I used to serve Cool Whip, Dream Whip or canned whipped cream to my family. Growing up, it was what my mother served me on Jell-O, pudding or berries. And it was the easiest way to top off a dessert like pumpkin pie.
But then a few years ago I started reading labels when my son was diagnosed with ADHD. I had read that certain preservatives and colourings were triggers for ADHD and I wanted to avoid those as much as possible.
You really don’t realize what is in your food until you start reading labels and trying to not only pronounce some ingredients, but also to understand what these ingredients are. That is when I realized that so many foods my family was eating had more chemicals than I cared to be serving them. So I started making more meals from scratch and almost all baking was homemade.
Then came Thanksgiving, and I picked up a tub of Cool Whip, read the ingredients, and immediately put it back in the freezer. I went to the dairy section, grabbed a can of Reddi Whip, and didn’t like the ingredient list on that product either. I didn’t even bother searching for Dream Whip, since it is shelf stable so it would probably contain even more ingredients I didn’t want. (you can find the ingredients list at the end of this article for many of the most popular whip creams)
That was when I started making my own whipped cream from 35% whipping cream.
I experimented with a few different recipes. Some were okay, others were too sweet or grainy. After a few recipes, I finally came up with the one I make all the time now. I can adjust the sugar to make it sweeter or less sweet, depending on what I am serving it with, and sometimes I add a bit or cocoa powder or a different extract to change the flavour.
My whipped cream uses:
2 cups of 35% whipping cream
½ cup of confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp clear vanilla
Place all ingredients in a cold bowl and using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip on medium speed until the consistency of whipped cream is reached. It can take 5 to 10 minutes to whip, depending on how cold the cream and bowl is. I usually place my bowl in the freezer for 3 to 5 minutes before using. Just make sure you wipe the inside of the bowl with a clean paper towel when you take it out of the freezer because sometimes condensation builds up.
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
DREAM WHIP:
INGREDIENTS: SUGAR, MODIFIED PALM KERNEL OIL, MODIFIED MILK INGREDIENTS, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, PROPYLENE GLYCOL MONOSTEARATE, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVOUR, METHYLCELLULOSE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM SILICOALUMINATE, SILICON DIOXIDE, CELLULOSE GEL, CELLULOSE GUM, LACTIC ACID, COLOUR (CONTAINS TARTRAZINE).
COOL WHIP:
Ingredients:
WATER, 22% HYDROGENATED COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OIL, GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE, CORN SYRUP, SODIUM CASEINATE (FROM MILK), POLYSORBATE 60, NATURAL AND ARTIFICAL FLAVOUR, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, XANTHAN GUM, GUAR GUM, COLOUR.
Gay Lea Real Whipped Cream:
Ingredients:
Cream, Water, Sugars (sugar, glucose-fructose), Skim milk powder, Mono and diglycerides, Carrageenan, Natural flavour (vanilla), Nitrous oxide (pressure dispensing agent).
Great Value Whipped Topping :Ingredients:
WATER, SUGAR/GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE,HYDROGENATED COCONUT OIL, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES,SODIUM CASEINATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURS,SALT, POLYSORBATE 60, SODIUM STEAROYL-2-LACTYLATE,CARRAGEENAN, COLOUR, POLYSORBATE 80, NITROUSOXIDE (PRESSURE DISPENSING AGENT).CONTAINS: MILK, SOY.
Sealtest 35% whipping cream
Ingredients:
Cream, Milk, Carrageenan, Cellulose gum, Mono and diglycerides, Polysorbate 80.
