My first recipe to try in “The Princess Bride Cookbook” will be the “Buttercup Buttermilk Scones.” The recipe instructs the cook to scoop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the baking sheet. This seemed different than the triangular scones sold at bakeries and coffee shops here in the United States. I was curious about this, so I researched authentic British scones. Indeed, they are not shaped like triangles. Traditionally, scones are served at “cream tea,” a light morning snack not to be confused with afternoon or “high tea.”
The recipe also calls for the scones to be served with jam and clotted cream. Naturally, my next question was what is clotted cream? The name sounds somewhat rude, and maybe even icky! I discovered that clotted cream is heavy cream that has been heated at a low temperature for a very long time (12 hours), and then left to cool before scooping the crust off the top. It is described as indulgent, and tasting like something between butter and whipped cream. Although you can find it in some high end grocery stores, reviews of the prepared version were not wonderful. To make this truly authentic, I have decided to make my own clotted cream.
I plan to make the scones for Sunday brunch. To have the clotted cream done in time, I will start the process on Thursday or Friday. I also plan to have plain old butter on hand in case the clotted cream is a flop. The jam will be no issue as I have several varieties already in the refrigerator, one being a homemade jar of blueberry jam.
Check back in next week for a report on this experiment.