Adding salt and sugar to heavy cream, and whipping it to soft peaks, and then folding in a delicate fruity olive oil, produces a wonderfully light, fragrant whipped cream. Top your favorite seasonal fruits with this luscious, silky cream. Or use it as the final touch to our Olive Oil Almond Cake, Olive Oil and Spiced Cake, or Olive Oil Cake with Slow Roasted Strawberries!
Ingredients
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons sugar
Generous pinch salt
1 teaspoon fruity or grassy TAO extra virgin olive oil*
Directions (steps 1-4 are taken directly from Sally’s Baking Recipes)
Start with cold heavy cream. The colder the cream, the easier and more successful it will whip. Cold cream also creates the lightest whipped cream! Slightly warm or room temperature cream does not equate to whipped cream. If you’re ambitious, you could even chill the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes.
Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla together on medium-high speed. This speed is perfect for whipped cream, which will whip air into the cream at a medium pace. I find that high speed easily over-whips cream, and low speed under-whips cream.
Don’t walk away! Whipped cream only takes a couple minutes, but it’s only a few seconds between soft whipped cream and over-mixed whipped cream. Over-mixed whipped cream is curdled and grainy. Soft whipped cream, the ideal sweet spot, has a billowy and smooth texture. Stand by your mixer so you know when it’s ready.
Look for medium peaks. What are medium whipped cream peaks? When you lift the beaters or whisk out from the bowl, a semi-sturdy peak should form on them. The peak will slightly droop down, but not lose its shape entirely. It won’t be too soft and liquid-y, it won’t be heavy and curdled. Don’t be afraid to stop the mixer and check the consistency of the whipped cream as you go.
Gently fold in TAO olive oil.
*A fruity or grassy extra virgin olive oil will produce a unique, clean flavor profile, but using one of our fused olive oils such as Blood Orange or Clementine, Lemon or Lime, or even Basil will produce an added level of flavor and smell!