How to Make the Best Homemade Whipped Cream

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Make the best homemade whipped cream from scratch in minutes. Light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet, this easy recipe delivers flawless results every time. Your desserts will never be the same.

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Best Whipped Cream at Home

All right. You get a can of whipped cream or a frozen tub of whipped topping to use as the finishing touch on your favorite pancakes or cupcakes. We’re not totally sure how these are made, but not only that, but…

You notice that they either melt right away, they don’t stay nice and fluffy, and the taste isn’t that great.

Bleh.

I’ve actually spent years getting both the tub of whipped topping and using the aerosol cans. I don’t know why I kept re-purchasing if I wasn’t happy! Trust me, this isn’t the only example. I’ve gotten plain Greek yogurt (purchasing to make tzatziki sauce is a different story, but I’m referring to eating it on its own, despite the fact I hate the taste of unflavored plain!), whole wheat pasta, ready-made curry powder, red curry paste… I’m sure there’s even more that I can’t think of on the top of my head right now but yeah! Why do I repeatedly purchase things I’m not happy with? I don’t know! I’ve felt that those ingredients were necessary and I was scared to break out of “the norm!”

But that’s what this platform is about. Let’s get uncomfortable in the kitchen and explore our potential! So if you’re ambitious and want to make your own whipped cream, then go get 3 ingredients you probably have, a bowl and a whisk, and get mixing!

Homemade whipped cream with smooth, fluffy peaks in a clear bowl.

Why Make Homemade Whipped Cream

Yeah, I wish I had someone convince me years ago. I really refuse to buy whipped cream again! When you see how easy it is to make, I’m sure you’ll feel the same!

Fast: It’s honestly so fast to make! It’s only about 5 minutes.
3 ingredients: You only need whipping cream, powdered sugar, and Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste to make this whipped cream.
TASTY: Oh goodness, there is an actual taste in homemade whipped cream! By using the vanilla bean paste, you see and taste the vanilla, so it’s like having French vanilla ice cream in the form of whipped cream. Yum!
Long-lasting: I’ve kept it in the fridge for 3 days and the taste stayed perfect, and the whipped cream itself maintained its form and fluffiness. Win! And if it is not fluffy after 3 days, you can easily whip it again to refresh it.
Pipe-able: This whipped cream can also be pipe-able if you want to transfer it to an icing bag to make a lovely garnish for cakes and cupcakes!

Ingredients for the Best Homemade Whipped Cream

You only need three ingredients to make the perfect whipped cream at home!

Whipping cream: I didn’t realize until doing some research that there actually is a difference between heavy cream and whipping cream. In Canada (or at least where I am), you only get “fresh whipping cream,” that’s also referred to as “heavy cream,” and it’s made of 35% milk fat. On the other hand, it seems elsewhere “whipping cream” contains 30% to 35% milk fat, and “heavy whipping cream” contains 36% or more milk fat. As a result, you can use both interchangeably, but if you have the option, heavy cream will whip better and hold its shape longer than if you make your whipped cream using whipping cream. It is recommended to use heavy cream especially if you want to use it for piping, pastry fillings, and toppings. Read more about the difference between heavy cream and whipping cream here.
Powdered sugar: Any powdery sugar will work. For the sake of demonstration, I actually used Stevia because it is powdery and it worked well! You could also use granulated sugar if you like, but I believe if you were to make a larger batch you would taste the sugar granules.
Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste: This is the ultimate addition to our whipped cream! You’ll really taste that vanilla bean in your whipped cream, and it’ll feel like you’ve got some French vanilla ice cream on all your favourite desserts. I absolutely love this flavor! If you don’t have the vanilla bean paste, simply double the amount of vanilla extract. Of course you won’t have the exact same flavour, but you’ll still have the hint of vanilla that we all love!

Ingredients for homemade whipped cream displayed on a granite countertop: Stevia sweetener packets, Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste, Neilson whipped cream, and fresh raspberries.

How to Make Homemade Whipped Cream - 3 Ways!

In the video and in the pictures, I made the whipped cream by hand because I’m not making that big of a batch. However, if you think your arms are going to get fatigued or you’re making a huge batch, then I would definitely recommend you use a stand mixer or a hand mixer with the whisk attachment! As of 2023, I now make my whipped cream using a whipped cream dispenser. This gives the most professional results and it’s just so easy - no arm workout needed! I’ll provide instructions for the three methods.

Whisking by Hand

Begin by adding your whipping cream in a large mixing bowl.

Ice cubes in a metal mixing bowl, not whipped cream at the stage described.

Heavy whipping cream in a stainless steel mixing bowl, ready to be whisked by hand.

Whipping cream being whisked in a stainless steel bowl with a wire whisk, showing thickened cream in early stages.

Keep whisking and continue until the cream starts to thicken. Your arms may try to tire at this point.

Partially whipped cream in a bowl being whisked, showing thickened but still liquid consistency.

Partially whipped cream in a metal bowl with a whisk, showing thickened but not yet peaked consistency.

Add sweetener of choice and vanilla and continue whisking until you observe soft peaks. Lifting the whipped cream with the whisk should result in peaks that eventually points down.

Whisk lifting thick syrup showing soft peaks forming during whipped cream preparation.

Whipped cream with soft peaks lifted on a whisk over a mixing bowl.

