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Vanilla Whipped Cream

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Vanilla whipped cream is luscious, light and fluffy. Made with 3 ingredients plus an optional sprinkle of cream of tartar, it can beautifully hold its shape. Lightly spread or pipe it onto desserts. Or plop it into dollops with perfect peaks. Make this stabilized whipped cream frosting in just 5 minutes.

📌 Pin Vanilla Whipped Cream

Homemade vanilla whipped cream piped into a small, glass dessert cup.

👩🏻‍🍳 Why We Love This Recipe

  • Vanilla whipped cream has an amazing flavor with a creamy mouthfeel. The taste and aroma are heavenly.
  • It’s quick and easy to make with 3 basic ingredients.
  • It can hold its shape in lovely peaks. For stabilized whipped cream frosting, just add in some cream of tartar.
  • Fresh is always best. This freshly-made topping tastes so much better than store-bought. And it has no artificial ingredients.
Stabilized vanilla whipped cream in a bowl with a spoon.

🛒 Ingredients

  • Heavy Cream: The same as “heavy whipping cream.” But it’s essentially the same product. It has a delicious, satisfying mouthfeel. With at least 36% butterfat content, it doubles in volume when whipped. Before starting this recipe, the cream must be very cold.
  • Powdered Sugar: The same as “confectioner’s sugar.” It adds the perfect amount of sweetness. It contains cornstarch which helps thicken and stabilize homemade whipped cream.
  • Pure Vanilla Extract: Adds classic flavor and aroma to vanilla whipped cream. Feel free to use either clear or amber-colored vanilla.
  • Optional – Cream of Tartar: It’s flavorless. We use it for stabilized whipped cream frosting that’s denser, doesn’t deflate quickly and can hold its shape. If you’re making this recipe ahead of time, this is the ingredient you need – so it can last in the fridge up to 4 days.
Ingredients for homemade vanilla whipped cream recipe.

📖 Recipe Steps

RECIPE PREP: Make this recipe a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer. Chill your mixing bowl and wire whip (or beaters) in the freezer for 15 minutes.

  1. Pour cold heavy whipping cream into the chilled mixing bowl with whisk attachment. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar (optional).
Ingredients for homemade vanilla whipped cream in the chilled metal mixing bowl of a stand mixer.
  1. Start beating on medium speed. Then increase the speed to high until the whipped cream has thickened, and medium to stiff peaks have formed. Be careful not to over-whip.
Freshly-whipped vanilla whipped cream in a stainless-steel mixing bowl.
  1. Immediately serve the vanilla whipped cream, or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.
Freshly-made vanilla whipped cream in a serving bowl with 2 spoons.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQ

These are the most commonly-asked questions about vanilla whipped cream, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

How to make stabilized whipped cream?

For every cup of heavy cream, add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar along with the powdered sugar when whipping. At the market, you can find this ingredient where the dried spices are.

Can I use a food processor to make whipped cream?

Yes, you can. But the texture will be denser and less airy compared to using beaters or a metal whip. Here’s how to do it: Add heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar (if using) to the bowl of the food processor. Process about 1 to 2 minutes, watching carefully, until the whipped cream becomes thick and fluffy.

What happens if you underbeat or overbeat whipped cream?

Underbeaten whipped cream won’t have the strength to keep its shape. It will wilt, deflate and become runny. But overbeaten whipped cream will start turning into butter. It will have a curdled, grainy texture.

How to fix deflated whipped cream?

You can fix it by gradually adding in more cold heavy cream. Depending on how deflated it is, it may take 25% to 50% of the original amount of cream to fix the batch. With the mixer on low speed, drizzle in 1 – 2 tablespoons (un-whipped) cold heavy cream. Keep adding cream until the batch regains a fluffy cloud-like texture.

Can homemade whipped cream be frozen?

Yes, it can. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spoon or pipe dollops of whipped cream onto the tray. Freeze overnight. Peel the frozen dollops off the parchment paper. Transfer them to an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 weeks. When ready to use, thaw it for 15 to 20 minutes.

Vanilla whipped cream being piped into a clear glass dessert cup.

