Clotted Cream, Strawberry Jam and Scones...and Camaraderie

by Libby

They put on their coats and ran across the snowy road to the inn and spa for the regular post-exercise tea and scones. ... a plate of warm scones, clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam. This was Clara’s favorite part of exercise class. (Bury Your Dead, Kindle, p.239)

It is six months since Olivier was imprisoned, and Jean-Guy Beauvoir has returned to Three Pines, at Gamache's request, to quietly review the evidence in the case against Olivier. Beauvoir needs Clara's help, for unlike Gamache, he has always been aloof with the Three Pines community. He figures she 'was the best of a bad lot' to take into his confidence. So very Beauvoir!

With Gamache's and Beauvoir's belief that they 'might have gotten it wrong', Clara undoubtedly feels a moral obligation to help Olivier, and support Gabri whose unstinting belief in him has led to this turn of events. But her decision to help Beauvoir by studying the case file and asking some questions within the community, places Clara in somewhat of a moral dilemma.

She didn’t like the idea of being a spy but if he was right then an innocent man was in prison and a murderer was among them. (Bury Your Dead, Kindle, p.156)

Clara uses the post-exercise class gathering of women, her friends, as an opportune time to raise the subject of Jean-Guy Beauvoir's visit and of murder, to suss out Dominique Gilbert, The Wife, and Hanna Para. She wonders if each is capable of murder or perhaps their husbands, or other family members.

As always, Louise Penny sheds a little light where there is darkness with her wonderful sense of humour, allowing us to so easily relate to her characters’ foibles...and of course, recognise our own.

"Ten more.” Clara groaned and lifted her legs in unison. “Keep your back flat!” Clara ignored the order. This wasn’t pretty. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but she was going to damn well do it. “One, grunt, two, groan, three...” ... Myrna turned to Clara. “If you hold her down, I’ll kill her.” (Bury Your Dead, Kindle, p.237)

Haven’t we all shared the ‘pain’ of such feats of endurance in an exercise class with incessant moaning and complaining, regardless of the perceived benefits? And doesn’t it make any after-class treat all the more worthwhile and less of a guilty pleasure. What a laugh!

As Clara tries to lead off her ‘investigation’ after the class, with a comment about Beauvoir's presence in Three Pines, there is more humour with the chorus of responses about him ranging from caring concern, to a need to fatten him up, to an appreciation of his 'cuteness', and his Mr. Spock 'coolness', as Clara explains, even though it was not where she was wanting to lead the discussion!

Everyone had a crush on Mr. Spock because he was so cool and distant. They wanted to be the one to break down his reserve, to get into that heart.”

“It’s not his heart we want to get into,” said Hanna and everyone laughed. (Bury Your Dead, Kindle, p.238)

Who doesn't recognise themselves somewhere amongst this group of women in their responses to Jean-Guy Beauvoir! There is such a wonderful sense of camaraderie in this exchange about him; women who are comfortable enough with each other to be quite frank, to joke, and probably talk about almost anything.

Once they settle down to their scones, clotted cream and jam, Clara turns the conversation towards Olivier and murder.

“He still insists he didn’t kill the Hermit,” said Clara, watching everyone closely. She felt a fraud, pretending to be a homicide investigator, play-acting. ... Had one of these women killed the Hermit after all? But why? What could have driven them to it? And what did she really know about them? (Bury Your Dead, Kindle, p.239-40)

I can recall feeling uncomfortable that Clara was in this position of resorting to 'investigating' her friends, to ascertain if they were anyway implicated.

Was it morally justifiable that she would take advantage of a gathering of friends in this way? Was it a betrayal of the trust and consideration or fairness these women would necessarily expect as part of this group? With such a dilemma Clara would have to weigh up her moral obligation to Olivier against the morality of her actions with her friends. And anyway, by her own admission, how well did Clara know these women? But given time...

From my experience a wonderful camaraderie can be forged in the company of women, a sense of good will and trust, that grows from shared experiences or activities with opportunities to relax, learn from each other, and just enjoy each others' company. And in the process we try each other on for size, seeing how well we fit, finding some boundaries or parameters for a friendship or friendship group. And it's the stuff on which closer friendships are founded...or not.

Loyalty, trust, commitment and honesty are at the heart of closer friendships that evolve over time as we learn more about each other, and shared values become explicit. This doesn't mean that those friends are necessarily a mirror image of yourself, but something about your core values and moral beliefs will be attuned. Ultimately the very closest of friendships are characterised by high levels of trust and commitment, a deep and genuine concern for each other's well-being, and intimate knowledge of each other through mutual self-disclosure. Clara has that with Myrna.

What we observe with the Three Pines’ exercise class and the women who gather at the morning tea is the taking of that opportunity to get to know each other more intimately and develop mutual respect as they share their opinions, their motivations, their confidences, and even some startling disclosures about murder!

