How I yearn for double cream in America. When I filmed the Great American Baking Show outside of London (yes, it was filmed across the pond), I had a recipe that included a stabilized whipped cream frosting. Developing the recipe back home in Chicago, I labored to get the perfect texture to pipe and decorate a cake. Then we got to the UK for filming, and I tested it with double cream. Voila, it held perfect peaks for hours with absolutely no stabilizer.
Very comprehensive as usual, thank you Brian and Nicola! One question - I remember reading a Food 52 article that suggested whipping with a food processor would produce more stable, long-lasting whipped cream (albeit with a slightly denser texture) - have you tried this and how do you think it might compare?
I did consider including this technique among the tests but decided to forgo anything that required special equipment. Plus, I wanted to focus on more airy whipped creams (as you mention, the food processor yields a denser product). And if we’re going for a heavier cream, the double cream/reduced cream would almost certainly resist weeping longer than the food processor method because of heavy cream’s higher water content.
So interesting! I too was brought up with the milk powder trick which is fine but.... not possessing your experimental rigor I've opted for 'Quick Gel' a modified food starch that requires no heating. For the most special of cakes I mix quick gel AND powdered milk for that dairy taste I like. Fascinating article.
This is interesting thanks Nicola! Did you consider using a dash of lemon juice?
Also, do you think by heating the cream, you cannot achieve the same stiff peaks? I have found this previously and wondered if that was why you often add a high proportion of cold cream to a whipped ganache recipe. Do the proteins of the cream change when heated? Another example, I don't think you can whip up a lemon posset (to piping stable) without adding extra cream or a stabiliser.
A great article, and explanation of the difference in double cream and whipping cream for UK readers. I often find I add whole milk to Double cream (about 10% of mixture weight) to make it slightly lighter for my taste preferences, or I buy Whipping cream (37% milk fat).
Could you also suggest any tips for overwhipping cream, or using cream after freezing? I often find limited uses due to change in texture for both those reasons
The actual temperature of the cream as it reduced? It was at a low simmer so somewhere around 200F/94C? If you mean the temperature of the burner, it was at medium-low.
At last, a solution to my weak German cream woes! Now if only I could boil the flour to raise the protein percentage...
How I yearn for double cream in America. When I filmed the Great American Baking Show outside of London (yes, it was filmed across the pond), I had a recipe that included a stabilized whipped cream frosting. Developing the recipe back home in Chicago, I labored to get the perfect texture to pipe and decorate a cake. Then we got to the UK for filming, and I tested it with double cream. Voila, it held perfect peaks for hours with absolutely no stabilizer.
These days, I rely on cream cheese or mascarpone.
adding a scant amount of stabilizer to my ice cream recipe has worked wonders for its ice structure
Thank you for this very thorough, helpful research!
You're welcome! Thanks for reading.
Reading the Title I had no idea I could add Brian Levy to whipped cream…
😂
Soo useful thank you
Very comprehensive as usual, thank you Brian and Nicola! One question - I remember reading a Food 52 article that suggested whipping with a food processor would produce more stable, long-lasting whipped cream (albeit with a slightly denser texture) - have you tried this and how do you think it might compare?
I did consider including this technique among the tests but decided to forgo anything that required special equipment. Plus, I wanted to focus on more airy whipped creams (as you mention, the food processor yields a denser product). And if we’re going for a heavier cream, the double cream/reduced cream would almost certainly resist weeping longer than the food processor method because of heavy cream’s higher water content.
So interesting! I too was brought up with the milk powder trick which is fine but.... not possessing your experimental rigor I've opted for 'Quick Gel' a modified food starch that requires no heating. For the most special of cakes I mix quick gel AND powdered milk for that dairy taste I like. Fascinating article.
This is interesting thanks Nicola! Did you consider using a dash of lemon juice?
Also, do you think by heating the cream, you cannot achieve the same stiff peaks? I have found this previously and wondered if that was why you often add a high proportion of cold cream to a whipped ganache recipe. Do the proteins of the cream change when heated? Another example, I don't think you can whip up a lemon posset (to piping stable) without adding extra cream or a stabiliser.
A great article, and explanation of the difference in double cream and whipping cream for UK readers. I often find I add whole milk to Double cream (about 10% of mixture weight) to make it slightly lighter for my taste preferences, or I buy Whipping cream (37% milk fat).
Could you also suggest any tips for overwhipping cream, or using cream after freezing? I often find limited uses due to change in texture for both those reasons
For the agar agar recipe is there any reason not to add the sugar when you’re heating the cream?
Brian, what would you say your temp was as you reduced the heavy whipping cream? Gonna use this method to make Nicola’s cake
The actual temperature of the cream as it reduced? It was at a low simmer so somewhere around 200F/94C? If you mean the temperature of the burner, it was at medium-low.
Yes! Temp of cream. Thanks so much!!
I do indeed suspect that cream cheese or creme fraiche would act very similarly to mascarpone. If you give it a try, please share the results with us.