Vanilla Whipped Cream

Vanilla whipped cream couldn’t be easier to make at home! Made with just three simple ingredients and about five minutes of active time, this is one of the easiest recipes on my blog. This recipe also includes my favorite tip to make whipped cream at home even faster.

This homemade whipped cream with vanilla extract can be used on top of mini pumpkin pies, peppermint brownies, salted caramel hot cocoa, and more—the possibilities are endless! Whipped cream is typically best served the day it’s made; however, this lightly sweetened whipped cream has been stabilized with powdered sugar. This vanilla whipped cream (also called Chantilly cream) holds its shape much better than regular whipped cream and can be piped on baked goods stored in the fridge up to two days in advance.

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Ingredients for Homemade Vanilla Whipped Cream

With just three ingredients, you’ll really be able to taste every one. For the best flavor, you’ll want to use vanilla bean paste if you have it on hand, though vanilla extract will still work beautifully.

• Heavy cream. Sometimes labeled “heavy whipping cream,” you want full-fat heavy cream to ensure your homemade whipped cream thickens up properly.
• Powdered sugar. Powdered sugar works the best (it dissolves the fastest), but you can substitute granulated sugar if you don’t have any on hand. You’re welcome to use a Tablespoon more or less than I have written in the recipe depending on how sweet you want your whipped cream.
• Vanilla bean paste. In addition to being a bit stronger than vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste has vanilla beans. These add a fun speckle to the whipped cream, but vanilla extract will work, too.

How to Make Homemade Whipped Cream with Vanilla

Whipped cream is made by trapping a network of tiny air bubbles inside of fat globules. Too much whipping can turn the cream into butter and buttermilk, but just the right amount gives you an airy yet rich topping best suited for pies and baked goods of all sorts.

That said, whipped cream is one of the simplest recipes to make at home. All you need is a whisk and a large bowl, though you can be helped along by an electric mixer and a few tips.

Chilling the Bowl for Whipped Cream

The fat in heavy cream needs to be solid to trap those air bubbles. A little bit of warmth can soften the fat, which will weaken the structure. The whisk sliding against the bowl hundreds of times while whipping the cream generates a small amount of heat through friction. It’s hardly noticeable by touch, but to counteract that bit of heat, I recommend chilling the bowl in advance.

This not only ensures you get thick, solid whipped cream; it also speeds up the whipping process by a minute or two.

Whipping Heavy Cream with Vanilla

Pour the heavy cream into the chilled bowl and begin whisking, either with a whisk or an electric mixer. After about a minute, small bubbles of foam will rise to the top of the cream.

Add the powdered sugar (anywhere from 1-3 Tablespoons, depending on how sweet you want it) and vanilla, then continue whisking for another 3-5 minutes until the whisk leaves trails and the cream forms soft peaks on the beaters.

At this point, it’s really easy to overwhip the cream. I’ve done it almost every single time I’ve made whipped cream because I always think, “It’ll get a little bit thicker… Just a few more whisks!”

When you think that, it will rarely get thicker. Instead, the butter will start separating from the buttermilk, and you’ll be left with a bowl of clumps. Whipped cream is not typically used as frosting for cakes, so it will not be as thick as buttercream frosting.

Whisk for just a few more seconds after the whipped cream hits soft peaks, then check to see how stiff the peaks are. Once they are stiff and voluminous like the picture on the right below, you’ve made whipped cream! Dollop onto baked goods or transfer into a piping bag and enjoy.

Recovering Slightly Overwhipped Cream

It is possible to recover slightly overwhipped cream. In my experience, though, by the time you realize it’s overwhipped, it’s usually too late.

If you start to notice the cream has some texture and is separating, stop whisking immediately and—with a spatula—fold in a drizzle of cold heavy cream. This may be enough to save the whipped cream!

If the whipped cream doesn’t look lumpy, use it as you intended. If it looks even lumpier than when you started, you’ll have to start over and either toss it or turn it into vanilla butter.

Turning Overwhipped Cream into Vanilla Butter

If you have overwhipped Chantilly cream, you can still do something with it: Make vanilla butter! It’s my favorite thing to do with overwhipped cream (also maybe the only thing…).

Continue whisking the heavy cream until the butter has fully separated from the buttermilk. This only takes another couple minutes of whisking. You can drain some of the buttermilk if it splashes and makes a mess while you’re whisking (it does for me).

Once the butter clumps around the whisk, pour out the buttermilk completely and rinse the butter thoroughly in ice cold water. Shape the butter, then remove from the water and place in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Use that butter in addition to store-bought butter to make a vanilla pie crust or use in the apple filling of my apple cinnamon layer cake. Or just spread on toast!

FAQs about Homemade Whipped Cream with Vanilla

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

This vanilla whipped cream tops mini pumpkin pies beautifully! You may also like to pipe a swirl on top of homemade salted caramel hot cocoa or a candy cane brownie.

Dish Cleanup: Piece of Cake

I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.

My vanilla whipped cream recipe has a cleanup rating of a 1. There’s a larger bowl, a measuring cup, a whisk, and two measuring spoons. That’s it! Everything rinses off easily in warm water if you can get to quickly. Otherwise, I recommend throwing the bowls and measuring cup in the dishwasher.

Vanilla Whipped Cream Recipe

Thanks for trying out my homemade vanilla whipped cream recipe! Please consider rating this recipe so others find it, too.

I’d love to see how your recipe turns out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me, or use the hashtag #floralapronbakes.