The Cornish Cream Tea

If I was asked to name four traditional Cornish foods I would choose the Cornish Pasty, Saffron Cake, Hevva Cake and the Cornish Cream Tea. Today I want to talk about the cream tea.

There has been debate as to where the cream tea originated, some say Devon and those who know the truth say Cornwall.
(A similar debate ranges around the audience of the Cornish pasty but that's for another day. )
The difference between the two is quite straightforward but first of all let me list the ingredients in a cream tea:

• a scone  - small item of a bread-alike consistency (a sweetened version of the American "biscuit") See this BBC recipe.
• a portion of jam - often strawberry jam (American "jelly")
• a portion of Cornish Clotted Cream. Wikipedia’s definition.

The type of cream is crucial. I have been to places, sad places where clotted cream is unavailable, that offer a form of whipped cream. (Pause, while I shudder in horror.)

A Devon or Devonshire cream tea consists of a scone with cream placed upon it and on top of that is jam. In Cornwall we always choose to place jam upon the scone, followed by the clotted cream. In my opinion the only time you would want to put your cream on first is if you are ashamed of it!
Here is a link to a long term maker of clotted cream, since 1890, with scientific research carried out to identify the best way to serve a cream tea: Rodda.

The photo at the top of this page is somewhat fancier than a standard cream tea, in fact the picture shows a Chocolate Cream Tea (pause, while  purists engage in a sharp intake of breath). The cream tea is accompanied by chocolate chip scones and a Canton tea that has chocolate undertones; the plate, in this case slate, was also decorated with a cut strawberry, raspberry, physilis and kiwifruit, along with a fruit like a large blueberry that I couldn't identify. This cream tea is served at the Waymarker, a Cornish food establishment situated between Falmouth, Constantine and Halvasso: set your satnav to find the postcode - TR11 5PW.

I have no connection to the Waymarker. I'm just a very happy customer who has been there on quite a few occasions and always enjoyed the food and the very friendly service. I receive no benefit from mentioning the Waymarker.