This Is the Fastest and Easiest Way to Make Whipped Cream.

Homemade whipped cream is one of my favorite dessert toppings, but it takes time to make, even in a stand mixer. Of course, doing it manually will take even longer. Besides the fact that hand whisking takes up your precious time, it requires a lot of energy, and for large batches it’s really terrible. It turns out there’s actually a way to whip cream that’s faster than a stand mixer and a lot easier than using brute force—I’m talking 30-second speeds that don’t require any upper-body workout. It’s time to take out the blades.

How to Make Whipped Cream in a Food Processor

Making whipped cream in a food processor is very easy. Using a standard blade attachment, pour the cold heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract, if using, into a bowl. Close the lid and turn on the machine. In 30 seconds to a minute you will have thick, wavy whipped cream.

I added a cup of cream and a tablespoon of sugar to the bowl of the food processor. At high speed it only took 30 seconds to beat. At low speed it took about two minutes. The silky texture produced in the food processor was noticeably finer than when I beat it by hand or using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer.

It comes together quickly, so don’t walk anywhere. The faster he whips, the faster he can over-beat. Check it while whisking to estimate how much more time it will take. For low speed, stop the processor every 30 seconds. For high speed, stop it every 20 seconds. At first the mixture will swirl and splatter around the container, then you will notice a slight change as the cream starts to stay in place. Stop the car and tilt it slightly to see if it still leaks.

How to make whipped cream with an immersion blender

The same method that works with a food processor also works with an immersion blender. The rapidly spinning blades turn air into tiny bubbles, resulting in luxurious whipped cream in less than a minute. Add heavy cream, sugar and any flavoring ingredients to a tall cup or rimmed bowl. The head of the immersion blender should be submerged in water.

Turn on the blender and move the stick if it is in a bowl, or slowly up and down if it is in a tall cup. This will prevent the cream from whipping in only one place and remaining liquid in other places. Stop every 20 seconds to remove the blades and check the consistency. It may be difficult to see how the whipped cream flows in the cup, so pay close attention to how it feels and sounds. The blender will start to move more slowly or feel stuck. You may also hear popping sounds as the blender creates air pockets in the cup. If this happens, you’re done. The only way it will burst is if the cream can stand up on its own. All this will happen in less than a minute.

It’s impossible to make a bad choice between them, and they’re equally fast. I preferred the texture of whipped cream from the food processor to the immersion blender, but it really depends on the eater. The only difference was that the dip version had slightly larger bubbles, resulting in an airier mouthfeel. For a small batch of whipped cream (less than two cups), I use an immersion blender in a tall cup. For a large batch, three to seven cups, I’ll likely use the food processor again. A batch this large will likely take a few seconds longer, so be sure to check the mixture every 20 seconds or so.

While this method would probably work in a regular blender, I haven’t tried it myself and doubt it would be effective for large batches of whipped cream. The blades of a standard blender are fixed to the bottom of the container and can only whip up the amount of cream that is close to the blade. (Try if that’s all you have, but start with a small amount.)