Ina Garten's Simple Tip For Perfectly Piping Whipped Cream Onto Your Pie

Whenever the mood strikes to make a pie, Ina Garten is always a reliable source to turn to for advice. The food celeb has shared dozens of pie recipes over the years, with plenty of helpful tips and gentle reassurances to boot. We're still marveling over her simple tip for perfectly piping whipped cream on key lime pie, which she shared on Instagram way back in 2016. The final result looks professional, but as Ina demonstrates, it can be executed flawlessly in about a minute.  

To make a thick border of whipped cream ribbons, Ina works in sections around the pie with a piping bag, making neat, voluptuous swirls all the way around. She pauses to turn the dessert when the angle of the piping bag gets tricky, but thanks to the volume of the swirls, it's impossible to tell where one section ends and another begins. As a final touch, she adds a mini swirl in the center of the pie and places thin slices of lime all around. As Ina would say, "How easy is that?"

Whether you're reading this with the holidays around the corner or you're ringing in the spring and summer barbecue season, this is your sign to ditch the ice cream on your pies and follow Ina Garten's lead with pretty swirls of whipped cream instead. While going a la mode is nice when the weather is hot, whipped cream adds a festive look — and that necessary light and creamy counterpart to the pie itself — all year round.

That said, Ina's technique is ideal for traditional Thanksgiving desserts, including any tart or open-faced pie (such as pumpkin, sweet potato, cranberry, or chocolate cream) you might have in mind for the holidays. Think of the whipped cream not only as a pretty decoration on its own, but also as an adhesive for garnishes: shaved chocolate, sugared cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and the like. 

We also love whipped cream as a tool for covering up any mistakes on the pie itself. No one has to know the top of your crust isn't perfect!

Ina Garten would likely tell you that store-bought whipped cream is fine in a pinch, but the homemade kind is even better. It's incredibly simple to make at home, with or without a stand mixer. All you need is heavy cream, sugar, and, per Ina's evergreen advice, "good vanilla." As with most recipes with few components, making a perfect batch of whipped cream calls for the best ingredients you can find. Once you master the basics, feel free to take it to the next level by adding cocoa powder, baking spices, maple syrup, citrus zest, or even a splash of liquor.

For the best results, store your bowl and mixing tools in the freezer beforehand — keeping things cold is essential for a light and fluffy texture. One last thing: Whether you're whipping by hand or with a mixer, resist the temptation to make those stiff peaks any stiffer, or you might end up with butter. If it's made properly, however, you'll have the perfect topping to spruce up your pies.