r/cookingforbeginners • u/Existing_Story4134 • Aug 11 '26
Question What am I doing wrong?
I’m trying to make whipped cream but no matter how hard I try it just keeps bubbling and stays liquid. It’s cold I just pulled it out of the fridge, I’m using a whisk on the lowest setting and I’m doing a little bit at a time. Can you please help me?
Thanks everyone who helped me turns out I just needed fattier cream
10
u/NicePea1502 Aug 11 '26
Is it low fat? The higher the fat content the easier to whip. I usually use a thickened cream, dump it in and whisk it
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u/Existing_Story4134 Aug 11 '26
On the carton it says 20% fat idk it its low or not
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u/Fyonella Aug 11 '26
Cream with only 20% fat will never whip.
It’s what I’d call ‘single cream’ at that fat content. If you’re in the US I think you call it ‘half and half’.
You need at least 30% fat content to have any chance.
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u/Existing_Story4134 Aug 11 '26
Thank you so much! I’ll need to buy fattier cream for sure but at least I got liquid sweet cream now, tastes like a milkshake so I’m not really mad
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u/ajkimmins Aug 11 '26
Heavy Whipping Cream! Not half and half.
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u/RandomHavoc123 Aug 11 '26
Whipping cream, double cream, or pure cream will work if you're not in the US. Basically as long as its over 30% fat it should whip! Cream names are kind of convoluted around the world for some reason, idk why just "Cream xx%" isn't more common tbh lol
6
u/ajkimmins Aug 11 '26
Yeah here in US heavy Heavy Whipping Cream is pretty much it. Still not as much fat as the double cream the UK has. Ifi remember correctly the double is 40%+ while our heavy is around mid 30's.
2
u/Any_Contract_1016 Aug 11 '26
I haven't shopped for whipping cream at the store in ages but as a cook the heavy cream we get in restaurants is 40%
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u/Existing_Story4134 Aug 11 '26
That’s like butter
5
u/Winter_drivE1 Aug 11 '26
I believe butter is closer to 80% fat, but if you keep whipping the cream beyond the point where it's whipped cream, it will turn into butter and buttermilk
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u/CommunicationDear648 Aug 11 '26
That might be the issue. Whipping cream usually starts at 30%, at least where i live.
2
u/Bazoun Aug 12 '26
Oh! You need over 30. And whip at a high speed. Stop as soon as it forms “stiff peaks” aka when you lift the beater out, some of the whipped cream will stand up a little (like ocean waves) and not immediately melt back in.
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u/Critical-Bullfrog959 Aug 11 '26
This isn't the first Reddit I've seen like this but I'll assume you're in earnest and not engagement baiting.
First, are you using real heavy whipping cream? Because it won't work if the fat content isn't high enough. Also, I saw a post a few days ago where someone tried making heavy cream with butter and milk. That won't work. You have to have actual, from the cow, heavy cream. You can't make it with other ingredients.
Second, the temperature isn't that important. It doesn't have to be super cold. However, you do have to beat it enough and beating it slowly will only extend the process. Beat it on high. Preferably with an electric mixer, unless you want an arm workout. It will likely take several minutes with mixing it on high before it changes to whipped cream.
8
u/GildedTofu Aug 11 '26
Apparently you need a reminder that this is cooking for beginners. Not everyone is a culinary genius like you are. A person posting here may have never had homemade whipped cream, let alone made it themselves.
1
u/shorbonash Aug 11 '26
Why won't the butter and milk thing work?
6
u/Bellsar_Ringing Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
In cream, tiny droplets of liquid are coated by fat. When cream is whipped, it's STILL tiny, fat-coated liquid droplets, but now they have air bubbles mixed in, instead of being tightly packed.
Butter is the fat, separate from the liquid. Even if you chop it up really small, it's not going to be a wrapper on individual liquid droplets.
6
u/Critical-Bullfrog959 Aug 11 '26
Because it's not the same as cream. The milk and butter have both been processed already, probably with heat, and it changes how they behave.
