Homemade Whipped Cream
Hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, creamy mousse—what do they all have in common? Have you guessed it yet? The title of this recipe might give it away: whipped cream! When you’re cooking or baking from scratch, mastering the art of making whipped cream is a must-have skill for any home chef.
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Important Tips Before Whipping Your Cream
The first and most crucial step in making whipped cream is using clean, grease-free equipment. If you want your cream to be light, fluffy, and perfectly whipped, your bowl, mixer, or whisk must be squeaky clean. Here’s why: the cream already contains fat that traps air during whipping. If there’s any residual grease on your tools, it can interfere with this process, preventing the fat in the cream from forming the stable structure needed to hold air. The result? Flat, disappointing whipped cream.
The second key to success is keeping your ingredients and tools cold. Fat melts when warm, and melted fat won’t form the structure needed to trap air. By using chilled cream, a cool bowl, and even popping your whisk or mixer attachments into the fridge beforehand, you’ll create the perfect environment for stiff, airy whipped cream. Pro tip: if it’s a hot day, work quickly or in a cool kitchen to maintain the temperature.
To Whisk or To Mix?
Let’s be honest—I always reach for my hand mixer with a whisk attachment when making whipped cream. Years ago, I tried using a whisk for my first batch, and, well… it was also the last time. Thankfully, I had a friend with me to switch off when our arms started to ache!
While it’s absolutely possible to whip cream by hand, it’s a labor of love and takes a lot of time and effort. Unless you’re a regular whisker or up for a workout, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you don’t have a hand or stand mixer, you can still achieve great results with a whisk—just start early and pace yourself. If you do have a mixer, you’ll have perfect whipped cream in minutes without breaking a sweat!
Personally, I prefer a hand mixer over a stand mixer. With a hand mixer, you have better control over the whipping process, making it easier to achieve just the right texture.
How Sweet Should Your Whipped Cream Be?
The sweetness of whipped cream largely depends on your personal taste—and maybe even a little regional influence. I live near the German border, and over there, they typically don’t add sugar to their whipped cream. Their pastries, however, are often loaded with sweetness, so it all balances out in the end!
Personally, I like to strike a middle ground. I add one and a half tablespoons of granulated sugar to one cup of heavy cream. This creates a lightly sweetened whipped cream that complements desserts without overwhelming your taste buds. It’s sweet enough to shine but subtle enough to let the other flavors in your dish stand out.
Granulated Sugar vs. Powdered Sugar
When making a small batch of whipped cream, granulated sugar works perfectly. However, if you’re scaling up the recipe for a larger batch, I recommend switching to powdered sugar. Here’s why: in bigger quantities, granulated sugar doesn’t always dissolve completely, which can leave tiny sugar granules in your whipped cream. Powdered sugar blends more smoothly, ensuring your whipped cream stays silky and lump-free, even in larger batches.
How to Make Whipped Cream
Supplies
- Whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer
- A bowl
How to Make
If you make whipped cream in a hot kitchen or in the summer, place your bowl and whisks in the fridge 30 minutes before you want to make the whipped cream.
Be sure to use cold ingredients. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and start mixing it on a medium-high setting.
Once the cream starts to thicken a bit, add the sugar.
Now, again, mix on medium to high until you can make peaks of the cream. When the peaks don’t fall back but are stiff you should stop mixing. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- Make sure your ingredients and equipment are cool. If you want to whip up some cream on a hot day, put the bowl and whisk attachment of your mixer in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Clean your equipment well before you start making this whipped cream.
- Want to make a larger batch? You can double this recipe but be sure to use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar.
- If your recipe calls for 1 cup of whipped cream, use half of that volume of heavy cream. So 1 cup of whipped cream should be 1/2 cup of heavy cream.
- Want to add flavor to your whipped cream like vanilla extract, cinnamon, jam, or whatever else you like? Add the flavor just before your cream is ready.
- The higher the fat percentage in the cream the more stiff you can whisk it. A fat percentage between 30-40% is perfect for whipping.
- If you need your whipped cream stabilized so it will keep for a few days you can add some ingredients that will help:
- Add about 90 grams of cream cheese or mascarpone at the start of this recipe.
- Add 1 teaspoon of gelatine together with the sugar once the cream starts to thicken a bit. Make sure the gelatine is cooled down so it will not heat your cream.
Equipment
- 1 whisk
- 1 stand mixer, or hand mixer optional
- 1 bowl cooled
Ingredients
- 1 cup (or 240 ml) Heavy cream (30-40% fat)
- 1 1/2 tbsp (25 grams) Granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp (25 grams) Powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- If working in a hot kitchen or during summer, place your mixing bowl and whisk or hand mixer attachments in the fridge for 30 minutes before starting.
- Pour 1 cup of cold heavy cream into the chilled bowl. Begin mixing on medium-high speed.
- Once the cream starts to thicken slightly, add 2 tbs of sugar. Continue mixing on medium-high speed.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Keep mixing until the peaks become stiff and hold their shape without falling back. Avoid overmixing, as this can turn your whipped cream into butter.
Notes
- Add 90 grams of cream cheese or mascarpone at the start of the recipe.
- Use 1 tsp of gelatin, dissolved and cooled, mixed in with the sugar once the cream begins to thicken.
