How to make homemade whipped cream

Knowing how to make homemade vanilla whipped cream turns everything from fresh fruit to pancakes into a deliciously decadent treat.

If there’s one thing you need to be able to make from scratch, I vote you know how to make whipped cream. Think of it as a life skill.

Did you grow up scooping cool whip on cakes? or do you squirt it from those handy cans – sometimes straight into your mouth? My mom was the cool team whip for every vacation and I never gave it a second thought.

My sister first introduced me to freshly whipped cream on Thanksgiving many years ago. Watching her pour cream into the bowl and then whip it into fluffy peaks was a game changer for me.

This vanilla whipped cream elicits a “WOW” from guests every time. It’s like nobody knows how easy it is to make it. I can speak from experience on that.

Once you’ve tried homemade whipped cream, you’ll never go back. Your taste buds and family won’t let you.

Vanilla whipped cream

My family will happily put whipped cream on almost anything. When I finally triumphed over gluten-free pancakes years ago, I wanted to make them extra special. I had fresh raspberries in the fridge and decided to whip some cream for an extra treat.

My youngest son called it “ice cream” and we all thought the flavor was a perfect match for our favorite custard.

Subtly sweet, with a rich vanilla flavor and easily melted into the fluffy pancakes: this became an instant favorite for the whole family. I’ve been slapping cream on pancakes almost every weekend since then.

I’m trying to talk myself out of making dessert tonight, if only so I can make another bowl of whipped cream on top. Writing about fluffy bowls of vanilla whipped cream always makes me crave it!

Only three ingredients are required to make whipped cream. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that will deliver perfectly fluffy results every time.

Start with COLD cream, a cold bowl, and cold beaters. If you can pop your bowl and whisk in the freezer for about an hour beforehand, that’s even better.

Warm or room temperature cream doesn’t whip very well, so keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to pour it into the bowl and whip it.

Remember that the end result is whipped cream, not butter. It’s a fine line and if you walk away while it’s being pounded and forget the time, you’ll come back to a bowl of thick sweet butter.

If your whipped cream turns to butter, don’t panic. It happens to the best of us. Whipped cream can almost always be salvaged by slowly pouring cold, unwhipped cream into the mixing bowl while the mixer is beating on low speed.

Continue adding cream until the broken whipping cream regains its fluffy texture. You shouldn’t need more than 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream and about a minute of extra mixing.

The cream forms soft peaks after 3-4 minutes. Add your vanilla and powdered sugar at this point. Stop mixing now if you’re serving the whipped cream with fresh fruit or anything else that will benefit from the softer cream melting into it.

Usually my goal is either a stiffer whipped cream that’s perfect for scooping over Angel Food Cake, icing a layered cake, or topping pumpkin pie. A few more minutes with the electric mixer will do the trick.

The only downside I have found to making whipped cream at home is that with three boys in my house I need a three beater mixer. My solution to this problem was to just lick the racquet myself. problem solved, right?

Recipe for homemade whipped cream

To prepare this recipe you will need the following:

• fat whipped cream
• Vanilla extract, paste or seeds of a vanilla bean
• powdered sugar

My favorite ingredient for this recipe is plain vanilla extract. However, if I’m feeling fancier or happen to have them on hand, vanilla paste or the seeds of a vanilla bean can be substituted.
Vanilla bean whipped cream is like no other whipped cream you’ve ever tried, friend. And yes, it’s a treat.

How long does homemade whipped cream last?

Homemade whipped cream will keep for 1-2 days if not stabilized (made exactly as described below) and 3-4 days if you stabilize it.

You may have noticed that I don’t stabilize my vanilla whipped cream. The powdered sugar gives enough structure for it to hold up well until I’m ready to serve.

To be honest, I never bother with anything else. My family almost always has everything gone at once and there’s a good chance someone will be caught licking the bowl and spatula clean.

If you have any leftovers, you can easily keep them in the fridge for a day or two.

However, if you want to stabilize it so the fluffy cream lasts for several days, you can whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with the powdered sugar before adding to the cream.

Flavored whipped cream

You can easily flavor your whipped cream with various extracts and fruit purees. Peppermint or cinnamon add a deep flavor, perfect for topping many different desserts. Swirl in strawberry sauce, sure to become your new favorite topping.

Whipped Cream with Salted Caramel Sauce may be my best kept secret of all time. Top homemade brownies with salted caramel whipped cream for an unforgettable dessert.

{originally posted 7/23/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/10/23}