The women in the room chatted about love, about childhood, about losing parents, about Mr. Spock, about good books they’d read. They mothered each other. And by lunch they were ready to meet the winter’s day. (Bury Your Dead, Kindle, p.242)

While Clara left that encounter with one or two observations for Beauvoir to pursue, she was possibly a little further along the pathway towards forging some closer friendships.

How often have you made a really meaningful connection to someone just by taking those opportunities to talk with them, ask each other questions and learn about your respective likes, desires and beliefs, fears and motivations, to share experiences and discover that there is something in each others' company to be enjoyed, pursued and cultivated, and truly valued? And what starts as a little spark, forges a friendship that offers mutual support and comfort and a safe, intimate and trusting place. And immeasurable joy! Life is full of possibilities.

 

Scones, clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam

 

What better to accompany camaraderie!

I've been drawn to the idea of a traditional cream tea (as it's known in Cornwall) or Devonshire tea (as it's known in Devon) ever since discovering a small book on clotted cream in a little bookshop in Fowey, Cornwall. What a delight! And more so, in discovering it being enjoyed in Three Pines! 

I couldn't resist the opportunity to make clotted cream and it really is quite easy. What a wonderful combination of flavours and textures in a cream tea, and how absolutely worthwhile doing everything from scratch, so that it's all homemade. The deep, rich flavour and thick sticky texture of clotted cream goes so well with the sweet acidity of the strawberries and the light, crumb of warm freshly-baked scones.

Lashings of clotted cream and jam (this is no time to be stingy!) on a warm scone is indeed a treat, and reward enough for a punishing exercise regimen. And just the thing to serve with a fragrant tea in the company of women friends, I think. 

Clotted cream

This cooked cream is traditionally made with creamy full fat, cow's milk that hasn't been homogenised. At home the easiest method is just to use pure cream and bake it a very slow oven for 10-12 hours until it thickens and a crust forms.

- 4 cups of pure cream (no thickeners), with a high fat content

- a ceramic or Pyrex baking dish with a largish surface area that allows the cream to be at least 2.5cm/1inch deep

1.  Pour the cream into the baking dish and cover with aluminium foil.

2.  Place in a low oven at 80C/180F for 10-12 hours or overnight.

3.  Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature.

4.  Spoon off the thick, crusty top layer. It has the consistency of sticky mud. This is the clotted cream.

5.  Spoon the clotted cream into a serving bowl and refrigerate the remainder.

6.  Approximately a cup of thin, runny cream will remain in the baking dish. This can be poured off and used as a base for sauces or in other dishes such as a creamy, pasta bake.

Strawberry jam

I prefer to make small amounts of strawberry jam so I can reduce the sugar content. With a third of the sugar normally used to preserve a jam, this one needs to be kept in the fridge. But it has the benefit of a more enhanced strawberry flavour and less sugary taste. It is still very sweet though. I like to keep the fruit whole so it's more like a preserve.

- 3 cups of whole, firm strawberries

- 1 cup of superfine (caster) sugar

juice of 1 lemon

- 1 tbsp Kirsch

1.  Wash and hull the strawberries and gently pat dry.

2.  Layer the strawberries with the sugar in a glass/ceramic bowl and pour over the lemon juice.

3.  Gently mix. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave overnight. This helps to reduce the cooking time (to keep the fruit whole) as much of the sugar will dissolve overnight.

4.  Place the strawberry mixture in a heavy-based saucepan and gently heat to dissolve any remaining sugar.

5.  Once all sugar is dissolved, bring the mixture to the boil and stir continuously. After 10 minutes, start to check for setting point - mine was reached at 20 minutes.

6.  Stir in the tablespoon of Kirsch and remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

7.  Pour into one or two warm, sterilised jars. Seal and refrigerate.

Scones

The trick to light scones is working with the dough quickly. A quick mix in a food processor helps with this. The use of buttermilk is also key for many, for lightness and a little bit of tang. I don't use sugar in my scones. Sweet toppings are enough.

- 4 cups of self-raising flour

- 2 teaspoons of baking powder

- 100g/3.5oz butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces

- 1.25 cups of buttermilk at room temperature (or whole milk with a squeeze of lemon juice)

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F. Lightly grease a baking tray.

2.  Mix the flour, baking powder and butter in a food processor for barely 10 seconds, so it is like the texture of breadcrumbs.

3.  Pour into a bowl, and quickly and lightly mix in the buttermilk to form a dough.

4.  Gently roll or pat out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 3cm/1.2inches and cut to shape.

5.  Place close together (it helps them rise) on the prepared tray and brush the tops with a little milk.

6.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes, depending on your oven.

7. Cool a little on a wire rack, before serving.