Perfect Whipped Cream

My whipped cream recipe takes less than 5 minutes and tastes WAY better than anything you can buy at the store! Promise.

My ideal whipped cream is outrageously creamy, light, pillowy, and ever-so-slightly sweetened. I use this whipped cream for so many of the dessert recipes on Inspired Taste.

It’s perfect spooned onto scones, berry fruit salad, and coffee (try my pumpkin spice latte). And it’s essential for our strawberry shortcake! I even use this exact recipe for pie, as shown in our banana cream pie, strawberry pie, and my favorite peanut butter pie!

Key Ingredients

• Heavy Cream: For the firmest whipped cream that holds its shape, I use cold heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, or double cream. These all have a fat content of 36% or higher, which means they will whip up nicely. For a dairy-free alternative, I love this vegan coconut whipped cream!
• Sweetener: I add powdered sugar, maple syrup, or honey. 1 to 2 tablespoons is perfect for 1 cup of cream and adds a touch of sweetness, but it won’t taste overly so.
• Vanilla: I love vanilla whipped cream, so I almost always add a splash of vanilla extract. Totally optional, though!
• Salt: I firmly believe a pinch of salt makes just about anything taste better, including whipped cream. I add a tiny pinch of salt to the cream when I’m whipping it.

The colder the cream, the better it whips, so I like to keep mine in the coldest part of my fridge. Depending on how you plan to enjoy it, there are three stages of whipped cream to look for:

• Soft peaks are when the cream is thick but doesn’t hold much of a shape. Soft peaks are ideal for folding the whipped cream into another mixture, like a mousse. I also stop at soft peaks for this berry fruit salad (the swoopy, softly whipped cream is perfect with the berries).
• Medium peaks are when the cream holds its shape pretty well but is still soft. I love my whipped cream at this stage since it holds its shape well enough for spooning on desserts, spreading onto cakes, and folding into other creamy mixtures. Think the creamy filling for tiramisu, the whipped topping for this blueberry cake, and the creamy layer for these strawberry shortcakes.
• Firm or stiff peaks are when the cream stands up and does not fall back onto itself. This stage is perfect for dipping, spreading, and piping. I recommend this for the creamy filling for my peanut butter pie.

If you accidentally over-whip your cream, I’ve got you covered! Over-whipping means your pillowy, creamy whipped cream becomes clumpy and curd-like. But you can fix it by slowly beating in a bit more cream. Check the tips below the recipe for how to fix it (it’s easy).