Forget Plain Whipped Cream: Give It A Much-Needed Fruity Twist

Just because you're short on time doesn't mean you can't produce a show-stopping dessert. Just pull out one of your most reliable, quick-and-easy dessert recipes and pair it with a colorful, fruity whipped cream to thrill and delight your guests.

Freeze-dried fruits and fruit powders have changed the game when it comes to flavoring delicate foods. They allow you to create a potently flavored whipped cream without the artificial flavor or hint of alcohol many extracts and essences bring with them. And, this doesn't just intensify the fruit flavor. Whether you buy the fruits already ground or whiz freeze-dried fruit in a grinder, these fruit powders act as a stabilizer and help your whipped cream stay airy and luscious longer.

To make it, just add the freeze-dried powder when you add the sugar. Start with about ½ cup freeze-dried fruit or a ¼ cup fruit powder per 1 cup cream and your normal amount of sugar. You can make adjustments from there based on your own taste. To give your whipped cream an extra-fluffy consistency similar to ermine frosting, use a food processor to mix it. Just be careful not to mix it so long that you make fruit-flavored butter (or, try fruit-flavored butter). This recipe is so handy precisely because it's so versatile.

You can find almost any flavor of freeze-dried fruit to take your whipped cream to the next level. From staple flavors like strawberry and orange to exciting options like dragonfruit and mango, just search the internet. Or, choose more than one. Half strawberry powder and half banana yields a beloved flavor combo. Or, make one whipped cream with orange powder and another with cocoa powder and swirl them together.

Just be careful not to introduce too much extra water in the form of juices, extracts, or coloring. The final product's texture and stability rely on the heavy cream cozying up with the water-starved fruit. Other powders (like cocoa) or small amounts of extract are fine. Fruit powders are usually pretty deep in color, but if you find one that could use a boost, such as banana or other yellow fruits, opt for gel or powder coloring over water-based, or use a natural coloring, such as turmeric. The flavor is most important, and a colorful dessert may not need a vibrant whipped topping, even if it would be nice.

Not that you have to stop at dessert. Since it's stabilized, you can save berry-flavored whipped cream for tomorrow morning's chocolate peanut butter pancakes, or top your morning brew with a swirl of apple-cinnamon whipped cream. Try dipping your oatmeal cookies in a dab of peach whipped cream. Once you start experimenting, it's hard to stop — not that you really need to.