Quick answer: heavy cream whips, sets, enriches and freezes, so one carton can become whipped cream, mousse, panna cotta, ice cream, ganache, butter or a coffee topping. The recipes below are grouped by what the cream does in each.
Whipped creams and frostings
- Whipped cream, four ways
- Chantilly cream
- Chocolate whipped cream
- Strawberry whipped cream
- Stabilized whipped cream
- Whipped cream frosting
- Cream cheese whipped cream
- Mascarpone cream
- Homemade whipped topping
- 20 flavored whipped creams
Mousses and light desserts
- Chocolate mousse
- Strawberry mousse
- Mango mousse
- Eight easy mousses
- Eton mess
- Syllabub
- Strawberries and cream
Set and layered desserts
- Panna cotta
- Lemon posset
- Bavarian cream
- Diplomat cream
- Trifle
- Easy tiramisu
- Icebox cake
- Strawberry shortcake with cream biscuits
Frozen and chocolate
Sauces and custards: chocolate ganache, caramel sauce, crème anglaise, pastry cream and homemade Irish cream.
Coffee and drinks
- Vanilla sweet cream
- Cold foam
- Pumpkin cream cold foam
- Cheese foam
- Einspänner
- Irish coffee
- Italian cream soda
- Dirty soda
From cream to something else
Using up leftover heavy cream
- Whip it, freeze dollops on a tray and bag them for hot drinks.
- Stir a spoonful into soup, pasta sauce, mashed potatoes or scrambled eggs.
- Use it in coffee; see heavy cream in coffee.
- Freeze it for cooking; see how long heavy cream lasts.
- Shake it into butter in a jar.
Savory uses
Heavy cream resists curdling, so it finishes pan sauces, creamy soups, gratins and pasta. Add it near the end and simmer gently.
No cream in the house? See heavy cream substitutes. Whipping for a crowd? See how to use a cream charger tank.
Frequently asked questions
What can I make with heavy cream?
Whipped cream and frostings, mousse, panna cotta, lemon posset, no-churn ice cream, ganache, butter, coffee toppings, and creamy sauces and soups.
What can I do with leftover heavy cream?
Whip and freeze it in dollops, make butter, stir it into coffee, soup or scrambled eggs, or freeze it for cooking. USDA FoodKeeper lists 3 to 4 months in the freezer.
What desserts use heavy cream?
Mousse, panna cotta, posset, Bavarian cream, trifle, tiramisu, icebox cake, no-churn ice cream and whipped ganache are all built on heavy cream.
Can I use whipping cream in heavy cream recipes?
Usually yes. Whipping cream has slightly less fat, so whipped results are a little softer.
