I have had making clotted cream on my ‘to do’ list since I saw it made on an ‘Edwardian farming’ programme on the BBC last year and when invited along to bring ‘peasant chic quirky picnic food with a story’ to a photo shoot for the new Irish Country Magazine of the Irish Farmers Journal, I thought I’d attempt to make some as the perfect accompaniment to my spot o dick fruit bread and homemade raspberry jam.
I made 3 batches, varying each slightly and this was what worked the best.
- I took about a gallon and a half of milk straight from the jar in the milking parlour so it was warm. (yes, it is made with raw milk). I poured it into a large roasting dish so it was about 3 inches in depth.
Leave for 12 hours. Bring to 75 degrees and keep at 75 degrees for an hour. (I simply covered it with a large plastic chopping board that had a hole for the handle and inserted the thermometer there. I heated it very slowly on two hob rings. The slower it comes to 75 degrees the better the result).- Then leave it in a cool place for 12 hours. The cream comes to the top and forms a very wrinkled surface.
- I then put it in the fridge to cool down more for an hour before removing the cream.
- The ladies on the BBC programme had a huge perforated ladle to remove the cream (almost as big as a dinner plate). I used a fish slice! I then put it into the fridge and removed it before I left but I’d suggest letting it sit at room temperature for an hour or so before using it.
And here’s a picture of it at the picnic – Irish clotted cream 
By the way, if you would like to see more photos of the food at the picnic, do have a look at my Garrendenny Lane blog.
And if you would like the recipe for elderflower cordial, you’ll also find it here on the Garrendenny Lane blog.
Pingback: Irish Country Magazine Picnic Photoshoot | Garrendenny Lane Interiors
Am definitely going to have to make this Lorna… love it! And always thought it was just a southern English thing… but now we can have an Irish version!
LOVE this post. I adore proper clotted cream. It is perfect on scones with a bit of strawberry jam!
I think this would be certainly worth the effort to make, as I see it constantly on foodie programmes. Home-made scones and a jam – heavenly
Not so good for the hips unfortunately, but yes, gorgeous
Immensely enterprising, Lorna – it had never occurred to me to even wonder how it was made. I wish I were there to try some!
Didn’t you once make it by putting it into the oven or is it yoghurt I’m thinking of? Apparently you can make it with pasteurised cream by slow heating it in a jar in the oven but this is the real McCoy
Irish clotted cream 
Pingback: Paying it Forward – Liebster Blog Award « Follow the Food Link
Pingback: My Spotted Dick is famous! | Irish Farmerette
Can I ask what you did with what was left in the pan, is it whey?
Also if you used a gallon and a half of milk how much cream did you get?
Do you think you could make this in smaller batches, and could you use cream instead?
Thanks
I got a (cereal bowl sized) heaped bowl of cream and I’d probably have got a bit more if I’d used a better ladle. I definitely got more by putting it in the fridge for a while too, helped to solidify it more before I removed it.
Lorna
I’m not sure if the remains could be called whey or not to be honest, I’d have thought it was just skimmed milk? We have a number of farm cats so I gave it to them
You can use cream instead, I think I saw a recipe somewhere that stated if you leave cream in the oven overnight with it barely on, that it becomes clotted.
You could make it in smaller batches, I don’t see why not.
I hope that helps