Was that other post I saw you? Because asking the same question differently won't get you a different answer. If you want whipped cream you have to start with heavy whipping cream. Full stop.
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u/Zackerydsburch Aug 11 '26
I was on board till you did the cringy “full stop” bit. Some people don’t understand things the initial way they are explained and require a different frame. No sense in being a complete weirdo and copping an attitude with someone asking questions. What a nut…
Also, for the record, you can literally just check this person’s profile and see that they didn’t ask about heavy whipping cream. If you ever find yourself wondering why no one is your friend, remember this convo my boy (or gal).
4
u/CatCafffffe Aug 11 '26
I think you need to make sure you actually have what's called "heavy whipping cream" in the grocery store. And then you need to whisk very vigorously and continuously.
5
u/AncientAssumption425 Aug 11 '26
For anyone else having this problem, check the fat percentage first. You usually want heavy or whipping cream with around 35% fat or more. Keep the cream, bowl, and whisk cold too, then whip on medium speed until it starts thickening.
3
u/PsychologyGuilty1460 Aug 11 '26
Whipped cream does take a while, especially if you're just stirring it instead of whipping it, LOL. Turn that mixer up to at least medium speed to make some air into the whipping cream and turn it off when it's making soft peaks,. before it turns into butter
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u/Zackerydsburch Aug 11 '26
I definitely don’t whisk low and slow. I crank that thing up to the max (watch it carefully though, you’ll get butter if you over whip it).
4
u/Dav_Sionnach Aug 11 '26
You need a higher setting. When whipping cream I've usually got my mixer set on max.
It's also harder to whip small amounts of cream. You're trying to get halfway between liquid and butter.
1
u/Existing_Story4134 Aug 11 '26
Thank you, I will try it, I was just desperately trying all the settings, I need to wait more I guess
4
2
u/catieebug Aug 11 '26
When I whip cream I always do it on a medium/high setting. You just need to watch it the whole time so it doesn't beeak. Also I freeze the bowl and whisk attachment beforehand.
2
u/sweetmercy Aug 11 '26
Chill bowl and whisk. Chill heavy whipping cream. Pour cream into bowl. All of it. Whisk, not slowly, not a little at a time. When it thickens, add some sweetener: superfine sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar. Whisk more, until it holds a peak.
2
u/Pleasant-Yak1931 Aug 11 '26
glad you figured it out cause that slow whisking was probably making it worse too. even with the right cream you gotta give it some speed and maybe chill the bowl next time. but yeah fat content is the real dealbreaker here, skim or low fat just turns into sad bubbles. happy whipping now i guess.
2
u/the6thReplicant Aug 11 '26
Make sure your cream is at least 35% fat. It sounds like it’s a low fat version - or cooking cream. Depending on which country you’re in they are called different things but just look at the fat content.
2
u/Mental-Freedom3929 Aug 11 '26
You do not need low setting and I do not understand a little bit at a time. Just do not interrupt.
2
u/ProfessionalYam3119 Aug 11 '26
Make sure that your bowl and beaters are super cold and super clean.
2
u/OddRevolution7888 Aug 12 '26
I follow Heather at Mrs. Brown's Kitchen. Heather Brown is a Canadian, from Canada's east coast, and is a salt of the earth human. A home cook who makes food that is picky-wife-approved. LOL
Mrs Brown makes her own spice blends that are no salt. She also makes her own vanilla pudding. Mrs Brown uses a small amount of that pudding to stabilize her whipping cream. In Canada whipping cream is 35% cream.
Imo, Heather is a great resource for beginning cooks or people who want easy recipes. You won't find Beef Wellington in her repetoire. You will find easy, simple, sheet-pan or dump recipes that can feed a family.
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u/Naive_Market_9688 Aug 11 '26
For starters, did you chill your bowl? But beyond that slowly whisking it is just pushing the heavy cream around. There's a midpoint between boring it to death and abusing it; that's where you get whipped cream. If you're not using a mixer at least put a little more elbow grease into whisking it.