Chai-Spiced Whipped Cream with Figs
Flavored whipped cream seems to be the latest thing to hit grocery store shelves (and dessert lovers’ minds) lately. Love the concept — who doesn’t? — but unfortunately these pre-made creams tend to be flavored with artificial syrups and sweeteners. Fortunately, it’s a snap to make your own flavored whipped creams with the spices you already have in your pantry. And with summer fully upon us, what better dessert to serve than fresh fruit topped with freshly whipped and flavored cream?
Just be sure to put your beaters and bowl in the freezer for at least 20 minutes before whipping to make the whole process easier. And if you can find whipping cream that is not UHT — pasteurized at ultra-high temperatures — your cream will not only taste much fresher and sweeter, it’ll whip better, too. Should you have access to raw cream, that whips and tastes by far the best. (For more on this topic, check out the Pumpkin Whipped Cream I posted last winter.)
Berries, figs, and stone fruits like peaches and nectarines are the yummiest candidates for topping with your whipped cream. Or try dipping cherries into your cream! You can’t go wrong with fresh fruit and lush cream.
Chai-Spiced Whipped Cream
Serves 2 or 4 for dessert, depending on how much cream each person gets on their fruit.
1/2 cup whipping cream, preferably from pastured cows and preferably not UHT (see note above)
1 T. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
Thoroughly chill beaters and bowl by freezing for at least 20 minutes or refrigerating for several hours. Leave your cream in the fridge until the last possible second, too. You might even want to premix your spices to make the process quicker. Note that these are approximations: feel free to omit any spice you’re not keen on or bump up the amount of your favorites. Cardamom may strike you as very strong if you aren’t accustomed to it. It is, though, a key ingredient in chai tea, so if you like chai tea, odds are you’re a cardamom fan.
Pour cream into chilled bowl and whip on high with chilled beaters until firm but still smooth. (Do not beat it into chunky butter knobs!) This could take several minutes with UHT cream. If you have raw cream, you’ll be done in about 45 seconds. Drizzle in syrup and extract and add spices. Whip again, but briefly this time — just long enough to thoroughly blend in the flavorings.
Immediately serve atop berries, quartered figs, or sliced peaches or nectarines. Or serve little individual bowls of your spiced cream and dip cherries into it. Leftover cream can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If you’ve used raw cream, it’ll hold its shape nicely; UHT cream will probably slump. But should it slump, no worries — make yourself a lush milkshake by blending the cream with milk and fruit and/or cocoa powder.
Enjoy!
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