Place chilled cream in medium measuring cup or bowl (mine holds 4 cups). Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed for 30 seconds until frothy.
Add icing sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on medium to medium-high speed until medium-soft peaks form; about 3-4 minutes. Do not overbeat or it will turn into butter!
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Cream is best used within 2 hours.
Notes
Ingredient notes
Cream: Make sure to use cream that’s labelled as “heavy cream”, “heavy whipping cream”, “whipping cream” or similar. Coffee creamer is not the same and will not work. Cream for cooking (often called “pouring cream”) or light cream or half-and-half all will not work, either.
Icing sugar: If you are making a single batch with 1 cup of heavy cream, you can easily use granulated sugar in place of the icing sugar in case you don’t have any on hand. If you are making a larger batch, I very strongly recommend using icing/confectioner’s sugar. If your icing sugar is very lumpy, sift it before adding.
Vanilla extract: I use a homemade vanilla extract, so I end up with some vanilla seeds in the whipped cream (which I think looks super pretty and homemade). Just in case you were wondering why my vanilla extract looks so spotty. Store-bought vanilla works exactly the same, minus the vanilla seeds.
Recipe tips
Don’t overbeat because you’ll turn the cream into butter. If that happens, there’s no way to turn it back into whipped cream. Instead, you just made vanilla butter to top off hot waffles and pancakes.
I usually whip cream with a hand mixer and not a stand mixer, because a stand mixer is more vigorous (and better suited to larger volumes). Use medium to medium-high speed (never the highest speed!) to avoid turning the cream into butter.
You can use as much or as little sugar as you like. I stick to a maximum of ½ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of flavor extract per 1 cup of whipping cream – that yields a very sweet topping though. For lightly sweetened whipped cream, try 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract per cup of heavy whipping cream.
Pro tip for extra firm creamIf you need your cream to hold up especially well, OR you live in a very humid climate and find this makes it impossible to whip cream, you can (I make a commission for purchases made through the following link)buy some whipped cream stabilizer on Amazon to add at this point, too.It’s a German product and the instructions are in German. So here’s how to use whipped cream stabilizer in English:One packet is enough for ¾ – 1 cups of heavy whipping cream. Once you have added the sugar and vanilla to the frothy cream, start beating with your hand mixer. Slowly add the whipped cream stabilizer while continuously beating. Finish beating the cream as instructedThis will help the cream hold up very well and keep its shape for hours if refrigerated.Can you make whipped cream ahead of time?Yes, you can store freshly whipped cream in the fridge for about 24 hours. It may begin to separate if you don’t add the whipped cream stabilizer I mentioned above. Homemade whipped cream is generally best eaten right away, or within 2 hours (keep it refrigerated at all times).