My Instant Pot Clotted Cream Recipe is a revelation, plain and simple. Your Instant Pot creates the famously decadent spreadable cream that’s the highlight of a classic British afternoon tea, I’ll show you how step by step!
If you’ve ever had clotted cream on a scone at an afternoon tea, you’ll know how uniquely delicious this thick creamy spread can be. If you haven’t experienced clotted cream, I suggest you stick around for this foolproof recipe for Instant Pot Clotted Cream…
Let’s unpack this!
- What if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
- What the heck is clotted cream?
- What does clotted cream taste like?
- what you’ll need for Instant Pot clotted cream
- What does ultra pasteurized mean?
- Where to find non-ultra-pasteurized cream
- TIPS for making Instant Pot Clotted Cream
- Why is there a crust on my clotted cream?
What if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
- No worries, Instant Pot clotted cream isn’t the only way you can make this luxurious treat ~
- check out my original post, How To Make Homemade Clotted Cream in the oven!
- or my latest Stove Top Clotted Cream Recipe
What the heck is clotted cream?
Fair question, it isn’t the most common thing in the world…
- Clotted cream is a thick creamy spread normally used on scones, and popular in Great Britain.
- It’s made from heavy cream that has been heated over a period of time until it thickens or ‘clots’ into a spreadable consistency with a unique cooked cream flavor.
- Clotted cream is world famous for its unparalleled rich texture, and it’s an essential part of a classic British afternoon tea, where it’s spread on scones and topped with jam.
- Normally the only way to get clotted cream is to visit Great Britain, or to spend big $$ on a very small imported jar at your local gourmet market.
What does clotted cream taste like?
- Clotted cream has a very simple flavor profile, like an unsweetened heavy cream with a subtle ‘cooked’ flavor. The texture is equally if not more important than the flavor, it’s somewhere between a very thick whipped cream, and butter.
Clotted cream is an exotic treat, you might be able to find small imported jars in your better supermarkets, but you will pay a premium price for it. I developed a way to make your own homemade clotted cream in your oven, which I’ve shared in my original post, here.
Today I’m unveiling another, even easier method for making homemade clotted cream, right in your Instant Pot.
what you’ll need for Instant Pot clotted cream
- 2 pints non-pasteurized heavy cream
- an Instant Pot
- I use the Instant Pot Duo
What does ultra pasteurized mean?
- All milk and cream sold in the US is pasteurized, meaning it’s heated in order to kill harmful bacteria and to help preserve it longer.
- Ultra pasteurized cream is simply heated to a higher temperature, at least 280F, and that kills even more of the bacteria and helps it stay fresher for even longer (before opening.)
Where to find non-ultra-pasteurized cream
- Most heavy cream sold today is what’s called ‘ultra-pastuerized’. That just means it’s been heated beyond the regular pasteurizing method so that it has an extra long shelf life. This can interfere with the clotting process, so the general rule it to use regular pasteurized cream when trying to make clotted cream.
- I have found non-ultra-pasteurized cream at Whole Foods and Trader Joes, for starters.
- Look for cream with a high fat content, mine is 40%.
While the cream is clotting, you’ve got time for a quick batch of scones! I’ve got lots of scone recipes on the blog for you to try. Clotted cream and scones is one of those combinations that is unique and can’t be duplicated. But luckily you can make them both in your own kitchen 🙂
And trust me, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like a warm homemade scone spread with homemade clotted cream.
TIPS for making Instant Pot Clotted Cream
- This is a simple but precise process. Stick to the recipe as stated, this recipe doesn’t have much room for variation.
- You can try this with regular pasteurized cream, but at your own risk.
- Make sure you refrigerate the cream as per the recipe after you’ve cooked it in the Instant Pot, and before you disturb it, the cream thickens up further as it chills in the fridge.
- AFTER you’ve chilled the cream for at least 12 hours, or even longer, you can skim off the thick cream and put it into a jar. There will be leftover liquid in the pot, and you can use that to make scones.
- You can stir some of the thinner liquid into your clotted cream if you want a looser consistency.
- If your clotted cream seems very thin, or you mistakenly mixed too much of the thin liquid into it, try blending it very briefly with an immersion blender, this works like a charm. Just be sure not to blend it too much or you’ll get clotted butter. Also good 😉 but not what we’re going for.
Why is there a crust on my clotted cream?
Worry not ~ the crust is a characteristic of clotted cream, it can be creamy white or even darker yellow. That signifies that the cream has cooked, and ‘clotted’ or clumped into an unbelievably delicious spread. The clotted cream underneath the crust will be creamier.
- Instant Pot
- 2 pints non-ultra pasteurized heavy cream, make sure to find non-ultra pasteurized cream for this
- Note: I like to plan to start my Instant Pot clotted cream in the morning, when I wake up. That way I can put it in the refrigerator before I go to bed and wake up to a finished product!
- Pour the cream directly into the Instant Pot. Close the lid (no need to set the vent, we’re not pressure cooking.) Press the YOGURT button and press until it says BOIL.
- When the machine beeps, and has reached the boil stage, press the KEEP WARM button and let it go for 8-10 hours. I let mine go for 10 hours.
- Turn the machine off and remove the pot. Let cool at room temperature without disturbing. Then refrigerate the pot, as is, for 12 hours.
- Carefully scoop off the thickened layer of clotted cream, leaving the thin liquid behind. It’s ok if you get some of the thinner liquid into your clotted cream, you can mix it in.
- Spoon your cream into a glass jar. You can leave as is, or stir it together to make it creamier.
- Enjoy within 2 weeks.
- The leftover liquid can be used to make scones.
Great recipe. Can i freeze clotted cream?
You can, but I’d use it within a month for best consistency.
Could this be made in a crock pot?
I’ve made clotted cream in the oven and on the stove top, but the low setting on most crock pots is a little high for making clotted cream. You could experiment with it, though!
What recipe would you suggest to make scones with the whey? Would one just swap it out for buttermilk in a recipe that uses it? I don’t believe whey has the fat content to replace cream in the cream scone recipe you posted.
I’m confused….do we set it to boil AND then leave it to keep warm for 8-10 hours? I already messed up yogurt yesterday and can’t emotionally handle messing this up haha.
The recipe says to set your instant pot to BOIL, and when the machine beeps that it has come to the boil, then press the keep warm button and leave for 8-10 hours. Listen for that beep, and then switch the controls to keep warm.
Non-ultra pasteurized cream is nowhere to be found in my area. I took a chance and used ultra pasteurized cream. To my surprise, it turned out great!
I love this recipe so much! I did my research for making clotted cream at home, since I just made the most amazing sourdough lemon-blueberry scones, and it was missing a key accompaniment: clotted cream! This recipe is well-written and the photos really help “see” the process. I am so happy to have made this! I used 2 pts 38% fat heavy cream; the yield was 2 cups clotted cream and ~2C whey (so rich and creamy!) Thank you for teaching me that I could make this treat at home!
Ok, now all we need is your sourdough lemon-blueberry scones recipe!!
Update: I tried this ‘half’ recipe and it, too, turned out perfect!
When making only 1/2 the recipe, does you cook time change at all?
I don’t recommend making half recipes of Instant Pot or oven clotted cream Dot, there’s not enough volume for the process to happen properly. If you want to do a smaller amount, try my stove top method.
Great recipe! I made this for the first time and it came out perfect. I was a little worried when I turned off the Instant Pot and it was very runny but it firmed up in the refrigerator after 12 hours and I got a full 1.5 cups of creamy clotted cream.