How do you make homemade whip cream?

Answer 1

Buy thickened cream, as this whips faster. Put it in a bowl & add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda (as this also helps it whip faster), & a little sugar or icing sugar(to taste). Beat until just thick - watch carefully as it will quickly turn to butter if you don't stop as soon as it is thick. Because of this it is better to use a hand beater than an electric one, as you can keep a better eye on the thickening.

Answer 2

only Cream and sugar

Yes, just cream and sugar. The amount of sugar isn't critical, but I use about 3T/pint of cream. The French often add a tiny bit of vanilla, which is a nice touch.

The cream should be well-chilled, as should the mixing bowl. I hope you have a mixer because, although you can whip the cream by hand with a whisk, your arm will feel like it's going to fall off. Using a mixer, start beating the cream at as high a speed as you can without splattering. Add the sugar (and vanilla, if your using it) as you start beating. As the cream begins to thicken, you'll be able to turn the speed up without splatterin. go to full speed as soon as you can.

The tricky part is knowing when to stop. If you go too far, the result will be vaguely granular in texture (you're on your way to making butter at this point and those are little globs of it). There's a rather subtle way of telling when you've gone as far as you can safely go: at the exact point when the surface of the cream loses it's shine, stop right then (when you think you're getting close to that point, stop the mixer for a good look, then continue, if necessary, with little 5 second bursts until you reach the no-shine point). You can stop before this point, of course, but the cream will be softer.

If you're whisking by hand, use as large a whish as you can and just go at it as energetically as you can. It can take a while.

Keep the cream thoroughly chilled until you use it