Recipe For Clotted Cream

Success is sweet for Yvonne

Eight years ago Yvonne Morgan was working the beat. But when she hung up her police uniform and handed in her truncheon, it never occurred to her that a few years down the line, she would be harnessing a very different weapon – a whisk.

Already in its fifth year, Yvonne’s business, Pembrokeshire Fudge, has got people buzzing. The policewoman-turned-entrepreneur has pulled something quite unique out of the bag - a honey flavoured fudge.

Yvonne said: “When I first started out in the confectionery business, I began by baking cakes for the Narberth WI.

“When I was there, I heard customers asking for fudge, so I fed this back to my mum, who encouraged me to take the idea onboard. But she said I should try something different. She told me not to make plain fudge, but create my own recipe, and make something unique.”

Yvonne left West Mercia Police in 2003, having served as a community beat officer in Worcester for 17 years. She moved back home to Wiston upon the arrival of her second child, and here she embarked on her culinary adventure.

“My enterprise started out as an extension of my mum and dad’s business. They run West Valley Honey Farm, and their honey was the first ingredient that I decided to use.

“My mum and I experimented with the honey fudge recipe, which is the first one that went on the Farmers’ Market stall in my first year of running the business.”

And it was that very year, when Yvonne’s creation bagged her the True Taste award for Best New Pembrokeshire Product 2007.

“After that, I started experimenting with other flavours. At the time, it wasn’t a full time thing. But now, I’m at the kitchen every spare minute of the day,” said Yvonne, who also works as a teaching assistant at St Aidan’s VA School, in Wiston.

“I experiment with new flavourings as much as I can. All week I have been working on a new butterscotch fudge, which is not on sale yet. But I am very excited about it.”

And to get those unique new flavours, market research plays a big role.

“When I experiment with new flavours, the idea always comes from my customers. They would suggest something, and if it sounds nice, I will consider it and try it out. It’s basic research.” said Yvonne.

“Experimenting is brilliant, for instance for the clotted cream fudge, I researched flavours using coconut essence and banana essence.

“I’m always looking out for new ideas. Whenever I go on holiday, for example, I look at how they market their products, what labels they use, and get ideas for recipes. I also talk to chefs about flavours, and listen to customer recommendations.

The Tipsy Baker: Clotted cream!

Then, the other day, I saw a recipe in the brand new and very appealing  One Block Feast  by Margo True, an editor at Sunset . The recipe goes like this: Pour a pint of heavy cream into a pan and put it in the oven. Turn the oven to 175. Ignore the cream  and the oven for 12 hours. Take the cream out and turn off the oven. Cover the cream and put it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, you will peel off a thick layer  of the most incredible clotted cream I've ever eaten. I ended up with a cup and quarter, exactly what the recipe promised. I am beside myself with happiness.

There was a BBC series earlier in the year called 'Edwardian Farm' where 3 historians spent a year living in the countryside in the traditional way. One of the things they demonstrated was how to make an authentic Devon Cream Tea with scones, preserves etc. and clotted cream. I can't remember the exact method (and the episode isn't on you tube) but there was a large shallow dish full of cream, heated slowly on the hob in a water bath and the resulting layers of cream scopped carefully off and layered in a dish, The point was to get a dozen or so thin layers (with the delicious crust!!). It you're not enough of a fan of heart attacks to eat this straight you can always substitute for butter in pastry.

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