MOCK CLOTTED CREAM

MOCK CLOTTED CREAM
2 ounces cream cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 ounces
1 1/2 teaspoons granular Splenda or equivalent of liquid Splenda
6 tablespoons heavy cream

METHOD ONE
Put all of the ingredients in a small microwaveable bowl and microwave on HIGH about 1 minute or until the butter and cream cheese are completely melted. Whisk just until everything is well combined and smooth. There should be no little lumps of cream cheese. Chill 30 minutes. Whisk until thickened and somewhat fluffy. Chill well and store in the refrigerator. Serve with low carb scones.

METHOD TWO
Put the cream cheese and butter in a small mixing bowl and let stand at room temperature until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until very fluffy and doubled in volume. This may take a couple minutes. There may be a point where the cream settles in the bottom of the bowl and the cream cheese and butter look curdled. Keep beating and it will eventually come together and get fluffy. When sufficiently beaten it will look like a cross between very thick whipped cream and buttercream frosting. Chill well and store in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes before serving on low carb scones.

Makes about 12 tablespoons
Do not freeze

Per Tablespoon: 76 Calories; 8g Fat; 1g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; .5g Net Carbs

My friend, Nancy, and I came up with this concoction because clotted cream isn't available in the U.S. I'd discovered that mascarpone cheese makes a very good substitute, but it's terribly expensive at $3.00-4.00 for a tiny tub. Mascarpone cheese and clotted cream have no salt in them, so it's important to use unsalted butter in this to offset the salt in the cream cheese. The Splenda also helps cut the saltiness. If you can afford, it I recommend using mascarpone cheese for a real treat. Of course, if you live in the UK, you can have the real thing and I am envious.

UPDATE: I've revised the recipe because of some problems I've had with the reliability of the original method. About half the time I'd make this, the cream would separate from the butter and cream cheese and I'd end up with "cottage cheese". I had to come up with a method that would work every time and I think I may have come up with two good methods. If I do have trouble with either method later, I will post another update. I did have to double the recipe because the original didn't have enough ingredients to be able to beat it sufficiently. Below is a photo of how it turned out using Method Two.

UPDATE TWO: The clotted cream made with Method Two becomes too hard to spread straight from the refrigerator. It will need to sit about 10 minutes at room temperature to become soft and spreadable.

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