Traditional Cornish Splits Recipe with Clotted Cream and Jam
As a Cornish girl, I simply had to share a recipe for Cornish splits (not to be confused with Devonshire splits!) I’ll be honest and say it’s not something I grew up eating all the time – we used to eat the Sally Lunn-style buns with jam and squirty cream, mostly – but I’ve had them and they are too good not to write about!
Freshly made, traditional Cornish Splits with clotted cream and strawberry jam is one of the best things ever created (dramatic, I know.. but trust me!) You can’t beat warm bread filled with cool cream and strawberry jam accompanied with a big mug of coffee or tea.
They are perfect for a summertime picnic, just like my mini strawberry tarts, or if you fancy yourself a proper Cornish cream tea sans the scones. These are a brill alternative.
Other picnic faves are my strawberry millefeuille – light a fluffy cream with fresh strawberries and crunchy puff pastry. Divine!
Ingredients needed for Cornish splits
Scroll down to the recipe card for exact quantities.
Strong bread flour – my go-to flour is from Shipton Mill and it produces the fluffiest bread!
Regular plain flour
Dried active yeast – you can use fresh yeast if you’d prefer but you’ll need to make a paste a tiny amount of warm water first and allow it to react. I would reduce your warm milk by 50ml if so.
Caster sugar – you could also use honey if you prefer.
Unsalted butter
Semi-skimmed milk (warmed) + extra for glazing
Olive oil for greasing the bowl
Clotted cream – I like to use Rhodda’s as it’s made in Cornwall and it’s what I grew up eating!
Jam of your choosing – I always go for strawberry as it’s a classic!
How to make Cornish Splits (step by step)
Step 1 – Pour both flours into a bowl and rub in your butter (cut it into cubes to help this).
Step 2 – Add the sugar, yeast and warm milk to flour mixture and knead until a workable dough has formed. I used my mixer with a dough hook to quicken up the process. This should take about 5 mins with a mixer.
Step 3 – Place your dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl and leave your dough ball to prove in a warm place (first rising) covered with a damp tea towel, until doubled in size.
Step 4 – Push out the air with your hand and shape into tangerine orange-sized balls, on a lightly floured surface. Place each of them onto a floured baking sheet. Leave them to prove (covered the damp tea towel) until they’ve had a nice rise (doubled).
Step 5 – Brush the bread rolls gently with a little bit of milk and bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve the little buns warm with clotted cream and jam of your choosing.
Equipment needed
Medium bowls x 2
Knife for chopping butter
Weighing scales
Small pan for warming milk
Food mixer with dough hook (I love my Kitchen Aid!)
Tea towel (lightly-oiled plastic wrap also ok)
Large baking tray
Are splits from Cornwall or Devon?
Now I can’t say for sure but I think it‘s like the old scone debate… Cornish people like to have the cream on top of the jam and Devonshire people will have the cream on first and jam on top. No hate but I think with a split, jam first works better as you can just spread it on, dollop the cream and close the split sandwich!
So I can’t say for sure where they originate but they are very much the same in both counties.
Serving suggestions
Apart from the obvious, traditional way to serve these delicious buns, there are many other yummy ways to eat them too. Let’s take a look at some others –
Change up your jam: go with whatever takes your fancy. I like a thin seedless raspberry jam or maybe even apricot!
Make it into a ‘thunder and lightening’ and add golden syrup with your clotted cream. Delicious combo!
Instead of clotted cream, trying whipped cream or double cream.
Go chocolate-y with chocolate whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Sprinkle the tops with lots of icing sugar.
Top Tips
To cut your dough into equal pieces when making the rolls, use a d-scraper for cutting, and weighing scales to ensure they are the same weight.
Great places to prove your dough: in a warm airing cupboard; in an oven with the light turned on or an oven that has recently turned off (but isn’t too hot!) and by a warm, sunny window.
To avoid making your dough too wet, add the milk in gradually. You can rectify dry dough with more liquid but it’s hard to come back from dough that is too wet.
Take your clotted cream out early so it’s room temperature when serving.
For storing, make sure the buns are placed in a cool, dry place in a lidded container. They’ll last for 2-3 days. You can also freeze them individially wrapped in cling film and foil for 3 months.
Cornish Splits with Clotted Cream and Jam
Equipment
- 2 Medium bowls
- 1 Knife for chopping the butter
- 1 Weighing scales
- 1 Small pan for warming milk
- 1 Kitchen mixer with dough hook
- 1 Tea towel dampened
- 1 Large baking tray
Ingredients
- 300 g strong bread flour
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 15 g dry active yeast
- 250 ml semi-skimmed milk warmed + extra for glazing
- oil for greasing bowl
- 200 g clotted cream (or 1 medium tub)
- Strawberry jam
Instructions
- Pour both flours into a bowl and rub in your butter (cut it into cubes to help this).
- Add the sugar, yeast and warm milk to flour mixture and knead until a workable dough has formed. I used my mixer with a dough hook to quicken up the process. This should take about 5 mins with a mixer.
- Place your dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl and leave your dough ball to prove in a warm place (first rising) covered with a damp tea towel, until doubled in size.
- Push out the air with your hand and shape into tangerine orange-sized balls, on a lightly floured surface. Place each of them onto a floured baking sheet. Leave them to prove (covered the damp tea towel) until they’ve had a nice rise (doubled).
- Brush the bread rolls gently with a little bit of milk and bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve the little buns warm with clotted cream and jam of your choosing.
Nutrition
Other sweet bread recipes –
Bulgarian Easter Bread (Kozunak)
Italian Easter Bread (Pane di Pasqua)