🥣 Yummy Ways to Enjoy Whipped Cream

There are so many delicious ways to enjoy vanilla whipped cream. As a topping for cold and hot drinks. Over ice cream sundaes and desserts like strawberry shortcake. Or pipe it into pastries like cream puffs.

Swirls of vanilla whipped cream piped into a jar.

Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flavor testers rated this the BEST vanilla whipped cream. They enjoyed the delicious taste and fluffy texture of this stabilized whipped cream frosting. They loved that it comes together in just 5 minutes.

If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.

Gold Line: Sprinkles of Inspiration | confettiandbliss.com
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Vanilla whipped cream being piped into a clear glass dessert cup.

Vanilla Whipped Cream


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Description

Vanilla whipped cream is luscious, light and fluffy. It can be stabilized with an optional sprinkle of cream of tartar. Spread or pipe it onto desserts. Or serve the topping in dollops with perfect peaks.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar*
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional – for stabilizing the whipped cream)

Instructions

RECIPE PREP: Chill your mixing bowl and wire whip (or beaters) in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

  1. Pour cold heavy whipping cream into the chilled mixing bowl with whisk attachment. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar (optional).
  2. Start beating on medium speed, then increase the speed to high until the whipped cream has thickened and medium/stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-whip.
  3. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. If it’s been stabilized with cream of tartar, it can last in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

* For thicker whipped cream frosting: use 1/2 cup powdered sugar instead of 1/4 cup.

Serving amount: When heavy cream is whipped, it doubles in size. One cup of heavy cream will produce about 2 cups of whipped cream.

Why use cream of tartar? For stabilized whipped cream that’s denser, doesn’t deflate quickly and can hold its shape. It can be piped, lightly spread, and served in dollops with perfect peaks. And when making the whipped topping ahead of time, cream of tartar can help it can last in the fridge for up to 4 days.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Mixer
  • Cuisine: American, French, Italian
Gold Line: Sprinkles of Inspiration | confettiandbliss.com

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33 Comments

  1. Making our own whipped cream is very easy and fresh tasting. I make some occasionally when I have dinner guests over.

  2. OMG thanks for the DIY recipe I would have never thought that making my own whip cream would be so simple. I am going to save it and try it out later.

  3. Wow I have no idea that this is super easy! It’s really better to create this at home intead of buying it in groceries.

  4. I do a lot of things with my homemade whipping cream. This is especially true when I am making my eclairs. But that is something else altogether. Homemade whipping cream is far superior to the spray in a bottle kind.

  5. Your whip creme looks so light and fluffy, I wanted to dip my finger into the bowl. I will have to give the Mexican vanilla a try, I believe you when you say you can tell the difference.

  6. I have never made my own whipped cream before but I am going to try this recipe. It is awesome because you can add different fruit exact to flavor your whipped cream too. These biscuits sound delicious too. Thanks for sharing the recipes.

  7. I need to try this out! I’m allergic to carrageenan and it seems to be in every single whipped cream sold at the store. Making it at home is the much smarter option for me.

  8. Yum, we love making homemade whipped cream. We have had fun using different extracts like peppermint around Christmas and also using a vanilla bean to get the specks in the whipped cream. People always think it looks like I did a lot when we serve it at parties but really it’s so simple.

  9. I love heavy cream !!1 I actually make a low carb ice cream with heavy cream and its so yummy !! I will have to check this out for the whip cream ;)

  10. I love homemade whipped cream, it’s so much better! It’s always my job to make it every thanksgiving to go with the homemade pumpkin pie.

  11. The photos already whetted my appetite. I shall try out this recipe. Hope it will turn out as lovely as I expect!

  12. I would definitely try this. Because usually I just buy canned whip cream and settle from there, but this is a better idea – you more options and control. I’ll be sharing this post too.

  13. It’s been a long time that I have been planning to take baking lessons but to no avail. I never thought this would be so simple to make a whipped cream. You have just enlightened me. I love this post.

    1. I just wanted to say that whipped cream doesn’t just fall flat, it becomes butter if beaten for 10 min. You will have to change the whisk to a paddle and pour off the fresh buttermilk (yum) that is being beaten or separated from it. That is it. Press all the milk out of your creamy, yellow butter. Keep it tightly wrapped and refrigerated or frozen if not being used within a few days. You will never want to have a store bought product on your table ever again!