Presenting my Clotted Cream recipe, a luxuriously creamy topping traditionally used with for scones and jam. For a change, why not have it as an alternative to topping your Christmas Pudding for those who don’t like brandy butter or brandy sauce.
How is clotted cream made?
To quote good old Wikipedia (which incidentally I support each year with a little donation);
Clotted cream (Cornish: dehen molys, sometimes called scalded, clouted, Devonshire or Cornish cream) is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow’s milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly.
– Wikipedia
How do you make Clotted Cream that’s dairy free and vegan?
For those living a dairy free and/or vegan lifestyle you will be only too familiar with the fact that soya cream just – isn’t – cream. There, I said it! The fat content in soya and plant creams is very low and as dairy free cream has no lactose in it (in simple terms, the dairy version of sugar), cream alternatives aren’t very sweet either.
To make a thick, sweet cream like clotted cream I had to set out on a journey of experimentation and a few disasters along the way. This is the closest I’ve got and I’m pretty proud of myself.
So how did I do it? Well, I added fat where there was none and sugar where it was scarce and thickener to hold it all together.
Fun Fact: Did you know Clotted Cream is illegal in some countries!
A bit of an exaggeration, but basically ‘true’ clotted cream made the Cornish way, i.e. unpasteurised cannot be found in the United States or Canada. This is because the law prohibits the production methods. You can get a thick cream imitation (a bit like what I’ve created here) but it’s not the real thing. Unless you were sat in a tearoom in Cornwall enjoying a cream tea, I’d argue that nothing else is the ‘real thing’.
Different ways to flavour Clotted Cream
I’ve had a play with this recipe and found that adding extracts works just fine. Therefore, if you wanted a non-alcoholic flavoured clotted cream you could add a brandy flavouring or orange extract to imitate a luxurious thick Cointreau cream.
How to make Dairy Free Thick Liqueur Cream
To liven things up a bit you can also turn this into a thick liqueur cream that can be dolloped onto of Christmas puddings, mince pies and festive desserts. Simply allow the cream to cool off the hob and add a spirit of your choice before pouring into a lidded container. I’ve tried this with brandy and whisky which both make delicious additions.
Other flavours you could try are rum, Cointreau, the vegan liqueur Almande made by Baileys or Tia Maria for a coffee flavour thick cream. Seriously, the possibilities are endless, have some fun and be creative.
Are Spirits Gluten Free?
Cider, wine, sherry, spirits, port and liqueurs are gluten free.
Experts agree that there is no physical way that pure distilled alcohol can contain gluten – this is because the gluten protein cannot travel through to the vapour produced by the prolonged heating in the distillation process and become part of the final alcohol product.
Distilled spirits only contain gluten if gluten containing ingredients are added after the distillation process and in this case, there is labelling legislation that ensures the product states CONTAINS wheat, barley, rye or oats on the label.
Source – Coeliac UK FAQ page for more answers to top gluten free questions follow the link Coeliac UK FAQ’s
Please note: some people are also intolerant to certain grains such as barley, rye and oats so even with the gluten removed this can cause digestive issues. If concerned please consult your doctor.
Can you freeze this Vegan Clotted Cream?
I haven’t frozen this recipe yet but I’m positive it will freeze just fine. To bring the cream back to life you will need to defrost at room temperature for over 3hrs. The consistency may be slightly compromised, so if you don’t mind losing the clotted cream crust on the top, I’d recommend giving it a quick whisk before decanting into a little serving bowl.
How to store Clotted Cream?
I have stored this cream in the fridge with success in Tupperware containers and the glass dish in the photo. Therefore, I know that the cream will last for up to 3 days easily, possibly a week. If you plan to keep it for more than a day I’d be sure to add a lid or wrap in foil or even better beeswax wraps to prevent the cream from absorbing any fridge smells.
How about these delicious desserts to accompany your homemade Clotted Cream
Of course you automatically associate clotted cream with cream teas and scones with huge dollops of jam. But, how about lashings of clotted cream on your mince pies, Christmas Pudding or Sticky Toffee Puddings and crumbles. Plus for anyone toying with the idea of going vegan my post Ingredients and Simple Recipes for a Gluten Free Veganuary has some great tips on what to stock up on and how to bake vegan-style.
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Homemade Dairy Free Clotted Cream Recipe
- 100 ml soya cream I use Elmlea plant double cream
- 20 g dairy free butter I use Flora vegan blocks
- 20 g white fat solids I use Trex
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp arrowroot
- You’ll need a small saucepan and a glass bowl, pour boiled water into the saucepan and place the bowl over the top as you would if you were melting chocolate.
- Place the butter, white fat, sugar and cream in the glass bowl and stir over a low heat until the butter, fat and sugar have melted and dissolved.
- Once dissolved remove a spoonful of the cream and pour into a small cup, add the ½ tsp of arrowroot and stir to a thin paste, then pour back into the glass bowl.
- Turn the heat up a little but be careful not to allow the water beneath to boil over the sides of the saucepan.
- Using a whisk, stir the cream until it thickens to a double cream consistency.
- Remove from the heat and pour into a little serving bowl.
- Now you need to tap your bowl to encourage the tiny bubbles of fat to rise to the surface.
- I find the best way to do this is gently ‘drop’ the dish onto the kitchen work surface. Not from a great height! Just a centimetre drop each time, I do this about 10x.
- Finally pop your clotted cream in the fridge, for the best results leave it over night to cool completely and thicken with that familiar fatty crust on top.
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A post packed with 20 delicious Autumn/Winter inspired comfort foods made gluten free, dairy free and in most cases egg free too
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Hallo there,
Just read the recipe for clotted cream. Could the arrow root be exchanged with agar powder do you think?
