What Is Clotted Cream, Really?

Clotted cream is not simply thick cream, and treating it as such is the quickest way to disappoint your guests. Properly made, it is a cooked cream with a fat content of at least 55 per cent, which is why it sits on a scone like butter rather than sliding off. The process is gentle and slow: rich cream is heated and held at a low temperature until the fat rises and forms a thick, golden crust, or "clot", on the surface. Beneath that crust lies a dense, spoonable layer the colour of pale butter.

The flavour is faintly nutty, slightly sweet and far richer than double cream. A single generous spoonful is usually enough. If you are buying it, look for a deep yellow top and a firm set. If the surface is patchy or the cream beneath is loose, it has been rushed. Cornish and Devonshire versions differ mainly in method and texture, but both should taste of dairy, not sugar.

The Cornish and Devon Debate

Ask a room of Britons how to assemble a cream tea and you will start an argument that has run for a century. The difference is purely about order:

• Cornish method: a split scone, then jam, then a dollop of clotted cream on top.
• Devon method: a split scone, then clotted cream spread like butter, then jam on top.

The Cornish argument is practical. Jam is easier to spread on a bare scone, and the cream sits proudly on top where you can see it. The Devon argument is structural: cream first creates a butter-like barrier that stops the jam soaking into the scone, keeping the crumb from going soggy.

Both work. My honest advice is to try it both ways and choose the one that pleases you, then defend it loudly for the rest of your life. What matters far more than order is proportion. Too much cream and you taste nothing else. Too little and the scone is dry. A heaped teaspoon of cream to a level teaspoon of jam, per half, is a sensible starting point.

Choosing the Right Jam

Strawberry is the traditional choice and raspberry is its closest rival, with blackcurrant and blackberry appearing in late summer. Whatever you choose, the jam must be thick enough to hold its shape on the spoon. Runny jam bleeds into the scone and turns the whole business into a mess.

Look for a jam with visible fruit and a set that wobbles rather than pours. A good strawberry conserve, slightly seeded and not over-sweetened, is ideal. Avoid anything marketed as a "dessert" jam or flavoured with vanilla, chocolate or chilli. Save those for toast. If you are making your own, use equal weights of fruit and sugar with a squeeze of lemon, and boil until a chilled plate test wrinkles.

Building a Proper Cream Tea

Start with the scone. It should be fresh, or refreshed in a low oven for five minutes, and still warm. Cold scones are a common failure. Split it gently with your fingers rather than sawing at it with a knife, which crushes the crumb and makes the whole thing crumble.

Then layer according to your allegiance, and eat it with your hands. A fork is for people who have given up. Serve strong tea alongside, brewed for three to four minutes, with milk added after the tea and sugar offered but never assumed. A pot of Assam or a robust English breakfast blend stands up well to the cream without being drowned by it.

If you are making a batch for guests, allow one scone per person, plus one spare. There is always one more person than you expect, and the spare never goes to waste.

Making Clotted Cream at Home

It is straightforward, but it takes time and you must not rush it. You need a shallow ovenproof dish and a lot of good cream. Double cream works best; avoid anything ultra-heat-treated, which sets poorly.

• Pour the cream into a shallow dish to a depth of about 4 cm.
• Place in an oven at 80°C for 12 hours, uncovered. Do not stir it.
• Remove and cool at room temperature for two hours.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight until firm.
• Skim the thickened top layer into a bowl, leaving the thin liquid beneath for baking.

Expect roughly half the volume of cream you started with. The flavour will be softer and fresher than shop-bought, and it keeps for around five days covered in the fridge.

Small Things That Make a Big Difference

Take the cream out of the fridge twenty minutes before serving. Cold mutes the flavour and makes it hard to spread. Warm your plates if the room is chilly. Keep jam in a small dish with its own spoon rather than digging into a jar at the table.

Finally, resist the urge to pile everything high. A cream tea is a study in restraint: good scone, good jam, good cream, good tea. Get those four right and the order matters much less than the argument suggests.