The Simple Trick You Should Be Using To Make Whipped Cream

Who doesn't love a nice smooth dollop of whipped cream atop their favorite berry medley or leftover slice of birthday cake? Whether it's heavy cream's velvety consistency or light flavor profile when whipped with sugar, whipped cream can serve as a great neutral accompaniment to some dessert-lovers' favorite confections.

One of the advantages of choosing whipped cream is that it's fairly simple to make yourself. Besides the allure of adding one unique ingredient to elevate your standard whipped topping, Land O Lakes unveils that standard homemade whipped cream is made (sweeteners aside) with just heavy whipping cream. How convenient is that?

Perks aside, there are some crucial steps you should follow to ensure perfectly whipped cream each and every time the mood strikes. According to BC Dairy, you want to use cream with at least 33% milk fat and make sure the cream is very cold upon whipping. Making smaller amounts at a time and freezing leftovers are other suggestions. 

Apart from following these great tips, what is the best way to make whipped cream? There's one unique low-mess technique you may want to try the next time whipped cream sounds like the ideal complement to your nightly dessert.

As it turns out, you don't need any fancy gadgets to make whipped cream. According to Martha Stewart, apart from the common whisk or hand mixer often recommended, all you really need to make fresh whipped cream is a jar with a tight-fitting lid. The Atlantic notes the transformation and resurgence in popularity of the mason jar, in particular, over the years, so there's a strong chance you've already made one or 10 amazing meals exclusively in a mason jar. Yet, a mason jar, or old jam jar — whichever you choose — can also serve as your next whipped cream maker.

Before attempting this unique method, Stewart suggests, instead of granulated sugar, to try confectioners since this variety contains additional starch that can help in the formation of your whipped cream. As far as using a jar to make this indulgent topping, the process is quite simple: Stewart recommends filling any jar a fourth of the way, sealing, and shaking vigorously for up to three minutes. 

If you want to take the process one step further and make butter, just leave out the sugar and keep shaking. According to Scientific American, when you shake a jar long enough, cream's fat molecules break away from the additional liquid and join together to make the golden spread.

If you don't have a jar available to make your next round of whipped cream for that amazing apple pie, you're in luck since there are other tools you can use to achieve fluffy decadence. Apart from the trusted whisk and hand mixer, The Pioneer Woman offers the stand mixer as an option–insisting on a lower speed setting and using only confectioners sugar so the whisk attachment incorporates the ingredients properly. Martha Stewart suggests an immersion blender if you have one: Just make sure to blend the cream in a measuring cup with high walls and keep the blade deep in the cream at all times to avoid a mess.

For a stiffer whipped cream that can hold its shape, Cooks Illustrated recommends using a food processor. With this method, the cream is whipped relatively faster than any standard recipe, preventing too much air from forming within the cream. This leaves you with a sturdier end result that can last up to two weeks once refrigerated.

Now you may think all of these suggestions still require a lot of work. If you fall into that camp, cast your fears aside since you can buy one of many whipped cream dispensers available on Amazon. There are countless tools to help you achieve perfectly whipped cream. Whether you decide on a jar or stick with the classic hand mixer, there's more than one technique available.