how sweet is too sweet for homemade whipped cream?

[sweetpotato]

I love making whipped cream in my mixer.....couldn't be more simple and delicious.
I was curious to hear how much confectioner's sugar you all use when you mix, say, two pints of heavy cream. I also add a tablespoon of vanilla.
Thank you, have sweet holidays!

[karykat]

You know what you should do: Make some whipped cream. Add half the amount of sugar you think you should and then taste it. How does it seem? If you want more, add just a little more and taste again. Until you have it how you want it. (But start doing this early enough in the whipping process that you don't over-whip your cream.)

Also, if you have a family and friends used to it real sweet, cut back a little each time you make something. Then they will get used to the less sweet cream and prefer it that way.

[jkling17]

A very sensible approach ... even better keeping adding 1/2 tsp of brandy, cognac or port for every 1 tsp of sugar to you take away .... LOL!

A touch of cocoa powder will give the cream an awesome color too.

[karykat]

Love your brandy idea!!

[karykat]

Me too. Less is best for me.

With less sugar you taste the freshness of the dairy. The sugar masks it.

I wouldn't use a whole tablespoon of vanilla. Somewhat less -- for the same reason.

One thing though. It depends a bit on who I'll be serving. If lots of kids, maybe a little more sugar. If mostly adults, the minimum.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I'm with the barely sweet crowd. I use just a smidge of sugar if any. Whipped cream has its own wonderful rich flavor, and when sweetened much it just tastes like sweet, rather than like cream. Besides, it's meant to set off other (usually sweet) flavors. It's always a good sign (to me) when a restaurant serves whipped cream that is barely sweet with its desserts - means they know what they're doing, in my book.

[jkling17]

I go light on the sugar - like 1-2 tsp per cup, just plain old granulated sugar. Then I just add a dash of vanilla - plus - 1 tsp of brandy or cognac or port. To me, the whipped cream is to add richness and complexity, to compliment the sweetness of the pie or fruit.

[sandylc]

I agree with the others. About a Tablespoon per cup and NO confectioners'/powdered sugar. The cornstarch in the p-sugar adds an undesirable texture.

[Davwud]

I usually eyeball it at about 8 to 1.

Honestly though, this is like asking how hot is too hot for chicken wings. Whatever you like is perfect.

DT

[racer x]

It totally depends on what it will be served with or mixed into, as Chemicalkinetics said.

When the whipped cream is being served with something that's not very sweet, certain fruits for instance, then I like the whipped cream to be really sweet.

But when the whipped cream will be topping off a dish that already has very sweet ingredients, say a very sweet pie, or a sundae, or eggnog, I tend to like the whipped cream to be sweet, but not quite as sweet as in the former situation.

I find that my sweetness preference tends to be much higher than most others'.
Whipped cream without any sugar/sweetener at all gets a frowny face from me (think how little kids respond to foods) -- it's a waste of calories.

For a SINGLE pint of less-sweet, I might go with one tablespoon.
For super-sweet, I think I might go with 1/4 - 1/3 cup.

[magiesmom]

Unless for a very bitter chocolate cake/tart, I add no sugar. Just the best cream I can find and a tiny bit of vanilla. Maybe mascarpone to stabilize. If I do use sugar it would be superfine, don't want the starch of confectioner's.

[ipsedixit]

Ditto.

I don't very much care for whipped cream as it is, I care even less for sweet whipped cream.

Vanilla, maybe. Sugar? Never.

[chowser]

I love mascarpone whipped cream, too--the tang of it cuts the sweet of the dessert.

[chowser]

I'm with Chemicalkenetics, at most a tablespoon. I like to go heavier on the rum.;-)

[iluvcookies]

per cup of cream, I use a heaping tablespoon of sugar (I prefer granulated) and about 1/2 tsp of vanilla

[Chemicalkinetics]

For what? To use it as topping for a pie or to consume the homemade whipped cream as sake. :)

I put very little to no sugar.

[mcf]

Me, too.

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Typo. I mean to write "snack", but I spelled it as sake (Japanese rice wine). Yeah, we are going to have whipped cream sake. :D