We're wild for whipped cream in our coffee, atop our brownies, and in-between wafer cookies, so we always have some in our fridge. To be specific, we always have homemade whipped cream in our fridge, because the taste is just so much better than the pre-made stuff.
But even plain homemade whipped cream can get a little boring sometimes. So when we stumbled across an article by Stella Parks on Serious Eats for an eye-popping whipped cream made with freeze-dried fruit, heavy cream, and sugar in a food processor, we knew we had to try it.
Not only is the process simple, but the flavors can be varied according to the type of freeze-dried fruit you use. The whipped cream comes out stiff, almost like a custard, making it ideal for even a challenging job like frosting a cake. This three-ingredient glory is a must-try for any fellow whipped-cream enthusiasts out there who are also looking to jazz up their dessert routine.
What You'll Need
- 2 oz. freeze-dried fruit (we used raspberries)
- 1 pt. heavy cream
- ¼ c. white or cane sugar
How It Works
When you grind the freeze-dried fruit into a powder, it soaks up extra moisture and causes the whipped cream to be packed full of flavor, thicker in texture, and subtly shaded in color. You want to use the food processor because its blades will not aerate the cream like a whisk or stand mixer will (which, in this case, is a good thing, and works to give the cream that gelato-like texture).
Step 1: Combine the Freeze-Dried Fruit & Sugar
Combine the freeze-dried fruit and sugar in a food processor. As far as the freeze-dried fruit goes, you can use any type you'd like, from pineapple to blueberries to raspberries, depending upon what flavor you're favoring.
We found our freeze-dried raspberries at Trader Joe's, but the crunchy fruits can also be found at other markets and even online. Stella from Serious Eats also suggests using freeze-dried vegetables such as corn to give your favorite soups a savory, creamy topping.
Nick & Bay Nigro/Food Hacks Daily
Step 2: Pulse into a Fine Powder
In the bowl of the food processor, grind the freeze-dried fruit and sugar into a very fine powder. This should take about 1 minute. This sweet, fruity powder could actually be used by itself to add a bit of flavor and color to cupcakes or cakes, if you aren't looking to use classic sprinkles.
Nick & Bay Nigro/Food Hacks Daily
Step 3: Add the Cream
Add the cream to the bowl of the food processor and stir gently with a fork, making sure no large globs of sugar and dried fruit are left. Begin to pulse the cream so that it mixes with the fruit-and-sugar mixture and thickens.
For us, this took about 2 minutes, though the times will vary depending upon how strong your machine is. Be careful with this part so as to not over-mix the cream and turn it to butter (which, if you wanted a fruity butter for your morning toast, would actually be amazing).
Nick & Bay Nigro/Food Hacks Daily
Step 4: Enjoy!
When your cream is thick and finished, serve it with your treat of choice or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
We mixed our raspberry whipped cream in with a few scoops of chocolate ice cream and shaved a raspberry-filled chocolate on top. It was the simplest, and most unbelievably tasty, dessert to serve for a group.
Nick & Bay Nigro/Food Hacks Daily
Making this colorful, thick, sweet-flavored whipped cream will be a trick we utilize for the remainder of our dessert-creating years. We can't believe how easy and satisfying it was to concoct (and to eat) and are so excited to try it with other freeze-dried fruits in the future.
Have you attempted this genius hack yet? If so, let us know what you did with your whipped cream in the comments below!
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