Crème Chantilly might sound super fancy, like for most people anything new and french does. Fear not! Crème Chantilly simply translates to Whipped Cream, doesn’t sound so daunting now, right?
This will be one of the easiest recipes you will ever make and a great way to add some lightness, freshness and sweetness to any dish or dessert.
How and where to use Chantilly!
There’s is a multitude of ways to use chantilly, here are some of my favourites:
- Use it as a filling in a classic Victoria Sponge
- In the Summer months add it over some fresh berries or roasted honey peaches
- Winter time a dollop over some warm pumpkin pie or a deliciously sweet cinnamon apple crumble
- Macerate fresh berries and fold through chantilly and fresh crisp choux pastry
Ingredients
- Whipping Cream – You want a cream that is around 35% Fat, in the UK and other parts of the world we commonly have double cream. Double cream has a really high fat content (around 48-50% fat), you can still make a chantilly with this but it thickens really fast and sets really dense. Whipping cream is available in most supermarkets. In the US heavy whipping cream is around 40% which will work just fine as the creams there are ultra-pasteurised the creams behave slightly different and produce lovely smooth whipped creams
- Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar – We use icing sugar because the sugar needs to dissolve quickly. With how fast the cream will whip icing sugar will disperse evenly and dissolve into the cream without leaving any granules behind. You can use a really fine sugar like caster sugar, however there is a chance the sugar won’t completely dissolve in. If you have caster sugar but no icing sugar, simply blitz and sift caster sugar, this will give you a much better result.
- Vanilla Pods – I know this is an expensive option but in my opinion, nothing beats the flavour of a fresh vanilla pod especially when added to fresh creams. A little goes a long way as long as you have good quality vanilla pods. As a substitute, vanilla paste will work just fine if you don’t want to use pods.
All the equipment you need to make Crème Chantilly
- Stand Mixer with a whisk attachment
If you don’t have a stand mixer (I strongly recommend you invest into one) you will need:
- Electric Whisk or Hand Whisk
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital scale
How to store Crème Chantilly
Crème Chantilly will store for up to 3 day in the fridge. Chantilly is not suitable for freezing
Crème Chantilly (French Whipped Cream)
Silky Smooth Sweetened Vanilla Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Scrape out the vanilla pod and add into the mixing bowl with the cream1 and icing sugar
- Mix on a medium/high speed until you reach soft peaks2
Notes
- Double cream will also work, be careful when whipping as it will thicken fast due to the high fat content.
- To check you have reached soft peaks, pick up some cream with a whisk and turn it up right, the cream should hold to the whisk and the peaks will droop rather than staying upright
- In warmer climates to avoid the cream splitting and becoming grainy, chill your mixing bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes or so in advance.
- Serve straightaway or you can make this in advance and store in an airtight container or cling wrap your bowl for later. The cream will deflate when rested longer than a couple hours, lightly whip the cream by hand using a whisk to add some air back in.
- If you intend to pipe with the cream, keep in mind the cream will effectively continue to whip in the piping bag. Whip to the correct consistency to avoid it thickening and splitting out when piping. It helps to only pipe small amounts at a time.