How to make whipped cream by hand?

Important Notes

Ideally, the cream should have a fat content of over 30%. The lower the fat content, the harder it is to whip, as there’s not enough fat to trap and hold air.

Another key tip for perfect homemade whipped cream is to chill everything: the whisk, the cream, and the bowl. This is important for two reasons:

• Keeping everything cold helps the cream hold air longer, resulting in a stable, fluffy foam.
• It prevents the cream from turning into butter. Whipping warm cream can make it separate and churn instead of whipping.

Ingredients

For making whipped cream by hand whisk, you need the following items:

Cream: Thickened (heavy) cream. Use a cream that contains at least 30% fat content. In Australia, heavy cream is commonly known as thickened cream.

Flavor: Vanilla essence. If you have pure vanilla extract, even better! It’s like the icing on the cake. While adding vanilla is optional, it truly elevates the flavor. Give it a try and taste the difference for yourself!

Sugar: Use powdered sugar as it incorporates easily into the cream.

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to make whipped cream by hand?

You can find this easy, no-fuss whipped cream with a hand whisk video below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure:

Start the whole process of whipping thickened cream by chilling the bowl, cream, and whisk. Place the bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 20–30 minutes.

When everything is ready, combine the chilled cream, vanilla, and sugar in the cold bowl and whisk until stiff peaks appear (images below).

Once the cream starts to thicken up, and you get sturdy peaks that slightly droop down yet still hold their shape, it is the perfect time to stop whisking. So easy! Right?

Storage

• Fresh whipped cream is best served immediately.
• Use whipped cream within 24 hours, as after that it starts losing its shape (if not refrigerated).
• Store the leftovers in the freezer.

How to make whipped cream long-lasting?

To make whipped cream long-lasting so it can hold a perfect shape, you need a stabilizer. The following are a few options to be used as a stabilizer:

• dry milk powder
• gelatin jelly
• cornstarch
• cream of tartar
• pudding mix

Generally, stabilizers are added while whipping the cream to make it long-lasting.

Expert Tips

1. Use heavy cream as it holds its shape much longer than regular whipping cream.
2. The cream must have a fat content of at least 30% to achieve the best results.
3. Avoid frozen cream.
4. Never leave whipped cream at room temperature; if you’re not serving it immediately, refrigerate it right away. The best way is to store it in a piping bag in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
5. Keep in mind that ½ cup of heavy cream will whip up to about 1 cup of whipped cream.
6. Homemade whipped cream is best used within 24 hours. If you’d like to use it the next day, add a stabilizer while mixing in the other ingredients to help it last longer.
7. To keep everything extra cold while whipping, set the chilled bowl over a tray of ice cubes, a simple hack that works wonders. Give it a try!

Recipes with Cream