Clotted cream is something that has never really become a thing in the US. Most people here don't know what clotted cream is, unless they have put it on scones in the UK. It may be because there isn't really a tea time here in the US. Or maybe because the scones here tend to be overly sweet and don't really need anything put on them. My theory is that the name clotted cream just isn't that appealing to Americans. Maybe it needs a re-branding to something like "yummy cream" because that might make everyone see how delicious it is, and that and we should put it on everything! This clotted cream recipe is incredibly easy and only requires one ingredient, a slow cooker, and time.
What is clotted cream?
Clotted cream is a thick, luxurious cream that you make by heating heavy cream until the fat separates from the cream. You then scrape off the fat layer from the top, and that is the clotted cream. It is thicker than butter, and has a slightly nutty, but somewhat sweet flavor to it. In the UK they traditionally put it on scones, but you can put it on lots of things.
How can I make clotted cream at home?
Clotted cream is actually really simple to make at home, but it requires a lot of time. You only need one ingredient to make clotted cream, and that ingredient is heavy cream. You make clotted cream by slowly heating the heavy cream for approximately 8-10 hours, and the refrigerating it for another 6-8 hours. For this clotted cream recipe you only need to pour the heavy cream into a slow cooker, turn it onto the lowest setting (its best if you have a "warm" setting for this) and let it cook. I find its easiest to do this overnight, but you can do it anytime.
What kind of heavy cream do I use to make clotted cream?
Traditionally clotted cream uses unpasteurized cream, but that cant really be found in the US. The best we can find here is pasteurized heavy cream, but most stores have mainly ultra-pasteurized heavy cream. For this recipe it is best to try to find pasteurized heavy cream. It may be easiest to find at places like Whole Foods, but I did find it at a local grocery store. You just need to do your best to find pasteurized rather than ultra-pasteurized.
What if I can only find ultra-pasteurized heavy cream?
I have tried this recipe both ways, using pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized heavy cream. The good news is that despite what I have read elsewhere, you can absolutely make clotted cream using ultra-pasteurized heavy cream. Heres the difference, the clotted cream using the ultra-pasteurized heavy cream doesn't get as thick and it ends up being a little looser than if you use pasteurized heavy cream. But you still achieve a similar result, the flavor is the same, and it tastes heavenly either way. So don't let only being able to find ultra-pasteurized heavy cream stop you from trying this recipe!
Slow Cooker Clotted Cream
Easy recipe for clotted cream using a slow cooker
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 14 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Cuisine: english
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Pour the heavy cream into the inner pot of your slow cooker. Set the temperate to the slow cookers lowest temperature, usually "warm" or "low." It should be cooking at around 180°F (82°C). If you cook it much higher than this the cream will burn and you wont get the desired result.
- Cover and cook for 8-10 hours. When it is done it will have developed a film at the top and become a darker cream color and be slightly brown around the edges. It will still be pretty thin when it is done cooking, it gets thick while cooling.
- Gently remove the inner pot from the slow cooker, trying not to allow too much movement of the cream or the liquid part will break through and you will get less clotted cream. Let the pot cool to room temperature, and then gently place the pot into the refrigerator to cool for 6-8 hours.
- Once the top layer of cream is solid use a spoon to gently pull up the thick layer of clotted cream at the top and place this in a separate container. There will still be liquid in the bottom of the pot, and you can use that later as cream to make scones or for anything else you need cream in. Gently stir the container of clotted cream to make it creamy. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, but warm it to room temperature before using it for the best flavor and texture.
