Ah, whipped cream. A sweet, pillowy dollop on a slice of pie, a wedge of cake, a rubbly crumble, a fudgy brownie…there’s nary a dessert that whipped cream can’t improve.
So I’m showing you how to make whipped cream from scratch. There’s a lot of methods out there so I run through the pros and cons of each one. From how to make whipped cream by hand to using appliances, there’s an option for everyone. And when you end up with basically homemade Cool Whip but without all the junky additives, everyone wins!
The more I looked into whipped cream recipes, the more options I discovered. So I set about to test them all, to find out if there’s a method I’m not using that’s better than what I do now. Spoiler alert: the winner is exactly what you expect. But there might be a better option for you depending on what you have at home. So let’s take a sweet, delicious journey together, shall we?
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A word about dairy
You’ll notice this blog has Paleo in the title, so doesn’t that mean I should be dairy free, too? Well, yes and no. I’m almost always dairy free, as I know it’s not great for me and anything bigger than a small portion would not agree with me. But on occasion, and especially with high-quality (grass-fed and/or organic) dairy if I can get it, I’ll indulge in gelato or cheese or yogurt. (More about my story and choices here.) And there are just certain desserts that have to have whipped cream on it. Like pumpkin pie, for instance. So I happily partake and enjoy every minute of it. And other times, I happily partake of dairy-free coconut whipped cream, which is equally delicious in its own way.
Let’s get started
For each method, I started with one cup of heavy cream and my goal was to get to the soft peak stage.
The runners-up
Whisk – The obvious place to start, as almost everyone has a whisk in their kitchen. And I started with a chilled bowl and whisk, as so many experts recommend. But this took a good 4 minutes of non-stop action and my arm was tired after, oh, minute one? I have a friend who insists on doing it this way even though she has small appliances that would do it for her, and she insists it’s just too easy not to do herself. Every time we sit there, waiting for her to finish so we can eat dessert, watching her grimace while insisting through gritted teeth that it’s just…so…easy!, I wonder where her parents went wrong.
Mason jar – This was one of the reasons why I wanted to do this post in the first place. I’ve been hearing people rave about this method and again, I have a friend who swears by it. So I chilled the jar, poured in the cream, and got to shakin’. And more shakin’. And so much more shakin’ I almost ran out of apostrophes. This took 4 minutes and 30 seconds – even worse than the whisk method! I don’t get it. Unless you have no other way to whip cream, why do seemingly reasonable people choose to do this?
Food processor – I know, this is a random option to test. But I thought there was a chance that the mixing process would incorporate enough air that it could whip cream. And, technically, it did. In fact, it incorporated air so quickly and so powerfully that the cream went from liquid to almost butter in 43 seconds. Yep, less than a minute. The cream immediately covered the side of the bowl so it was hard to see what stage it was at and peeking down the food chute wasn’t helpful either, so there was just no way to know when it stop. And worse, it was only butter on top. Underneath, below the blades, was a pool of pure liquid, so it didn’t even blend consistently. No thank you.
Blender – Again, another strange choice. But I figure, even more so than processors, blenders are good at whipping air into liquids, so why wouldn’t this work? Well, it worked all right. But again, the cream immediately covered the side of the jar so you can’t see it thicken and you don’t want to open the lid insert to peek down or the cream will start splattering everywhere – trust me. So it went from liquid to almost butter in 39 seconds. Yep, even faster than the processor. At least it was consistently buttery all the way to the bottom! That’s a…plus?
Stick blender – THIS I was excited to try. I love my stick blender so much – it’s great for pureeing soups, blending sauces and marinades and even for making mashed taters. And actually, this almost worked. You definitely have more control than with the previous appliances because you’re manually controlling it and can move it up or down – or completely remove it from the cream to see what stage it’s at – so this should be a great new choice, right? Well, kind of. Again, it’s just so powerful that even though I was monitoring it closely, it just zoomed right past the soft peak phase to butter in 50 seconds. So it won’t be my first choice, but it’s good to know that maybe this could be an option if necessary. You just have to take it really slowly and check often.
