It's a staple for afternoon tea in England and can be found jarred at some high end grocers. But if you're hoping to have real clotted cream with the scones you'll be making to help you set the tone for watching the Royal Wedding on Friday, search out the heavy cream usually called whipping cream. Avoid the type labeled ultra-pasteurized because it probably won't work. And unless you really don't care one bit about calories, make just a small quantity. It's very very good on lots of things and so simple to make it would be really easy to overindulge. You'll find the scones recipe in Wednesday's Food story in the News-Herald, which is aimed at helping you celebrate the Royal Wedding in style, whether you're at home alone at the crack of dawn or having friends over to watch the nuptials at 6 a.m. Cleveland time. Start making it right away so it will be ready for eating by then.
The clotted cream can be stored in the fridge for three or four days.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Pour whipping cream into a heavy-bottomed oven-safe pan. Choose a small pan so cream comes up one to three inches. Cover the pan and place in the oven. Leave it undisturbed for at least 8 hours until a thick yellow skin has formed over the cream. That skin is the clotted cream. Let the pan cool to room temperature then place the entire pan in the refrigerator for another 8 hours. Skim the clotted cream off the top and serve with scones. The remaining cream can still be used for baking.