From Scratch to Scrumptious

My husband is in love with whipped cream. He’ll eat it on ice cream, pies, cakes and almost anything else made with sugar. There’s no end to what he’ll top with whipped cream.

I am in love with whipped cream for other reasons. I love it to top my coffee and fruit. Ok, I love it on pie and pudding, too!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner (it’ll come faster than you think!), you’d better brush up on your whipping skills!

I always bring a Banana Cream Pie on Thanksgiving. Not because it’s your typical “traditional” Thanksgiving pie, but because it’s my husband’s and father-in-law’s favorite pie.

One year, I realized that I forgot to buy cool whip! I was too tired to run to the store with a crew of kids. Sometimes it’s just easier to make things from scratch at home. Thank goodness I had heavy cream for coffee! Five minutes later, I had a topping for my pie that was even better than my original plan!

Heavy Whipping Cream: Also called Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream.

Powdered Sugar: Also called confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar. Because powdered sugar is so fine, it dissolves easily into the cream. You can use a lower amount of sugar for topping hot drinks or a higher amount for topping desserts. When I make whipped cream for topping pies, I use the higher amount of sugar.

Vanilla extract: Adding vanilla flavoring technically changes whipped cream into “Chantilly Cream”.

Get ready by placing a pint jar and the whisk attachment of a handheld mixer in the fridge until cold. Cream whips up faster if the ingredients, jar and whisk are cold.

Pour all ingredients in the pint jar. Using the whisk attachment on high speed, whisk until the liquid starts to stiffen up. You’ll see the ripples in the top of the cream last longer and longer until you’re at the stiff peaks stage.

I like to whip cream in a jar because when I’m done, I already have my whipped cream in the storage container, and there are less dishes to do!

If you need a lot of whipped cream, you can pour all the ingredients in the cold bowl of a stand mixer and whip with the regular beating attachment (also cold). If you have a whisk attachment for your mixer, the whipping will go much quicker.

At the soft peak stage, you technically have whipped cream. However, most people shoot for stiff peaks.

You know you’re at the soft peak stage when you lift the whisk and the peak of the cream falls back down in a loop of cream.

You know you’re at the stiff peak stage when you lift the whisk and the peak of the cream stands straight up.

The beauty of making the whipped cream in a pint jar is that it only needs a top to store it!

Store in the fridge, covered, up to 5-7 days.

Did you know that you can make whipped cream just by shaking cream in a jar? Pour all the ingredients into a pint jar and add the “secret ingredient”: a clean glass marble!

The glass marble helps to increase the amount of air that gets incorporated into the cream, so the “whipping” goes much quicker than if there was no marble at all.

You’ll know you’re close to the “stiff peak” stage when you no longer hear the marble clinking against the sides of the jar.

Do a science experiment: Does adding 5 marbles lead to whipped cream faster than just 1 marble?

Be aware: this takes a lot of muscle and perseverance to make whipped cream by hand! You’ll probably end up taking over the shaking at some point.

If you keep shaking the jar after you have the stiff peak stage, the fat will separate from the milk and you’ll get butter, so be careful!