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 need to make a large amount for a shower. I have an 8 qt instant pot. Would it work to double the recipe and us 4 pint of cream?
I don’t think so, Elizabeth, but I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure. I’m afraid with the larger amount that it wouldn’t ‘clot’ properly. If you can, I’d do 2 batches to be safe.
The “keep warm” button has three different temperature levels:
“less” 86 – 93.2 degrees
“normal” 96.9 – 109.4 degrees
“more” 160 – 180 degrees
should the cream be kept at the “more” temperature for 10 hrs? I do make yogurt in the IP and use the “normal” level for 9 hrs.
I just press the keep warm button once, it should set to “normal”.
Thank you.
I did have success using Land O Lakes Heavy Whipping Cream Ultra Pasteurized. Made it in my 3 qt. Instant Pot, using 1 pint of heavy whipping cream. Good news, it is possible to make clotted cream with ultra pasteurized cream.
That’s fantastic to know Janet, thanks so much!!
For my IP 6 qt DUO, the owner’s manual has 1 setting for Keep Warm: 145 to 172 F.
Can’t wait to try this. Question though, when you say you can use the liquid that comes off for scones, is it a substitute for the buttermilk? That’s the only liquid is see in several of your Scone recipes. ( I have never made scones )
Yes, it would be. I personally always use regular buttermilk or half and half in my scones, but is would be possible to use the whey instead.
thanks
I’m probably overthinking this, but when I press the yogurt button until I see the word boil on my instant pot, it beeps about three seconds later. That is not the beep but I’m waiting for, correct? I guess I just need more details than most people! Thanks for the advice and the recipe. Here’s hoping I don’t screw it up!
Hi, what I see on my machine is this: I press the yogurt button once, the screen light comes on, and there’s something that says ‘normal’ – I press once more, and I see the word boil, which is flashing. A few seconds later, the word boil stops flashing and it beeps. I think that the beeping you hear then is that the pot has accepted your choice of the ‘boil’ setting and is now proceeding to boil the cream. I’m not an expert, so I hope I’ve understood this correctly.
Hi Sue, those are some of my top top brands for non ultra pasteurized. I think I’ve found my favorite recently, a small farm ships to a local store and they make batch pasteurized – it has such a rich taste. It’s amazing! I haven’t read all the 100+ comments so this may have already been addressed, but wanted to mention that not all milk and cream in the US has to be pasteurized. There are parts of the states where you still find raw. I know it’s not everyone’s preference but it is an option for some 🙂
Thanks so much, I love how many different options we’re all sharing.
O.M.G. Sue – Fantastical ???????!!!! Wish I could show you the pics. Not only was this easy peasy, but I also got more yield than my oven version. The only source in my area for non-ultra-pasteurized cream is some distance away so although I bought 2 quarts and 1 pint, I wanted to start small with 1 pint in my 3qt. I didn’t want to waste any more cream than I had to. I wanted to make sure cutting the recipe in half and using a smaller IP would actually work. In my research, I read about the criticality of getting the cream to 180? ?????? proceeding to the next step. If true, it stands to reason that depth of the cream and/or surface area would become irrelevant i.e., neither should matter as long as the temperature is right. I’ll test this theory out with my next batch using 1 qt of cream in my 3 qt IP. I prefer the 3qt because it’s so much more fridge storage friendly than my 8qt! Stay tuned and ????? ??? so much for sharing your recipe!!!
The page isn’t handling my ‘BOLDed’ words well. They are being replaced with ?????? – lol!
Corrections:
Fantastical SUCCESS!!!
… getting the cream to 180 degrees BEFORE proceceeding to the next step.
Stay tuned and THANK YOU so much for sharing your recipe!!!
When you say ‘cool to room temperature without disturbing’, do you mean, leave the inner pot in the IP? Leave the lid on? Basically, just unplug the IP? Or…?
I remove the inner pot and set it on the counter.
I’m wondering if anyone was able to determine which “keep warm” setting to use on the IP ULTRA — Low, Normal, or More. Thank you.
Normal (she mentioned in a comment)
Hello!
This looks amazing! I have a question – you say push the Yoghurt button. My IP doesn’t have one, and it looks like yours doesn’t either?
I am dying to make this!
The IP I link to does have the yogurt button, and that’s the one I use. You might read through the comments, I know some people have experimented with different settings. I’ve only done it with the actual yogurt setting, so I’m not sure about other models.
Haven’t tried this recipe yet but looking forward to it. Lindsay, other recipes I’ve seen say the cream should be heated to 180F. It might be possible to make it in the LUX if you treated it like making yogurt in the LUX – after it’s heated, wrap it up in towels to keep it warm during incubation. If you’re feeling really daring, you could put it in the oven with the light on, same as for proofing dough. Just make sure no one turns the oven on!
Normal is 96.9 -109.4 F but Sue says 180 F-Confusing!
Have not done this yet as my brain is thinking thru the process of adding clotted cream to one of my scratch made cheesecakes. My question is: if I want to make a double batch can I use your oven method and do two pans at the same time or will that not work? I know from experience to never try to bake two cheesecakes at the same time so that is why I’m asking. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Good question ~ I would think you could do two batches if they were in separate containers.
Hi can I use a slow cooker to make this? It has a high,low and keep warm setting
The slow cooker, even on low, is too warm for this recipe, at least in my experience, Michelle. You might read through the comments because I think at least one reader has done it in the slow cooker.