16^th century

Clotted Cream

Clotted cream is one of the most wonderful things that milk can produce. I remember vividly the first time I tasted this delightful mix between butter and sweet thick cream.

The earliest recipe I could find came from Thomas Dawson’s The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin, written in 1594. In the olden days it was called Clouted Cream, referring to the clouted top. The clouted top develops when warming fresh milk for hours: recipes usually state to use the cow’s morning milk and warm it till the evening when a crust develops on the top. It is that crust that is so distinctive to this cream.

When you have taken the milke from the Kine, straight set it on the fire, but see that your fyre be without smoake, and soft fire, and so keepe it on from morning till it be night, or nigh thereabout, and ye muste be sure that it doeth not seeth all that while, and ye muste let your milke be set on the fyre, in as broad a vessell as you can. Then take it from the fire, and set it vpon a board, and let it stande al night: then in the morning take off the cream, and put it in a dish or where ye wil.

Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin, 1594

Recipes through the ages vary little: the pot of milk is placed on the embers or a small fire and the milk is either left alone until a crust develops, or a hole is made in the skin and cream is poured in and then the mixture is left to develop a crust. It is quite simple to make clotted cream with modern methods, we just have to keep the cream warm for a very long time and, luckily, we have safe ovens for that.

Not only is clotted cream an essential part of the English afternoon tea, it is also used in baking and in ice cream. Imagine that: buttery clotted cream ice cream, it should be illegal! In fact, in many places, it is. I prefer to use unpasteurised cream that I get from a local farm, but I strongly advise that you do not use raw cream or milk if you cannot be certain of the source or if you are unwell. It is illegal to sell or give unpasteurised products for consumption by humans in many places. Pasteurised cream will work but produces less clotted cream.

To be successful you need to know your oven. It really needs to be precisely 80°C (175°F) to work, as a higher temperature will colour the clouted top too much and will not leave you with clotted cream. A lower temperature will not work either. To prevent disappointment, you can measure the temperature in your oven with an oven thermometer if you have one.

1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) thick (double) cream

Preheat the oven to 80°C (175°F).

Pour the cream into a shallow roasting tin or tins to a depth of about 2 cm (¾ inch). Set the tins in the middle of the oven for 9–10 hours. Remove the cream from the oven and stand in a cool place for another 10–12 hours. The fridge is allowed if you have the space.

Don’t be alarmed if the cream is very runny underneath; this is normal. Think of it as being similar to butter, which is also runny when warm. Just put in a cold place or the fridge and forget about it for the time being.

After 10–12 hours, scoop off the yellow crust or ‘clouted cream’ with a spoon, put it into a clean airtight container and refrigerate before use.

Any leftover runny cream can be used for other cooking.