Whip up heavy cream? Why not just use some Cool Whip?
I love Cool Whip. I grew up on Cool Whip. It was like a creamy marshmallow I could scoop onto any dessert in the house. Or straight into my mouth by the spoonfuls.
It wasn’t until I moved to Asia and found out that the ice cream here doesn’t have any milk in it (it is made from processed palm oil) that I began reading the ingredients at the grocery store before buying anything.
Cool Whip ingredients: water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (including Coconut and Palm oils), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skim milk, light cream, and less than 2% sodium caseinate, natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, and beta carotene.
Processed oil and corn syrup for that ‘perfect flavor’, and a few strange ingredients I’m sure are used to form its liquid plastic texture.
It was fun Cool Whip, but it all ends here. If I can make ice cream at home, I’m sure I can handle a few minutes of whipping heavy cream.
Real whipped cream will not form the stiff peaks that Cool Whip is famous for, because real whipped cream is just that – real. Lots and lots of air and a few magical chemicals in Cool Whip make those stiff peaks possible. Real whipped cream is light and creamy, and much more flavorful.
Sugar-Free Vanilla Whipped Cream recipe
by Season with Spice
Makes 2 cups
What you’ll need:
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream (fat content of 30 to 36%)
1 vanilla bean
Process:
1. Pour the cream into an airtight container. Cut vanilla bean in half, and then slit each half down the middle to open the pod. With the dull side of a knife, scrap the tiny seeds into the container. Stir well. Finally, lay the empty vanilla pods on top of the cream, seal the container, and place in refrigerator for a few hours.
2. Place one metal bowl and balloon whisk into freezer for 10 minutes. If you are living in a tropical climate like me, close the windows and blast the air conditioning.
3. Remove the vanilla pods from the cream and set aside*. Then pour vanilla cream into the bowl. Whisk vigorously, changing motions and directions to form bubbles on the cream. As it foams, the fat stabilizes the air bubbles, giving you twice as much volume as when you started. If the cream remains a liquid, place everything in the freezer for a few minutes and try again.
4. Once the volume has doubled, and soft peaks have formed, serve immediately on a dessert. Try baked apples or a banana split with vanilla cream. Or with cinnamon chocolate chip cookies as a cookies and cream dessert.
5. For any unused whipped cream - place the vanilla pods back inside, seal the container, and use within 24 hours. The cream will be flatter the next day, so before serving, just whip it again to thicken it.
- As I learned with my first try, don’t overdo the whisking process or the cream might curdle and separate, and you’ll end up with butter. For my second try, I actually opened the refrigerator and whipped the cream in the cold air. I also took one break and placed everything back in the freezer for a few minutes to cool it down before continuing the process (remember I’m living in a tropical climate). Whisking the cream will warm it up, so it becomes a delicate balance of whipping air bubbles into the cream, while trying to keep it cold. After soft peaks form, transfer the cream to an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Before serving it that day, whip it up again quickly and the cream will be even thicker than before you placed it in the refrigerator.
- *You can still use the empty vanilla pods – by washing them, drying them on the counter or refrigerator, and then adding them to a container of sugar – to make vanilla sugar.
by Season with Spice
Makes 2 cups
What you’ll need:
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream (fat content of 30 to 36%)
1 vanilla bean
Process:
1. Pour the cream into an airtight container. Cut vanilla bean in half, and then slit each half down the middle to open the pod. With the dull side of a knife, scrap the tiny seeds into the container. Stir well. Finally, lay the empty vanilla pods on top of the cream, seal the container, and place in refrigerator for a few hours.
2. Place one metal bowl and balloon whisk into freezer for 10 minutes. If you are living in a tropical climate like me, close the windows and blast the air conditioning.
3. Remove the vanilla pods from the cream and set aside*. Then pour vanilla cream into the bowl. Whisk vigorously, changing motions and directions to form bubbles on the cream. As it foams, the fat stabilizes the air bubbles, giving you twice as much volume as when you started. If the cream remains a liquid, place everything in the freezer for a few minutes and try again.
4. Once the volume has doubled, and soft peaks have formed, serve immediately on a dessert. Try baked apples or a banana split with vanilla cream. Or with cinnamon chocolate chip cookies as a cookies and cream dessert.
5. For any unused whipped cream - place the vanilla pods back inside, seal the container, and use within 24 hours. The cream will be flatter the next day, so before serving, just whip it again to thicken it.
Notes:
- I find desserts are plenty sweet already, so no-sugar whipped cream is the perfect complement. However, if you want to add sugar, you can add up to 1 tbsp for this recipe (powdered sugar is best for dissolving, and includes corn flour which will help thicken it). Follow the steps above, but add in the sugar a portion at a time while whisking. If you add all the sugar into the cream before whisking, it will be difficult to form whipped cream (same goes for the flavorings).- As I learned with my first try, don’t overdo the whisking process or the cream might curdle and separate, and you’ll end up with butter. For my second try, I actually opened the refrigerator and whipped the cream in the cold air. I also took one break and placed everything back in the freezer for a few minutes to cool it down before continuing the process (remember I’m living in a tropical climate). Whisking the cream will warm it up, so it becomes a delicate balance of whipping air bubbles into the cream, while trying to keep it cold. After soft peaks form, transfer the cream to an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Before serving it that day, whip it up again quickly and the cream will be even thicker than before you placed it in the refrigerator.
- *You can still use the empty vanilla pods – by washing them, drying them on the counter or refrigerator, and then adding them to a container of sugar – to make vanilla sugar.
