Why whipped cream breaks

Sign up to receive updates from Chef Works: new product info, promotions, discounts and more! Source: Flickr. Is there anything dreamier than freshly whipped cream? When whipped cream is prepared well, it is an ambrosial foodstuff that has the power to make any dessert it tops even better, from ice cream sundaes to pie to hot chocolate.

When made poorly, whipped cream can come out grainy and separated, too sweet or not sweet enough, or too thin and messy. What is whipped cream? In a nutshell, whipped cream is heavy cream which has been whipped until it becomes light and fluffy. Chemically speaking, what happens when you whip cream is that the air gets trapped between a sort of network of fat droplets , and the cream becomes fluffy and roughly doubled in volume.

If the cream is too warm, the fat becomes ineffective as a stabilizer, and your cream will fall flat. The cream may thicken, but even vigorous whipping will not make it attain lofty heights and a fluffy texture. Half and half and milk even whole milk does not work for whipping, as they do not contain enough fat to hold bubbles of air between its fat molecules. Follow these steps for perfect results every time. Using two to four tablespoons of sugar per cup of whipping cream is a good balance for a sweet whipped cream.

A hand whisk will also work to whip cream, but it will take much longer than a whisk beater on a stand or hand mixer. There are a number of different ways to stabilize whipped cream; this post details several, including adding marshmallow fluff or butter to the mixture. The moment to stop is exactly when the cream has reached your desired consistency. Anywhere from the soft peak to the firm peak stage is acceptable for whipped cream—you can whip it to your preference.

However, stop mixing once the mixture has attained firm peaks, because after that point, the fat solids will begin to separate, making your mixture grainy.

You can fix curdled cream and make it smooth again if you act quickly. If the cream smells sour and is turning yellow, however, curdling is the result of spoilage and the cream can't be saved. Turn off the mixer immediately at the first signs of curdling, which begins with the cream turning grainy and beginning to separate.

Mix the fresh cream into the curdled cream slowly. Use a wire whisk or turn the electric mixer to its lowest speed setting. Add additional fresh cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the mixture remains lumpy and doesn't immediately begin to smooth out.

Continue to mix until the mixture is smooth and free of all graininess. Increase the mixing speed to the previous level after the cream loses the curdling. So loud, for example, that if I'm washing dishes while also whipping cream in the stand mixer, I can't hear the mixer running and might forget that it's on. Which is exactly what happened to me the other day when I was testing no-churn ice cream recipes. By the time I realized, the cream was well on its way to becoming butter.

So I just kept on mixing it until it was completely separated into thick yellow butter and thin white buttermilk, strained it, and pressed it into a jar. Luckily we always have extra pints of heavy cream in our test fridge, so I was able to start over again.