Name: Instant Pot Clotted Cream Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 h 10 min
Total time: 1 d 15 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 quart pasteurized heavy or whipping cream (NOT ultra pasteurized - see note)

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This Instant Pot clotted cream (AKA Devonshire cream) is shockingly easy to make at home with my simple recipe! It’s a delicious British condiment that’s perfect for spreading on scones.

Have you ever had the pleasure of savoring a warm scone with clotted cream and jam on top? It’s something everyone should try at least once in their life, IMO.

But if you don’t live in a country where clotted cream is readily available in grocery stores, what can you do? Book a flight to England?!

While that would be exceedingly exciting, there’s no need with my simple Instant Pot clotted cream recipe!

After you read this post, you’ll probably be shocked by how easy it is to make at home.

But first a quick heads up: This is a slow process! It takes at least 24 hours from start to finish. But the good news is it’s pretty hands off.

Okay, let me walk you through the process!

Video Tutorial:

Here’s a quick video tutorial in case you prefer to learn by watching. The full written tutorial and printable recipe are below!

Ingredients:

You only need one simple ingredient: 1 quart (or 2 pints) of pasteurized heavy whipping cream. The cream I use is actually light whipping cream, but it still worked!

The most important thing is to source cream that is non-ultra pasteurized and doesn’t have any gums or other thickening agents.

I tried this process out with ultra-pasteurized cream, which I’ll talk more about at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Clotted Cream in the Instant Pot:

Start by pouring a quart of cream into the Instant Pot.

I’m sure you could make a larger batch, but this is a great amount for your first time making it.

Push the “Yogurt” button to turn on the yogurt setting. Then push the adjust button until it says the word “boil.”
Now the Instant Pot will go through a heating cycle. If you have an extra, non sealing lid that will fit on your Instant Pot, use it here. I use a lid from one of my pots that fits nearly perfectly.
When the boil cycle finishes, the Instant Pot will beep. Set it to keep warm.
You’ll want to have it on the keep warm setting for 12 hours. The Instant Pot will only do up to 10 hours at a time on the Keep Warm function, so you’ll have to set it to an extra 2 hours after the 10 hours are up.

Here’s what the cream looks like after 12 hours.

It develops a yellow, golden skin on top.

Do not disturb or stir the cream at this point!!

Keep the pot covered and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Now for the hardest part: transfer the whole pot to the refrigerator to chill for 12 hours without disturbing.

Yes, I know this is a long time to wait! But patience is important when making clotted cream.

After the 12 hours of chilling are up, you can finally enjoy your homemade clotted cream!

Gently pull back a small section of the top, thick layer of cream. You’ll reveal a layer of liquid cream on the bottom of the pot.

Pour the thin liquid that’s underneath the top layer into a jar.

You can use the leftover liquid for making scones! I used it to make this British scones recipe, and it was lovely!

I’m sure you could also use the leftover whey for making pancakes or waffles as well.

Now you can scoop off the solid cream.

The top part is more crackly, whereas the underneath bit is more smooth and creamy.

That top bit can have a lovely, nutty flavor.

You’ll get about 1 2/3 cups of clotted cream from 1 quart of cream.

I used a light whipping cream, so if you use a cream with a higher fat content, you may get a different amount.

By the way, you can stir a little whey back into the cream if you prefer a thinner texture.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should last about a week.

You could put it into mini glass jars for a really cute presentation, or keep it in one big jar.

This Instant Pot method was super easy, but I’d also like to try out the oven method! I’m guessing you could also use a rice cooker for this, or anything that will hold the cream at around 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit (82-85 C) for 12 hours.

Serving:

You can serve this clotted cream with scones and jam or lemon curd at an Afternoon Tea or Cream Tea.

You could also use it as a dip for fresh fruit. It’s also lovely on toast or English muffins.

Can You Use Ultra Pasteurized Cream?

Most of the recipes for homemade clotted cream that you’ll find are adamant that you cannot use ultra-pasteurized cream.

So I decided to find out if that was true! I went through the process of making clotted cream with some organic ultra pasteurized cream.

As you can see, it looked promising after the 12 hours of cooking!

However, the cream clots were definitely inferior to the non-ultra pasteurized cream.

It was more like a few thick lumps with liquid around it, instead of a uniform consistency.

Not only was the texture of the clotted cream not as good, but there was also less of it.

But what was more disconcerting was the clear, grayish lumps in the liquid part.

I’m guessing the cooking process somehow encouraged the gums and thickening agents in the cream to separate.

So my question is: Is it the ultra pasteurization, or is it all the gums that make it inferior for making clotted cream?

I couldn’t find an ultra pasteurized cream that didn’t have gums in it, so I’ll have to wait until I locate some to find out.

What is Clotted Cream?

Clotted cream refers to a thick, creamy spread that you put on scones. It’s made by heating cream to 145 degrees Fahrenheit then letting it sit to thicken or clot.

Then it’s heated to 185 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour and a half, then cooled for 12 hours. A golden, crackly crust forms on top, and any liquid underneath the thickened top layer is poured off.

I’m sure different companies make clotted cream in slightly different ways, but it’s basically cream that’s been heated, thickened, and separated.

The texture is similar to cream cheese, but it doesn’t necessarily have a sour, tangy flavor.

What’s the Difference Between Clotted Cream and Devonshire Cream?

Devonshire Cream (or Devon Cream) is clotted cream that’s specifically made in the county of Devon, England.

So all Devonshire cream is clotted cream, but not all clotted cream is Devonshire cream.

Clotted Cream First or Jam First?

Now, there is a long-standing controversy about which to put on your scone first: the cream or the jam?

In Cornwall, the tradition is to spread the jam on your scone first, and the cream on top of that.

But in the county of Devon, it’s the opposite: you put the cream on first, and the jam second.

I personally prefer the Devonshire way because I find it easier to spread the cream on the scone that way.

Can’t Find Clotted Cream in the United States?

One more thing to note: If you live in the Midwest and want a super easy way to experience clotted cream, you can pick up a jug of Kalona SuperNatural cream.

It doesn’t always happen, but usually there’s a little bit of thickened cream on top of the jug. My kids call this the “creamies” and fight over it.

But after watching this video that demonstrates how clotted cream in made in Cornwall, England, I realized that these “creamies” were basically clotted cream.

The cream is Pasteurized at the low temperature of 145 degrees F (63 C) for 30 minutes to make clotted cream, and Kalona SuperNatural cream is also heated to 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes!

To make the clotted cream, the thickened cream is then heated to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (85 Celsius) for 1.5 hours, so it’s not exactly like clotted cream. But it comes close!

So that’s how to easily make clotted cream at home! Make sure to check out my other recipes below:

Scone Recipes:

More Teatime Recipes:

More Instant Pot Recipes:

Recipe Card:

Yield: 1 2/3 cups