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.
Hi! So I’ve just realised I’ve used 1 pint! Not 2 ? it’s been in the insta pot for 8.5 hours. I’ve just checked it and it’s formed a lovely skin on top. It’s a thin skin and it’s still liquid underneath. Shall I keep it in warm still or remove it now?
Not sure, I think you should keep it in longer…I’ve only done this with the 2 pints.
I have an IP, but I do not have the yogurt option. Will I be able to make the clotted cream in my IP and if so, which setting?
I made this yesterday and it is delicious. My question though is in regards to the type of cream to use. You mention not using the ultra pasteurized and then later you mention to use regular pasteurized cream at your own risk. I’m in Canada and we really don’t have much of the ultra, most is just pasteurized. This is what I used and it turned out beautifully but I’m confused as to what kind of heavy cream I’m supposed to use.
You want the non-ultrapasteurized cream. However some people have reported success using ultra pasteurized cream.
Just made my first ultrapasteurized cream batch of clotted cream. A 12 hour cook in the IP, then overnight chilling. This morning it looked and tasted perfect, even had the golden crust on top! We’ve made pasteurized clotted cream before, and this seems the same.
The only difference, perhaps a bit less clotted cream, and the leftover liquid seems thicker than prior batches.
We’ll let you know about taste on the Queen’s favorite scones!
Perfect on the scones!
I’m in Canada too and just made this recipe using organic whipping cream (35% fat content) that I found at Loblaws. The brand is called Organic Meadow and it’s pasteurized. They also carried Neilson Dairy whipping cream, but the label said it was ultra-pasteurized (a.k.a. UHT pasteurized) so I didn’t buy that. Turned out perfect!
I’ve kept the cream in the instant pot on yoghurt for 3 hours now and it hasnt led to a boil yet! How long does it take to lead to a boil?
It sounds like something went wrong, it comes to a boil much quicker than that. Did you press the yogurt button until the screen reads BOIL? That’s the key.
Epic fail. All I got was the butter on the top. My instant pot turned off when I pressed and held the yogurt button. So I hit sautee till it started to boil and then I put on keep warm 10 hours. I used organic valley cream so it was pasteurized but not ultra pasteurized. I then tried to mix the butter studs with some of the cream with immersion blender and got curdy looking butter. So disappointed! Guess I will need to try the oven method.
Sorry to hear that Jen, the IP is amazing but everything has to be super precise for the clotted cream to work. When it works you will get a thick layer of clotted cream on top, so maybe it worked better than you think. You would carefully drain off the whey and pot the thick stuff.
I Actually tried this again with different cream that was pasteurized. I also figured out the yogurt boil feature. I let it go 9 1/2 hours and it looks thick so I think it worked. I will find out tomorrow when I skim it!
Sometimes it takes a little trial and error, glad it worked!
Has anyone made this with a 6 qt Ninja Foodi? I scrolled through a bunch of comments but didn’t see the Foodi mentioned. I missed my clotted cream and jam on scones!!!!!!!
I’ve just put it on now. I’m using sear/saute to bring it up to boil and I’m leaving it on Keep Warm overnight.
I’m confused as to how to reuse the thinner liquid after removing the clotted cream. Would I use it just like I would any cream?
It’s not nearly as rich as cream, I use it like I would use buttermilk, or milk.
I saved my liquid to make scones the next day. Make your scones after lunch just in time for afternoon tea with your new clotted cream!
If I need to half the recipe – so I keep cooking it for the same amount of time?
It’s tricky to half the recipe Katrina, because there needs to be a certain volume of cream to make it work.
What if my Instant Pot doesn’t have a ‘Yogurt’ setting? What then? Is this still doable without the ‘Yogurt’ setting?
I only had ultra-pasteurized heavy cream and raw milk on hand, so I decided to give both a try. The ultra-pasteurized cream actually made excellent clotted cream! It’s my first time making it, so I didn’t have much to compare it to (it’s been years since I’ve tried clotted cream, but it seemed great in comparison if my memory serves!). It was delicious and the texture was great. When I can get my hands on some raw or non-ultra pasteurized cream, I will be excited to give that a try. Based on what I’ve read about making clotted cream from raw milk, it sounds like it’s more labor/time intensive. Since we’re stuck at home, though, I figured I’d give it a whirl in the IP too. It tastes delicious but the texture is all wrong. I won’t be trying that again until I have more time and energy to tend to something like that on the stove!