Clotted cream is thick, pale gold, and somewhere between whipped cream and butter in texture. It is spooned rather than poured, holds its shape on a knife, and is the reason a British cream tea is worth crossing a county for.
How it is made
Full-cream cow’s milk is left to stand so the cream rises, then heated gently in shallow pans — traditionally in the residual warmth of a cooling oven — for several hours without ever boiling. The cream rises further and thickens, forming a firm golden crust on top. It is then cooled slowly, often overnight, and the clotted layer skimmed off.
The result must contain at least 55% fat to be sold as clotted cream, which is why it behaves nothing like anything else in the dairy aisle. Whipping ordinary cream will not get you there; the transformation is caused by heat, not air.
Devon and Cornwall
Both counties claim it, both produce it, and both are certain the other is doing it wrong. Cornish clotted cream holds Protected Designation of Origin status, meaning it must be made in Cornwall from Cornish milk — a fact Cornwall mentions frequently and Devon finds tiresome.
The rivalry extends to method. The classic Cornish version has a distinctly golden, slightly crusty top; Devon’s is often paler and softer. Whether this reflects genuine technique or county pride depends entirely on who you ask.
The scone question
The order in which cream and jam go on a scone is the most enjoyable food argument in England:
- Devon: cream first, spread like butter, then jam on top.
- Cornwall: jam first, then a spoonful of cream on top.
Both counties regard the other as plainly wrong, and the row flares up nationally every few years whenever a public figure posts the wrong photograph.
What else to put it on
Clotted cream is not confined to scones. It is served with:
- Hot puddings — apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, treacle tart. It melts into them beautifully.
- Fresh strawberries in summer.
- Clotted cream ice cream, made with it rather than served alongside, which is a genuine Cornish speciality and worth seeking out.
- Porridge, in a decadent West Country breakfast.
Getting hold of it
Every British supermarket stocks it, usually in small tubs near the cream. Rodda’s is the dominant Cornish brand and is genuinely good.
Outside Britain it is difficult to find, and American visitors regularly go home and discover there is no substitute. Recipes exist for making it from non-ultra-pasteurised cream in a very low oven over twelve hours, and they work reasonably well — but ultra-pasteurised cream, which is most of what is sold in the United States, will not clot properly.