Whisk lifting soft peaks of homemade whipped cream from a mixing bowl.

Soft peaks of whipped cream being whisked in a glass bowl with a wire whisk.

Whipped cream with soft peaks being lifted on a whisk in a glass bowl

Whipped cream with soft peaks being lifted on a whisk during hand-whisking process.

CHALLENGE FOR YOU: Can you make whipped cream by hand without ever stopping to rest your arms? Let me know if you did in the comments down below and found out how I did!

Using a Stand Mixer

Pour the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and start whisking with the whisk attachment at medium speed. Gradually increase the speed of the whisk until the cream starts to thicken.

Add sweetener of choice and vanilla and continue whisking until you observe soft peaks. Lifting the whipped cream with the whisk should result in peaks that eventually points down.

Using a Whipped Cream Dispenser

Add the cream, sweetener, and vanilla extract (or other vanilla) in the bottle for your whipped cream dispenser. Stir well with a spoon and taste for sweetness.

Ensure the head gasket is inserted in the head of the dispenser and prior to closing the bottle, screw in the tip on the head. Secure the head on the bottle and insert the Nitrous Oxide (N2O) charger to the charger holder.

Screw in the charger holder until tight, you will hear and quick discharge of gas as the charge gets secured to the head of the dispenser. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make whipped cream, shake the bottle well, turn the bottle so that the tip is facing the dish/glassware you are topping with cream. Press the trigger and enjoy the whipped cream.

For more information on how to use a whipped cream dispenser, check out all the information here.

Storing Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade whipped cream in a glass bowl with fresh blueberries on a wooden plate and raspberries in a small white bowl.

Store your homemade whipped cream in an airtight container. It will stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days. If it has been longer than 3 days and the whipped cream has become loose, whisk it again for a few seconds to refresh it.

How Can I Prevent Over-Whipping?▼

As soon as the whipped cream starts to leave streaks during whisking, proceed carefully since the transformation to soft peaks is only a few seconds out. Keep lifting the cream with the whisk every 20-30 seconds. As soon as you see peaks that droop over, stop.

I will show you at what point you should stop whisking, and how over-whipped cream looks.

Whipped cream is ready at this stage.

Over-whipped cream in a bowl with stiff peaks pointing upward and a grainy texture

Over-whipped cream with stiff peaks pointing upward in a metal bowl.

This is over whipped - as you can see there are peaks, but they are not drooping down. Instead, they are pointing upward. Also, the texture has become grainy, almost like ricotta.

Over-whipped cream with stiff peaks in a metal bowl showing grainy, curdled texture

What if I Over-Whipped?▼

Unfortunately you will need to start over. The flavour will not differ too much from properly whipped cream, however, the texture does not stay the same. If you don’t want to waste it, I would store it as described earlier, and you could save it to serve in coffee or in hot chocolate, where the smooth fluffy texture is not as important as in a dessert.

Did You Say Chocolate Whipped Cream?

If you’ve checked out my pancake or dessert recipes - heck, even my oatmeal recipes! - you know that I’m a chocoholic! What can I say, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but if you say “Chocolate” I’ll jump over! I love chocolate! While I love cream and whipped cream, I’ll always choose a chocolate whipped cream over the classic whipped cream! Chocolate whipped cream reminds me of the chocolate frosting used in cakes and cupcakes - well, actually, that is what’s used! So, what if you want to make your own chocolate whipped cream?

It’s very simple! After some trial and error, I’ve figured it out! Last night, I actually got on the hot cocoa bombs trend. Yes, yes, I’m like two months late! Better late than never right? Part of the reason for that is that it took forever for my molds to deliver from Amazon! Though let me tell you it was well worth the wait! If you want to see me preparing the bombs, be sure to check out my Sunday Funday Cook-along Episode 16 on Instagram! If you’re not already following me on Instagram, then I really recommend that you do for recipe sneak peaks, kitchen experiments, and the cook along videos of my special Saturday night meals - they usually consist of dishes I’ve never made before!

Anyway, so after the bombs successfully exploded, I decided to top my cup with some chocolate whipped cream. Here’s how it looked

Two bowls of homemade whipped cream topped with cocoa powder and chocolate chunks on a granite countertop.

What I did here was add some of the molten chocolate used to make my bombs into my already whipped cream! However, what I did wrong was that I whisked in the molten chocolate with the whipped cream, and that caused it to overwhip. You see the difference between the texture of the chocolate whipped cream and the regular whipped cream?

When recording the video above, I tried again. Again, I used molten chocolate and added it into the whipped cream. However, I folded it into the whipped cream instead of whisking. While it didn’t overwhip, it looks a little grainy, kind of like Black Forest cake, as you can see below.

Chocolate whipped cream swirled in a white bowl, made with cocoa powder folded into whipped cream.

Chocolate whipped cream made with cocoa powder in a white bowl, showing a thick, fluffy texture with cocoa specks throughout.

With that being said, what I recommend you do to make chocolate homemade whipped cream is to add cocoa powder! That will give you the best results! I made chocolate whipped cream for my birthday last year and when I followed Gordon Ramsay’s Hazelnut Meringue Tower recipe, and that’s what I did. So there you go!

If you liked this recipe please let me know in the comments. Tag your post on social media using #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

Recipe by Anadi Misra