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.
I had the cream in the instant pot 11 hours and it has a thin film on top but appears very thin underneath. Will it thicken that much in the fridge or should it have cooked longer? If I need to cook it more, should I put the instant pot container in the oven instead? Thanks!
I’m not sure why yours didn’t work well Diane. You do need to use the correct cream, and the correct amount for this to clot properly. I can’t be sure what happened in your case. You might want to try my stove top clotted cream method if this one doesn’t work for you.
Can this recipe be doubled?? I’m hosting a large tea party and want to make several jars of it.
Do you have a recipe for using the whey liquid to make the scones? I’m guessing in any scone recipe I just replace the milk/cream with the liquid?? thanks! I’m getting close to removing the IP pot and put in the fridge for the 12 hrs. Very Excited
You would just use it in place of the cream or buttermilk in any scone recipe.
Followed the instructions except for cooking time. My instant pot indicated 11:20 hrs. After refrigeration the texture is more butter than thick cream. The taste is good. I regret not having added some of the liquid before refrigeration but at that point I thought it was already a little thin. I will leave on the counter a bit before I spread it on my scone and see if that does the trick. Do you think I overcooked it? The cream I use was not ultra pasteurized and it was 35% fat.
Clotted cream is definitely thick like butter Madeleine, so it sounds like you did everything just right!
Have lot of english in me.My grandfather on my mom’s side is english even had the accent.Always had tea in afternoon and something with it.But clotted cream with scones is my favorite
Since you have recipes for both Instapot and oven (and I have both) are there any defining differences that makes you prefer one end product over the other? I’m referring to the actual clotted cream itself…not which process is easier etc.
I think the clotted cream is best with the Instant Pot or oven method.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It was so easy and turned out great! It was nice to use the Instant Pot since AZ in the summer is not a time you want to have your oven on for 8-10 hours. I wasn’t able to find unpasteurized cream, but I used regular pasteurized. I made it to go with British Scones for our bookclub lunch spread on with raspberry jam. The leftover, runny part I used in the scone recipe. Yummy!
I made this clotted cream last night. Its delicious! Making scones in the morning!!!
This absolutely works! I made this with cheap grocery store brand ultra-pasteurized heavy whipping cream and boiled it too long, but I still got a ton of gorgeous clotted cream out of it. For the record, the “keep warm” function on Farberware digital pressure cookers works perfectly. I did this as an experiment, hoping to give a housebound friend a “real” cream tea as a treat, and she’s getting one!! Thank you for figuring this out and posting it.
Thanks Juti <3
I absolutely love your recipe! Thank you for sharing! This is my 3rd time making it and I wanted to make scones with the liquid under the cream. It seems a bit like gelatin, would that still be okay to use or is that part bad?