Clotted Cream

Yield:  about 1 c. clotted cream

Ingredients: 2 pints heavy cream, preferably with a high fat content and not ultra pasteurized (try to find Cedar Summit Farms or similar.)

Method: Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Pour the cream into an oven safe pan or dish such that the cream rises one to three inches deep. Cover the pan or dish, and bake for eight to 12 hours, or until the cream has formed a thick, yellow skin. Cool the cream at room temperature, and then refrigerate it for eight hours. Skim the yellow clotted cream from the top and serve. You may use the cream that remains below for baking.  When you serve the clotted cream with your scones, split the scone, dollop the clotted cream on the scone and add a smaller dollop of jam (strawberry is traditional) on top.

Cream Scones

Yield: 8 scones

·         2 c. all purpose flour

·         ¼ c. sugar

·         1 T. baking powder

·         ½ t. salt

·         1 pint (2 c.) very heavy cream

·         2 T. butter, melted

·         1 T. sugar

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients with a fork. Pour in the cream and stir it in with a fork. Give the dough a few gentle kneads with your hand. Transfer the dough to your baking sheet and pat it into a circle roughly 10” in diameter. Cut the circle into eight equal triangles and separate them. Brush the scones with the melted butter and sprinkle them with the sugar. Bake for 17 minutes, or until they spring back a bit when pressed. These scones are best the day they are baked. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Recipe note:  The proportions of cream to flour are correct.  Measure your flour by scooping and leveling.  I use an exceptionally thick cream.  If your cream is thin, begin with 1 ½ cups and add additional cream as needed.  The dough should be very soft.  You can increase sugar to ½ cup and add 1 cup blueberries (fold in very gently); or increase sugar to half a cup and add ½ cup dried cranberries with 1 tbs. grated orange zest.  Top with the tablespoon of sugar and bake as directed.  Serve with clotted cream and jam, recipe to follow.