Salted Honey Whipped Cream

Salted honey whipped cream is the perfect balance of sweet and creamy with just a hint of salt that makes fora  nuanced addition to any delectable dessert.

Sometimes you’ve made a tasty dessert and you go to the freezer and the impossible happens – THERE IS NO ICE CREAM. And after you take a quiet moment to think about how you got to this place in life, you breathe deeply and move on.

But in moving on, we often find something even more beloved. Which is exactly what happened to me. I made a plum crumble and thoroughly intended to garnish it with a big ole scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream. But alas, there was none and I had to think on my feet. Of course the obvious choice is whipped cream, but it seemed a touch boring, and honestly overdone.

So how would I remedy this situation? Well I’m never one to back down from a challenge (well actually I totally am, but this seemed like a pretty easy one to tackle), so I thought about how to glow up your standard whipped cream topping and you know what? I’m pretty proud of myself.

Salted Honey Whipped Cream

This twist on a classic takes creamy, dreamy, dollops of whipped cream and adds a touch of honey and hint of salt, making for an elegant and nuanced topping for any sweet treat. Now do you absolutely have to whip a little bit of honey and salt into your cream? Well obviously not, but when you’re trying to gild the lily, why not take it as far as it can go? But first…

Why whip your own cream?

As a small child we always one of those aerosol cans of whipped cream in the fridge. Years later my mother would make the switch to those plastic tubs of “real whipped topping” that is simultaneously lauded and despised the world over. But something we never did was whip our own cream.

So is the real thing really so much better than that store bought stuff from my youth? In a short answer – yes. In a longer, slightly more complex answer – it depends on what you’re looking for. Nostalgia is a tricky beast, and when you’re looking to recreate a very specific food moment from your past, reinventing it in a more grown up way may not always be the key.

So if your idea of whipped cream is primarily something you might shoot directly in your mouth while binge watching the Bridget Jones trilogy – well then perhaps you can stick with the can. And there is no shame in that. But if pure, lightly sweetened, heavenly dessert nirvana is what you’re after, then this stuff is for you. Also, it’s made of real food, not chemicals, and that always seems to be a plus these days.

What You Need to Make Salted Honey Whipped Cream

This list is dead simple – but always remember, simple means you have nowhere to hide.

1. Heavy cream. Try to go for something that’s not ultra pasteurized, as it will whip up a little more easily for you. Also if ever there was a time to splurge on that fancy stuff, it is now.
2. Honey. Sure, you can squeeze out the stuff directly from the plastic bear, but friends this is 2019 and honey is so much more than just sticky and cloyingly sweet. I personally love the honey varieties produced by my friends over at Bee Seasonal. Each honey is single origin, organic, and produced in a way that keeps the bee population thriving. Plus, each variety of their honey is unique to the terroir of that specific hive, so much like wine, they all have their own special flavor characteristics. Oh and btw – this is not a sponsored post. I just really love what they do.
3. Salt. A little something savory in an otherwise sweet situation can really bring things to the next level. In this case, a pinch of good quality sea salt is my personal fave. However, I would avoid using a hugely flakey salt, as it will take too long to dissolve into the cream. But feel free to use it to garnish at the end.

Tips for Making Whipped Cream

Whipping cream is all about getting air bubbles into dense dairy. So we should do our best to support that venture.

• Chill out: Starting with cold cream, a cold bowl, and cold beaters is the KEY to whipping up cream quickly and easily. So pop everything in the freezer for about 10 minutes before you begin.
• Keep things clean: A clean bowl and beaters whip things much more efficiently than dirty ones, so just make sure to give everything a good scrub before you get going.
• Start slow: Yes, it is totally tempting to crank that sucker to high and watch those billowy piles of cream form before your eyes. But getting the cream used to the agitation before you blitz it at warp speed will give you a more stable and sturdy end product. So start on low to medium at the very beginning, and when you start to see larger bubbles form then ramp things up.
• Make additions towards the end: Adding things like sugar, honey, vanilla, etc. should really be reserved for the back half of the whipping process.
• Finish by hand: It’s VERY easy to over whip cream. Hell – I did it today. And it’s not the end of the world if your cream ends up being just a bit stiffer than you intended, but take things too too far and you’ll end up making butter. To try and avoid this snafu you should 1. keep an eye on things, as the tides can turn in an instant, and 2. stop when you’re just shy of soft, luscious peaks, and finish beating it by hand. This naturally slows the process down, giving you much more control over the final consistency.

How to Serve Salted Honey Whipped Cream

OMG there are SO MANY DELICIOUS OPTIONS!

• dolloped into hot chocolate
• draped over a still warm fruit crumble
• spooned onto a slice of rich, chocolate cake
• as a topping for a simple bowl of fresh, seasonal fruit
• or eaten on a spoon – because life is short and salted honey whipped cream is too good to waste

So I hope that tickles your sweet tooth just a bit on this gorgeous fall Friday. And if you’re in need of more sugary treats, look no further:

• Salted Crispy Peanut Butter Bars
• Thin and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Grapefruit Mint Olive Oil Cake
• Baked Peanut Butter Donuts with Dark Chocolate Glaze

Happy Weekend!

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