Small Batch Clotted Cream Recipe (2024)

Thick, rich, and indulgent clotted cream made with just 1 ingredient, heavy cream. Fantastic on scones, clotted cream is easy to make and so much better than the expensive imported brands.

I had my first taste of clotted cream while enjoying high tea in London’s famous department store, Fortnum & Mason several years ago. While I enjoyed everything served to us, from the mini tea sandwiches to the glorious pastries, the highlight for me were the buttery scones and clotted cream.

What Is Clotted Cream?

Clotted cream is a rich and incredibly delicious spreadable form of cream that is often served with scones and jam. It is made by putting high-fat cream into a shallow tray and heating and then cooling the cream. As the cream cools, the fats in the cream rise and form thick lumps, “clots” which are skimmed off and become the clotted cream.

This incredible cream spread originated in the counties of Devon and Cornwall, located in southwest England. Clotted cream is often referred to as Devonshire cream or Cornish cream.

Why This Recipe Works

• It is difficult to find clotted cream in grocery stores outside of England because fresh clotted cream has a very short shelf life. With this easy clotted cream recipe, you can easily make your own to enjoy anytime you like.
• Although it takes quite a lot of time to make clotted cream, the process is very easy. The cream needs to heat in the oven overnight at a very low temperature, for about 12 hours. After this time, it needs to cool for another 12 hours. It is basically a hands-off process, you only need time.
• It’s rich with a silky texture and so incredibly delicious!
• This is a small batch clotted cream recipe that is perfect for those cooking for one or two people.

Ingredient Notes: Pasteurized vs. Ultra-Pasteurized Cream

To make a small batch of clotted cream, you will need:

• Heavy cream: For the very best results, use heavy cream that has not been ultra-pasteurized. Ultra-pasteurized cream has been heated beyond the regular pasteurizing method and then chilled. This gives it a longer shelf life. Ultra-pasteurized cream won’t separate as easily into large curds, but it will still work.
  • However, regular pasteurized milk is not always easy to find, so I experimented with making clotted cream with ultra-pasteurized cream and regular pasteurized cream, and both types WILL WORK. You will just have a greater separation of curds from liquid when using regular pasteurized cream. In fact, we used ultra-pasteurized heavy cream for the photos in this recipe and you can see from the pictures how the clotted cream looks.
  • The types of creams tested were: ultra-pasteurized, grocery-store heavy cream (Harris Teeter), ultra-pasteurized heavy whipping cream that I purchased from my local co-op (Organic Valley), and pasteurized heavy whipping cream purchased from my local creamery.

• A small baking dish: The dish I use most often when making small batches of clotted cream measures 8-inches x 6-inches and has a base area of 38 square inches. I have also used an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking pan with success.

How To Make This Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). Pour the cream into an 8×6 inch oven-safe dish. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 12 hours. I usually put mine in the oven overnight so it is ready in the morning. Some ovens turn off after a certain amount of time, be sure to check your manual to make sure yours does not shut off automatically. If it does, set an alarm to turn it back on.

2. After 12 hours, remove the dish from the oven. Notice the yellow surface on top? This is the clotted cream.

3. Allow to cool at room temperature and then cover and put it in the refrigerator for an additional 12 hours for it to set.
4. After 12 hours, remove from the refrigerator and spoon the firm clotted cream into a jar leaving the liquid (whey) behind. The liquid can be used to make scones.

You will notice the lovely cream on the spoon. It should look thick and buttery on top.

The texture of clotted cream is similar to creme fraiche but is even creamier and slightly sweeter.

You can serve the clotted cream as is, straight from the pan or you can stir the curds together to get a lighter, whiter look.

As you can see from the photos above, the cream from both the ultra-pasteurized and pasteurized cream looks almost identical.

Expert Tips

• You will need to make sure that your oven does not turn off automatically. Some ovens turn off after a certain amount of time, be sure to check your manual to make sure yours does not shut off. If it does, set an alarm to turn it back on.
• This recipe can be doubled if you would like to make a larger batch of clotted cream. Be sure to use a larger baking dish if you double the ingredients. A 9×13-inch dish would be perfect.
• Save the liquid that is left in the bottom of the dish after you’ve made the clotted cream. Consider using it in place of milk in a scone recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Small Batch Scone Recipes

You might like to spread your homemade clotted cream over any of these delightful scone recipes:

• Peach Scones
• Cranberry Orange Scones
• Apple Cinnamon Scones
• Triple Chocolate Scones
• Strawberry Scones
• Lemon Scones

If you’ve tried this small batch clotted cream or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.

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