The winners:
Hand mixer – I know. Duh. Using chilled beaters and a room temperature bowl, this took only 2 minutes and 30 seconds. And all that time you’re just standing there, barely moving, just making sure the beaters get around the side of the bowl. And the great part is, you don’t even need a fancy hand mixer. I bought mine for $15 (!) almost 20 years ago (basically this) and it still works fine after years and years of use. This is my back-up in case I’ve already used (and therefore dirtied) my…
Stand mixer – I know. Duh again. Oh, really? The large appliance that does all the work while you just stand there is the best option? Ya think? I know but hey, if you’re going to test your options you have to be thorough! With a chilled bowl and whisk, my lovely KitchenAid whipped cream super fast – 1 minute at the highest speed, then lowering it to medium-high speed 6 for 50 seconds to make sure I didn’t over-whip it. And my favorite method is to stop mixing it just before you think you should, to get it at its soft, pillowy best. So you can’t exactly walk away but that’s fine. Just stand there and watch it do it’s magic. Meditate, relax your arms in appreciation of their lack of labor and smile as you turn off the machine, unhook the whisk and lick that perfect little peak.
Recipes with whipped cream
So now that you’ve learned how to make whipped cream, what do you do with it? I like to add about 1/2-1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of sweetener like honey or maple syrup. Most recipes call for 1/4 cup sweetener for 1 cup cream but I think that’s overkill. Besides, the less sweet it is, the easier it is to eat more of it.
Or skip the vanilla and sweetener altogether and add 3 tablespoons of your favorite booze if that’s possible, like triple sec, Frangelico, Amaretto, Bailey’s, dark rum, etc. Then you dollop it on top of desserts like my Mini Salted Rosemary Rum Pecan Pies. Turn my Pecan Molasses Bread into muffins by baking them at 350 for 15-18 minutes, and knight each one with a spoonful once they’re cool. Or swipe my Paleo chocolate chunk cookies through whipped cream like they’re the most delicious shovels ever.
Or – and you knew this was coming, right? – just eat it straight out of the bowl. Because whether you whisked the bejeezus out of it yourself or let a machine do all the work, you’ve earned it.
Raia Todd says
I’m with you – stand mixer is the easiest! I had friends who always made it by hand and could not understand why. Unless you want an arm workout?
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Me too! I would just watch her in bewilderment.
Zuzana says
I had no idea there are so many different methods. But the mason Jar I wanted to try already long time ago. now I know I will skip that.
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Yeah, don’t bother. 😉
Annemarie says
I’m all about the KitchenAid for whipping cream! Chilling the bowl and whisk are essential.
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Yep, makes all the difference.
Jennifer Fisher says
Lol the mason jar method . . . I feel like this is how you make butter. Or at least my girl scout experience
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
It is! If you let it go that far. 😉
Stacey Crawford says
I don’t get the mason jar method either. It takes so long, and it is not heavy enough for me to get a good arm work-out, lol. Yes, I agree, the stand mixer works the best for me as well because you can see what’s going on and when it is time to stop mixing. Great post 🙂
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Yeah, I was so confused because I saw people online rave about the mason jar. And thanks!
Kari - Get Inspired Everyday! says
I’m definitely all about the hand mixer – so easy for sure! But I was definitely laughing about hand whipping cream, I’ve done it a few times when there wasn’t another option, and my arm is always dead!
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Right? It is not fun.
Heather@EasyKetoDishes says
I love homemade whip cream, it is so good and so satisfying to whip up! Thanks for your thorough testing of all the options!
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Me too. Seriously one of my favorite things.
Heather Harris says
I never thought to chill my beaters, thanks for the tip!
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Yep, making everything as cold as possible helps.
ChihYu says
Thank you for this helpful information! So timely; now I can be ready for holiday desserts!
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Exactly!
tina says
These are also tips! I didn’t know there were so many different ways!
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Thanks!
Anne says
Great post! Happy to know I’ve been doing it right although the mason jar sounds like an arm wirkout
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Yeah, it was…not fun.
Jean Choi says
Such a helpful post! I actually tried the mason jar method before and was amazed at how well it worked. I think I need to invest in a hand mixer soon.
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Oh, interesting. I know some people love it. Maybe I was doing it wrong…?
Joni Gomes says
Omg this is soooo helpful!! I’ve tried most of these but hand-held mixer being the winner makes a lot of sense!
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Yeah, not a huge surprise. 😉
linda spiker says
So many good tips! My favorite is hand whisk btw:)
Paleo Gluten Free Guy says
Impressive! I don’t have the patience. 😉