# Tell me about Devonshire cream **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124 "2004-06-25T02:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tess\_of\_the\_Derbyville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Tess\_of\_the\_Derbyville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_of_the_Derbyville)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/1 "2004-06-25T02:04:53Z")
Taste? Consistency? How is it made? I have a recipe for a Devonshire cream trifle. It includes heavy cream, sugar and sour cream beaten together. Does this sound like a workable substitute? If not, what do you suggest? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/2 "2004-06-25T04:13:23Z")
Mmmm… clotted cream. The real stuff is a deep cream colour with a yellow crust. A scoop of it won’t run, but will bulge a little like an over-ripe brie. I can’t really describe the taste, except to say that it’s rich and sweet without being cloying. It’s made by heating very rich milk in trays and scooping off the clots. See [here](http://www.foodreference.com/html/fclottedcream.html). I dunno about faking it. If you can’t find any to buy I’d just use the most full-on cream you can find. [Here](http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/europe/british/clotted-cream4.html) is a slightly different mock cream recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_of\_the\_Derbyville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Tess\_of\_the\_Derbyville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_of_the_Derbyville)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/3 "2004-06-25T06:14:07Z")
Thanks so much! You’re wonderful! That’s exactly what I needed. I’ve often wondered about clotted cream when I come across a mention in a book (I love British mystery novels) but I’ve never seen any for sale here in Louisville. A cream tea sounds sinful! Thanks to you, I think I understand what it is now. I grew up on a farm and for a while we kept a few milk cows. Mom would take the raw milk and pasturize it in a machine that looked like a huge electic kettle. The cream would rise to the top in a thick yellowish foam. I guess this was close to clotted cream? We never ate any of it though, cause my mom was a lady ahead of her time when it came to low-fat diets. I think she fed it to the barn cats! I like your mock cream recipe better than the one I had. I plan to make my anglophile friends swoon over this desert. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/4 "2004-06-25T07:30:14Z")
While we’re here, can someone fill me in on American cream terminology, because the description of ‘heavy’ cream confuses me: In the UK, we have (in terms of ordinary cream): -Single cream - like very rich milk - used for pouring. -Double Cream - thick, pale yellow, very rich cream - can be poured as it is, or can be whipped (but whips into something quite dense and buttery) -Whipping cream - sort of a compromise between the two - lower fat than double cream and whips up firm, but much lighter and frothy than whipped double cream. Does the ‘heavy’ in America refer to weight or consistency? (single cream has the least fat and is heaviest in terms of weight per unit volume, but double cream is the thickest and richest). ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/5 "2004-06-25T18:24:51Z")
Sometimes you can find genuine clotted cream or Devon cream in specialty or organic markets, like Whole Foods or health-food stores. Mmmmmm, clotted cream on Mr. S’s fresh homemade cranberry scones . . . ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/6 "2004-06-25T20:20:08Z")
Heavy Cream is between double cream and single cream, but nearer to double cream in use. [http://www.foodsubs.com/Dairyoth.html](http://www.foodsubs.com/Dairyoth.html) gives some more details. It is possible to find long life clotted cream in some US speciality food markets, and you can get the equivalent of double cream (called industrial cream) from professional food distributors. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/7 "2004-06-27T21:18:24Z")
So the term ‘heavy’ denotes consistency, not actual weight. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-devonshire-cream/252124/8 "2004-06-28T17:07:16Z")
Yep, heavy = thick cream. **Mangetout** email me please. (email in my profile)