The other day I was talking to a friend when they revealed that they didn’t know how to make whipped cream. I didn’t believe them at first, because following a whipped cream recipe is unbelievably easy. In fact, it’s so simple that you don’t need a recipe after you’ve done it once or twice. Homemade whipped cream (and clotted cream, for that matter) is one of those things you can whip up (heh) in under a minute that tastes so good you’ll get the Martha Stewart Seal of Approval from your friends and family.
It’s really easy to learn how to make whipped cream. All you need is three basic ingredients, a beater/mixer, and a bowl. A good whipped cream recipe is actually the simplest thing you can make for dessert – it literally only takes a minute, and you can mix it with chocolate cake, fruit, ice cream, or any other delightfully sweet thing for a perfect end to your meal.
At our house, homemade whipped cream has become our default summer dessert – I mix up a batch, add fresh strawberries or peaches from the farmers market, and viola! An amazingly fresh dessert that’s not packing on a ton of fat or sugar. How perfect is that?
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour whipping cream into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add sugar and vanilla.
- Beat with a hand mixer on high until the cream starts to stiffen up. You’ll notice that at first everything will flow around the beaters for a bit, then the whole thing will suddenly seize and begin to clump together at about 30-45 seconds. This is where you should stop – your whipped cream will still be light and airy at this point. If you beat it for two long, you’ll end up with butter! Which can be nice, but not for topping ice cream or piping onto cakes.
- Feel free to add a little more sugar if you like your whipped topping recipe even sweeter. Be sure to add just a few tablespoons as a time, and it’s very easily to make this recipe too sweet. If that happens, just add more heavy cream and keep beating.
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One of my fave simple desserts is canned peaches and/or apricots with a dollop of Gingernut Whipped Cream. Gingernuts are a super crunchy ginger flavoured cookie available Down Under. We bash a few of those up in the mortar and pestle and then mix into whipped cream. Super yum!
Homemade whipped cream sounds like a brilliant idea. I am bookmarking this recipe.
a great dessert, indeed, thanks for the reminder. and gingernuts– used to get those when I was in Scotland. Steph, got a ginger cookie recipe?
That’s our default summer dessert too! The hubby claims he’s getting a good workout when he makes whipped cream by hand. Ha!
That’s it? So easy. Uh, oh. Now I just might just have to turn it into my default dessert, too.
It’s the heavy whipping cream that I don’t often have in the fridge that prevents me from making this. But so true. So simple and so no reason to buy the premade commercial variety.
This is how I make it also, except I use powdered sugar which reduces the chance of it being grainy tasting. I know people who don’t even think you can make this yourself – that it always must come out of a can. Blech!
Woe is me! I cannot enjoy whipped cream anymore because it immediately goes to my middle. The photo really made my mouth water.
whipped cream has got to be about the easiest dessert add on in the book — and what a delicious difference it makes too (i like powdered sugar or the superfine baking sugar works well too.)
along the same lines, have you tried the cheese called quark at the farmers’ market? available in savory or sweet (lemon or vanilla).
dip strawberries or cherries directly into quark and i promise you you won’t be disappointed — better than cheesecake i reckon.
We almost always make our own whipped cream. And you are so right — it really is easy!
@sarah henry, never heard of “quark.” We don’t have it at our farmer’s market but it sounds like something I’d like to try!
I don’t even pull out the hand blender – I prefer to do it with a whisk! Our dinner guests are always amazed – “you mean it’s *that* easy to make whipped cream?!” And we’re like, “duh!” So much better than that non-dairy crap.
I have never added vanilla extract to my whipped cream; I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it! I like to add some instant espresso powder and make coffee whipped cream.
This is actually my favorite trick to give to friends when they have to bring a dessert to a potluck. I tell them to soak some strawberries in water and sugar for a bit so they get syrup-y, then layer them with homemade whipped cream and pre-made sponge cake for a triffle. You can still *say* you made it, without having to get the cake perfect.
@sarah henry: Quark is delicious! They don’t have it at the Whole Foods near me, but now I am inspired to seek out some to enjoy with our berries.
@nate: I agree! It is so easy (and impressive) to do by hand. Using a hand mixer almost feels like cheating.
A big spoonful of whipped cream on a bowl of fresh fruit is fantastic!
Okay, this stuff is great! It’s very simple and I like that. I found that if you want to make a quick cream cheese frosting out of this then just make the whipped cream as directed then add as much cream cheese as you want! I made red velvet cake with my version of this treat and two whole cakes vanished in one weekend!
That’s a great idea! How much cream cheese do you use for how much heavy cream?
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