• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Everyday Pie

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Pie 101
  • Contact

SWEET

SAVORY

BASICS

Home » Basics » Simple Whipped Cream by Hand

Simple Whipped Cream by Hand

May 25, 2019 by Kelli Avila 1 Comment

Jump to Recipe

Simple homemade whipped cream is so easy, has only 3 ingredients (maximum) to make and doesn’t require any tools but a bowl and whisk. It’s perfect for topping pies, ice cream, strawberry shortcakes and so many other desserts. This post will tell you all you need to know on how to make whipped cream by hand.

how to whip cream by hand with whisk and bowl

This is perfectly whipped cream, with a gentle peak following below the whisk but not collapsing into the bowl.

How to Make Whipped Cream by Hand

If you’ve been lucky enough to try homemade whipped cream, you’ll know it’s worlds away from anything that comes from a can. Whipped cream can add elegance to a dessert, or help balance one, like a pie with a lot of acidic fruit such as berries. There are two types of whipped cream the I use to accompany pies or other desserts: a simple whipped cream with or without added sugar and a stabilized whipped cream that is meant to last more than a few hours. This post will cover a simple 3-ingredient whipped cream that requires only a bowl and a whisk to make.

Here’s what you need:

  • Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream: either one will work! This is the only essential ingredient to this recipe. The other two are optional.
  • Vanilla extract: A little bit of vanilla extract really does make a huge difference in the flavor of the whipped cream. A little goes a long way here!
  • Granulated Sugar: Adding sugar to whipped cream is totally optional. Per 1 cup of cream, I’d only add at most 2 tablespoons for a slightly sweetened cream. Most of the time, I don’t add any as usually the desserts you are adding whipped cream to are already sweet enough. Whipped cream should be a contrast to whatever the dessert is, so unsweetened whipped cream is preferable. If I do add it, I’ll only ever use granulated white sugar. I feel very strongly that adding powdered sugar to whipped cream changes the texture and mouth feel in a very undesirable way. If I need a stabilized whipped cream I’ll take a different route.

How to Whip Cream By Hand

Many recipes call for the chilling of the bowl or whisk, for fear that the cream will be too warm and “won’t whip up”. I’ve been making whipped cream, using all sorts of different methods in all different locations and seasons for so many years: I’ve never had cream not whip up. I find this step unnecessary. However, you do want to start with cold cream!

  1. Pour cream in a large bowl. Add sugar and vanilla if using. If you are worried about the granulated sugar not dissolving you can let it sit for a few minutes and then gently whisk to encourage it to dissolve into the cream.
  2. With a whisk, preferably a large one, start whipping the cream.
  3. Continue to whisk until soft to medium peaks have formed.

What are medium peaks?

Soft peaks are when you pick up the whisk and the whipped cream softly falls down, and eventually falls off the whisk in a heap. Medium peaks are when the you pick up the whisk and the whipped cream holds a peak but just barely stays on the whisk without falling.

How to make homemade whipped cream by hand

Holding your arm steady to your body protects the muscle in your arm from getting burnt out before the cream has whipped

Tips for Making Fresh Whipped Cream

  1. Big whisks work quicker! Honestly any whisk will work, heck I’ve even whipped cream with a fork before, but a balloon whisk will work the quickest. A balloon whisk looks like a bulb and makes quick work out of whipped cream.
  2. Keep your arm by the side of your body and only move your wrist. Remind me to tell you about the time I was being trained by my Chef mentor and he thought it a good lesson for me to whisk two different types of meringues and a large batch of whipped cream all by hand, at once–I was whisking for almost 40 minutes. Keeping your arm by your side prevents muscle burn out from happening because a simple movement of the wrist while whipping will not make you tired. The photo above this illustrates how this is done.
  3. A bigger bowl makes it easier: A bigger bowl means you can make bigger moves with the whisk, making whipped cream come together quicker.
  4. Don’t over whip the cream: Just don’t do it. Over whipped cream has a similar texture to whipped cream made with powdered sugar. It coats your mouth and is just all around unpleasant. Soft or medium whipped cream is the perfect consistency and improves any dessert it’s added to.
  5. Use the whipped cream immediately. It’s not meant for storage. Though see below for a bit more information about this.
How to make whipped cream from scratch

This cream is slightly over whipped. Medium whipped cream would gently make a peak off of the whisk.

How to Store Whipped Cream

Simply put: you don’t. This whipped cream is meant to be used almost immediately. While it can last for a few hours, depending on the temperature of the environment it is in, it might weep, or lose some of the hold and exert liquid. If that does happen, you can rewhip it.

However, you can freeze whipped cream! I know most people think you can’t freeze stand alone dairy like milk, but I think the air incorporated into the cream helps stabilize it in the freezer. You can store leftover whipped cream in the freezer, or you can pipe or dollop out portions to individually freeze for future use. It needs to thaw for about 10-15 minutes before it will become soft again. So you could freeze a small portion, top a dessert and then it’ll be ready in about 15!

If you are looking to top a cream pie, like a coconut cream pie or a chocolate cream pie, I suggest you top it with stabilized whipped cream instead of this version.

These pies are great to serve with whipped cream:

  • Banana Cream Pie
  • Triple Coconut Cream Pie
  • Malted Milk Chocolate Pie
  • Apple Butter Pie

MAKE SURE TO TAG @EVERYDAYPIE ON INSTAGRAM OR COMMENT BELOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RECIPE OR IF YOU USE THIS WHIPPED CREAM TO TOP YOUR OWN CREATION!

Print
clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon heart heart icon heart solid heart solid icon

Simple Whipped Cream by Hand

  • Author: Kelli Avila
  • Prep Time: 00:05
  • Total Time: 00:05
  • Category: Basics
  • Cuisine: Sweet
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This simple whipped cream is perfect on top of any dessert, but especially fruit or cream pies.


Ingredients

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulate sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Pour ingredients into a large bowl.

  2. With a whisk, whip the cream until soft peaks form.


Notes

  1. Check out the body of the post for lots of tips!

Keywords: whipped cream by hand

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @everydaypie on Instagram and hashtag it #everydaypie

 

Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. Everyday Pie is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

Filed Under: Basics, No Bake Tagged With: heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, whipped cream

Subscribe

for your weekly recipe fix.

Previous Post: « How Everyday Pie was Born
Next Post: Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aja

    August 13, 2019 at 4:35 am

    Great tips!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Everyday Pie!
I’m Kelli, and welcome to my space where I share all about pie! You’ll find not only recipes for easy pies you can bake on any day of the week, but also baking and cooking basics that will get you to where you can create your own pie with what you have on hand anytime. Read more here

Current Favorites

A slice of brownie pecan pie with ice cream on top.

Brownie Pecan Pie

Butter pie dough stacked together.

All Butter Pie Crust

Mini cranberry pear pie on a plate.

Cranberry Pear Pie Minis

Peanut butter pie topped with peanut butter cups.

Peanut Butter Pie

Footer

Privacy Policy

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2021 Everyday Pie on the Foodie Pro Theme