Recipe: Devonshire or Clotted Cream and Americanized Clotted Cream

DEVONSHIRE OR CLOTTED CREAM
Source: The Joy of Cooking, 1973 ed.

In winter, let fresh cream stand 12 hours; in summer, about 6 hours, in a heatproof dish. Put the cream on to heat--or on the back of a peat or well-insulated iron coal stove--the slower the heat the better. It must never boil, as this will coagulate the albumen and ruin everything. When small rings or undulations form on the surface, the cream is sufficiently scalded. Remove at once from heat and store in a cold place for 12 hours. Then skim the thick, clotted cream and serve it very cold, as a garnish for berries.

AMERICANIZED CLOTTED CREAM
Adapted from source: Carol Rasmussen, Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1985

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Heat cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat just until it barely begins to form steam. Immediately reduce heat to medium-low.

After a while, the cream will form a thin membrane or crust. Underneath, the cream will be gently boiling, forming lots of tiny bubbles that do not break through the membrane. Keep lowering the heat as needed to prevent the crust from being broken. DO NOT STIR. Let the cream cook down slowly until it measures about 1 2/3 cups, including crust.

If the cream rises up and upon falling the crust breaks, moderate the heat so that a thin film will form immediately and patch the crack.

Pour cream and crust into bowl, cover and let stand on counter for 2-3 hours, or until cooled to room temperature. Refrigerate 12 hours.

Cut crust into small pieces and fold into mixture. It should be spoonable, yet have a creamy, pudding-like texture. Spoon lavishly onto any hot bread or toast.

Certain basic principles stand out if you want to make your own facsimile of Devon cream:

- The cream can be cooked in a thick, good pot directly on the heat. No double boiler is necessary, if the heat is kept low enough.

- A thin crust should cover the cooking cream at all times. The cream forms lots of bubbles as it gently boils, but they should not break through the surface film. If they do, the fissure will immediately mend with a barely visible thin film--if the temperature is modest.

- Do not stir.

- The cream takes about 1 hour to reduce from 2 cups to 1 2/3 cups.

- If you reduce the cream by boiling hard, as is usual, its texture will become too thick upon cooling and it will turn grainy and taste strongly of milk sugar. The English variety was not sweet at all. Just wonderfully rich.

The cream keeps for weeks, covered, in the refrigerator. The texture of this Americanized version was not altered by the second 12-hour chilling.