Devonshire Scones & Clotted Cream
(Makes 12 pieces)

2 1/4 C flour
1/2 C sugar plus
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T butter
1 C cream (divided)
1 C fresh or frozen (left unthawed) blueberries
Sugar
------------------
Clotted Cream 1
2 C whipping (heavy) cream
------------------
Clotted Cream 2
1/2 C whipping (heavy) cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 T caster
1/2 C sour cream
------------------
Clotted Cream 3
1 C whipping (heavy) cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T caster
1/4 C mascarpone

Preheat oven to 425.   In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Cut butter into mix until it resembles coarse meal.  Reserve 2 T cream and add the remaining cream and berries to flour mix, stirring with a fork until a stiff dough forms. On a floured surface, knead dough 5 or 6 times, roll into an 8” round and cut into 12 wedges. Place wedges on a greased baking sheet, pierce top with a fork and brush with reserved cream and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Serve with clotted cream...YUM!

Clotted Cream 1: pour cream in a double boiler over simmering water. Cook, uncovered, till it reduces almost by half and reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. It will have a golden skin on top. Pour into a bowl (skin and all), set stand at room temperature for 2-3 hours, then cover and place in refrigerator overnight, or longer. When ready to use, stir in the skin, and pour into a bowl. Serve with scones...or just eat it with a spoon.

Clotted Cream 1a: pour cream into a coffee filter holder lined with a paper filter or a strainer lined with 4 layers of cheese cloth. Set over a bowl. Chill 2-3 hours, letting whey drip through the bottom. From time to time, scrape and push cream down with a spatula. Cream should eventually reach the consistency of ricotta cheese.

Clotted Cream 2: pour cream in a bowl, add vanilla and caster. Whip cream till it holds stiff peaks, then gently mix in sour cream. Pour into a small serving bowl and serve with scones.

Clotted Cream 3: pour cream into a bowl, add vanilla and caster. Whip cream till it holds stipp peaks, then gently mix in mascarpone. Pour into a small bowl and serve with scones.

Tips & Glossary: New England

Clotted Cream: a thick yellowish cream made from unpasturized cow's milk. You can make your own, although it's hard to find unpasturized cream in the U.S. Still, you'll find 3 recipes under our Devonshire Scones. All use pasturized cream; try to avoid "ultra" pasturized.

Ginger:  dried ground ginger is far more potent than freshly grated from the root.   Sweet dessert recipes call for ground powder.  If you wish to use freshly grated ginger, use 6 times the amount of ground called for in the recipe. 

Ploughman's Lunch: sounds romantic, like a peasant dish from medieval times, but it's a marketing gimmick from the 1970's! It's a popular lunch in Britain now: a piece of bread, hunk of cheese, with onion, gherkin, and an apple. Our Ploughman's Soup is a take-off on that name.

Roux: (“roo”), paste-like mixture of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. Used as a thickening agent for soups and all classic French sauces. Basic Roux: melt 1 part butter and add 1 part flour. Stir continuously till it becomes paste-like. Slowly add whatever liquid your recipe calls for.