“Can you make flavored whipped cream by simply adding an extract? I’ve done vanilla bean, but I’m not sure about the rest.” —Maggie, Wrightstown
The quick answer to your question is yes. Perfect whipped cream is prepared by whipping cold heavy cream in a chilled bowl with a chilled whip for four minutes. Conversely, whipping room temperature heavy cream in a room temperature bowl with a room temperature whip for four minutes will churn butter and residual buttermilk. For maximum whipped cream volume, do not add anything for the first two minutes of the whipping process. For sweetened whipped cream, you can gradually add sugar at the two-minute mark as the whipped cream will have stabilized and begun to form soft peaks by then. Powdered sugar is preferred over granulated sugar to sweeten the whipped cream as it helps to stabilize the cream and will eliminate any chance of undissolved sugar making your whipped cream grainy. At about the three minute mark, additional flavorings and colorings can be added to customize your whipped cream. While vanilla is the most common flavoring, other flavors can be used including maple, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate, caramel, lemon, peppermint and even peanut butter. Happy whipping!