream used all contains a minimum fat level.

“Heating of the cream is carried out in a similar manner to the first method, but it takes place at a lower temperature and it is chilled before packaging.

“Clotted cream manufacturing throughout the south-west is mainly a cottage industry, which sees local farmers and dairies getting heavily involved in the production process. This is why clotted cream is such an important thing to us here at Kelly’s – we want to make sure our ice cream is as Cornish as you can get!”

Whichever method is used, the results are guaranteed to be amazing, creating clotted cream and ice cream that’s as versatile and genuinely Cornish as it is delicious.

Trying out Different Recipes for Clotted Cream is Bad for Your Waistline!

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.

Finding Alternatives to the Rich Taste of Clotted Cream Ice Cream

Most people like to have a small taste of dessert after a meal and there are others, myself included, who will happily skip the meal and move on to the dessert section of a menu with no feelings of guilt whatsoever. One of the best accompaniments to almost any dessert is ice cream and in this area, it is hard to beat the taste of clotted cream ice cream.

Some people find that clotted cream is far too heavy and that clotted cream ice cream is too rich a taste for them to enjoy and so they try to find lighter alternatives. To me this defeats the purpose of eating dessert. I like to feel full after a meal and the rich smooth taste of ice cream is one which lingers on the tongue and the brain for a good while after the eating. In fact, if you buy an ice-cream in Devon or Cornwall it is usual for your ice cream to be topped off with a spoonful of clotted cream.

Clotted cream ice cream recipe

Ingredients

• 500 ml            double cream
• 150 g              caster sugar
• 6 medium       eggs, free-range preferred, yolks only
• 250 g              clotted cream
• ½ tsps.            vanilla extract, or to taste

Method

Place the double cream and about half the sugar and bring gently to a boil. Lower the heat temporarily.

Whisk the yolks and remaining sugar until fairly stiff. Add to the pan, stirring constantly and cook on a moderate heat until the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and allow it to cool until just warm.

Add the clotted cream and vanilla and fold in until well mixed. Pour into a shallow freezer-proof container and freeze for about an hour, Remove and whisk for about 2 minutes and return to freezer. Repeat once more and allow it to freeze until firm.

There are different ways of making clotted cream ice cream, either with the use of an ice cream maker, or by hand. You can look around until you find a clotted cream ice cream recipe which suits you best. There are also so many flavours and textures which can be added to your ice cream but you need to experiment and see which ones are the best for your tastes. I know some people who absolutely love the taste of ginger in their ice cream and feel that it adds a certain spicy taste which cuts through the richness, as does using lemon or orange, but then I also know many people who hate the very thought of adding anything to their ice cream.

No matter if you prefer your clotted cream ice cream plain or flavoured, just enjoy the experience and remember that there is a reason as to why ice cream is the number one favourite dessert with both adults and children alike. Looking for lighter alternatives is fine but I do not think that I personally will be going down that particular road any time soon.

Clotted Cream Can Add Richness to Many Dishes

Clotted cream is one of the most decadent tastes you can encounter and just the thought of eating a spoonful of the creamy treat is enough to make you feel guilty. Clottedcream is a thick cream which is a traditional part of the English afternoon tea, along with warm scones, strawberry jam and a pot of tea. It is often used in the place of butter due to the high fat content of the cream.

Thick, rich and indulgent with the consistency of soft butter, clotted cream is made by heating normal cream to evaporate some of the liquids. It has at least 55 per cent butter fat, giving it a pale yellow colour that is often topped with a deeper yellow crust. It’s traditionally made in Devon and Cornwall and served with scones or desserts or made into ice cream. Clottedcream ice cream is a very popular treat after a meal and is rich and creamy.

It is very easy to make clotted cream at home and once you have got it right, you will never be happy with the readymade alternatives again. You know that you are only using the best ingredients and that you will not be adding any preservatives or other such things. The key to making clotted cream is maintaining a good surface-area to cream ratio. In other words, you want to have as much of the heavy cream exposed to the air as possible, to maximize the amount of cream you get in the end.

You can find many recipes for making clotted cream at home by looking on the internet as well as in traditional cook books and family recipes. The secret is to use a good quality cream to start with, ensuring the fine quality of the finished product. There are also different methods of making clotted cream at home and you will need to experiment to see which is the best for you. Clotted cream has the same Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status as Stilton and Jersey Royal potatoes, effectively giving its name EU-wide protection from potential imitators.

Once you have made your cream you can keep it in the fridge for a few days and use as and when you wish. The best way to serve it is to let it come up to room temperature first and then in small portions. There are also many different recipes which can be enhanced by the use of this rich cream, both sweet and savoury. It can be added to soups to not only thicken the texture but also to add creaminess to the soup.

Apart from using in the making of ice cream and adding to other sweet dishes and cakes, a spoonful of clotted cream will make all the difference to potato dishes and also in places where you would use butter. You will find that the taste is not too overpowering and that the richness is well worth the extra calories you will be adding to the food.

The Heavenly Taste of Clotted Cream Ice Cream is Addictive

There are very few things more quintessentially English than the “cream tea”. This is something which is world famous by now and on the to-do list of almost every tourist to comes to see this “green and pleasant land” of ours. An essential part of this experience is the use of clotted cream to add to the scone you will definitely enjoy.

The cream tea served in English tea rooms, cafes and restaurants constitutes a large pot of tea- although the trend of being able to have coffee, frowned upon by traditionalists, is catching on- a plate of warm scones, usually fruit, or sometimes cherry, strawberry jam and the clotted cream mentioned earlier. The whole experience is very pleasant and especially popular in the summer and in the south of England.

Clotted cream (sometimes called clouted cream or Devonshire cream) is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow’s milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms ‘clots’ or ‘clouts’. It can be used as an accompaniment to hot or cold desserts. Clotted cream, especially from Devon, where it is less yellow due to lower carotene levels in the grass, is regularly used in baking, and in the making of fudge.

Clotted cream is used in some savoury dishes and a spoonful can work wonders in mashed potato, risotto, or with sautéed garlic mushrooms or scrambled eggs, where it lends a certain creaminess and velvety smoothness, since it is a cross between butter and whipped cream.

If clotted cream is delicious, then just imagine how delicious would be anything made from this delicacy? One of the most popular products made from it is clotted cream ice cream, or clotted ice cream for short. This is a very popular flavour and is luxurious to eat since the ice cream is soft but rich and although on the heavy side, it is not cloying. Some people have taken to adding fruit to clotted cream ice cream to alter the flavour even more and this often works out well as the tanginess of the fruit will cut through the richness of the clotted cream.Although the most popular fruit flavour of clotted ice cream is strawberry, you can use blackberries, raspberries, mango, ginger and just about any flavour you wish.

The one downside to clotted cream ice cream is the fact that there are so many calories in each mouthful that it can feel quite sinful when you are eating it and this will make people feel guilty enough to limit themselves to just a spoonful- not so good for the clotted cream industry. I personally enjoy the odd scoop of this heavenly taste but I have to admit that it is hard to stop at just a little bit as it is so addictive and moreish, as for the cream teas; well I never yet met one that I didn’t like!