I think this will work but as for it being like-for-like I can’t say. Good luck and let me know how you get on
Hi,
I was hoping for a bit of advice. The taste of the cream is spot on but I can’t get it to thicken in the same way as yours has. I’ve tried doubling the arrowroot powder and use 1tsp instead of 1/2 tsp. Should I try with even more? I also wasn’t sure about stirring with a whisk – am I meant to be whisking a lot to add air into the recipe? Or just stirring to combine as it heats and thickens.
Everything else seems the same – I’m using trex, flora butter block and elmlea vegan double cream.
It still tastes amazing though. As a Cornish vegan, I very much appreciate you developing this recipe! x
Fantastic recipe! How long would you keep this in the fridge for?
I’ve kept it for a week before (only because I made two, the first went straight away!)
I used to adore clotted cream – definitely trying this ASAP!
It’s embarrassingly simple but I seem to have once again stumbled on a winner :-D
I’m not sure how to reply on here but I wanted to get back with results. Staggering success! I can’t believe how convincing this clotted cream is and how easy it was to make! It went down a treat :) thank you for your rapid response, I got arrowroot in the end, didn’t want to mess with the recipe on the first try. It couldn’t have gone better, you’re a genius!
Manny, you have made my day…no…my whole week. Thank you so much for this feedback, I’m thrilled you loved it. Rebecca xxx
Hi! Fascinating recipe I’m going to try it for my bfs birthday next week. One question: is the arrowroot just to help thicken? Would I be able to sub another thickener such as corn starch? Thank you!
Oh wonderful Manny, lucky BF x At a push you could use corn-starch I appreciate arrowroot can be hard to come by in some stores. The reason I suggest this though is because it’s tasteless and clear when heated so doesn’t interfere with the end resulting flavour and texture. if going for the corn-starch, I’d go on the rule that less is more and keep adding tiny amounts (mixed to a paste to avoid clumps) until you get the thick consistency required. Remember it continues to thick with a crust in the fridge. Good luck and let me know how you get on xx
Would coconut oil work as the white fat solids in this recipe?
Yes it would Lynne, I did trial it in my recipe development but felt that you could taste the coconut and for those not keen (there are a lot surprisingly) I decided to find an alternative. Personally I love my clotted cream with a bit of a coconutty undertone – enjoy and let me know how you get on xx
I made this cream on Saturday to have on Sunday and it was so good!!! I was so impressed, it was perfect with scones. I’m used to just having margarine with jam and scones but this was much much nicer! Really quick and easy to make. Even my dairy-loving family enjoyed it. I will definitely be making it again :) thank you Rebecca for the brilliant recipe x
This makes me grin from ear-to-ear Molly, I’m thrilled you like the recipe. Thank you so much for coming back and taking the time to comment, it means a lot to me. Rebecca x
How long roughly do you cook for once you’ve added the arrowroot?
Hello there Sam. I recommend until it thickens to a double cream thickness. This should take no longer than 3-4mins, imagine thickening a custard. The rest of the thickening process takes place in the fridge as it cools.
Hello! I’m really looking forward to trying this cream out. I’m a bit confused by the ‘white fat solids’ – you said you use Trex so would that just be their vegetable fat? Sorry if that’s obvious!!
Admittedly that was written for the US readers in mind and if that’s not you I can see why your confused. By white fat I mean a lard style fat, obviously you don’t want a meaty flavour to the cream so Crisp n Dry or Trex or any solid block of vegetable fat would do. Hope that’s made it a bit clearer, don’t hesitate to comment again if not. Rebecca x
Thanks so much for getting back to me, that is much clearer. I’ll be giving this a go next weekend x
You are welcome Molly x
Hi I can’t wait to try this recipe out it looks amazing!! Do you use the Elmlea plant single or double cream?
I find double works better Danni, you want the clotted cream to be as think as possible so best give it a head start!! Good call though, I’ll update the recipe to be more precise.
Oh perfect thank you so much for replying!
Hi, I have made your clotted cream several times and it’s worked extremely well especially on my scones. As I prefer cream not to be sweet is the sugar in it absolutely necessary? Obviously if it’s an absolute essential to the recipe that’s different but I’d rather do without it if possible and if so would I have to alter any of the quantities of the other ingredients if I leave it out? Thanks for all your other recipes too.
Oh Rosemary I am thrilled to hear you are happy with this recipe for Clotted Cream, yes of course you can leave out the sugar, this was to counteract the lack of lactose in the plant cream (possibly a wee bit too much) so I totally understand you wanting to leave it out. It should not effect the over all structure, it may even make it a little thicker as sugar can sometimes loosen liquids. Thank you so much for commenting, it really does mean the world to me.
Well done lovely. Another vegan ‘must have’ under the belt. Looks like you’ve got a pretty decadent Christmas ahead xx
Brett will not believe its vegan, I’m going to have the make the next batch under his watchful eye to prove it to him hahaha
Thanks for sharing this Rebecca! I’ve selected it as a feature on Sundays on Silverado this weekend! :-)
Niky @ The House on Silverado
Thank you so much Niky, and can I just say I love your home so much it’s just beautiful, I could move in tomorrow and not want to change a thing xx
Terrific! Can’t wait to give this vegan clotted cream a try!
It is rather yummy Angie x
Oh a dairy-free clotted cream, how extravagant! Definitely bookmarking this. Thanks for joining in the fiesta!
I love clotted cream, but it had never occured to me to make my own. You’ve made it sound pretty simple though, so now I know I can!