Best desserts that feature whipped cream

November 7, 2013 9:19 AM

I'm hosting a casual dinner party this weekend, and my friend's favorite part of any dessert is whipped cream, the more decadent the better. What dessert recipes feature whipped cream as the star of the show? I'd prefer suggestions that are relatively easy/quick and not too expensive, and that don't have any hard to find ingredients (I've thought of icebox cake, but haven't been able to find the wafers for sale, and don't have the time to make my own.) Thanks!
posted by Neely O'Hara to Food & Drink (36 answers total)

Panna cotta is made with the same cream that whipped cream is made with, and tastes quite similar. It's not whipped though, and there's milk and gelatin added.
posted by Dragonness at 9:22 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Paula Deen's banana pudding recipe is quite whipped cream (well, Cool Whip) heavy.
posted by mrfuga0 at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2013

Eton Mess: that needs meringue, but it's less fiddly than a pavlova. Or even simpler, a fruit fool in the modern incarnation. Or how about a syllabub? Nigella has an amaretto one that seems right for the season.
posted by holgate at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2013 [7 favorites]

Gooseberry fool. Personally, I think gooseberries taste like butt (and might also be tough for you to find) but you could always make it with other fruits. Raspberry fool. Quince fool. Etc.
posted by phunniemee at 9:27 AM on November 7, 2013

Make (or buy) an angel food cake. Split it into three or more layers. Add whipped cream and sliced strawberries (let the berries sit with a little sugar so they get juicy) to each layer, spooning some juice on with the berries. Top with more whipped cream and some whole berries. Easy, pretty and yummy.
posted by idest at 9:30 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

My mother used to make Angel Pie, a merengue crust, baked and then filled with whipped cream (heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla extract) that has red raspberries folded into it. Heavenly. Hence the name.
posted by Dolley at 9:30 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

CREAM PUFFS!
posted by travelwithcats at 9:32 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

I've made trifle with whipped cream instead of custard and it is decadent and heavenly. For the base, I've bought and used plain pound cake, lemon pound cake, ladyfingers (the type used for tiramisu), or sponge cake. Usually I make in the summer with berries, but I've had versions with pears and cherries before that are very good. I dont have a specific recipe for you - I do some combination of:
- soak base in some type of fruit juice or citrusy alcohol (limoncello, grand marnier - whatever goes with your fruit)
- either cook (if using hard fruit like pears) or macerate the fruit
- whip cream (i usually put some citrus zest in there with the sugar)

in deep large bowl (clear if you have it), make layers of cake/biscuit base, then fruit, then cream, and repeat until i run out.
posted by darsh at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Sex in a pan is great. It is layers of pudding and a whipped cream/cream cheese combination all over a graham cracker crust. Really easy to make, and quite delicious.
posted by bove at 9:34 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

I can't find the recipe online, but my grandma used to make a dessert with sweetened whipped cream, banana slices, and boxed ginger snaps. You take a fancy bowl and lay alternate rows of ginger snaps and banana slices around the outside, then smoosh whipped cream over them, then add a layer of ginger snaps and banana, then whipped cream, etc. Let it sit overnight and the ginger snaps will completely soften so you can scoop it with a spoon. Super rich and delicious.

It's kind of a 50's dessert, but you could fancy it up with a little rum or smashed fruit in the whipped cream, or replace the ginger snaps with chocolate cookies, etc.
posted by pocams at 9:35 AM on November 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

strawberry/banana crepes?

just your basic sweet crepes recipe, fill with sliced up and honeyed strawberries, plus bananas if you like them, and a whole bunch of whipped cream. fold up and top with more whipped cream. it's so easy I make it for breakfast sometimes!

alternately, if you like sweeter things, a custard or nutella base under the fruit. (don't tell anyone, but there's custard baby food, so you can just buy a couple little containers of custard. it's great.)

(also crepes freeze and fridge well with wax paper between them, so can be done ahead, it's good if all ingredients are cold or room temp.)
posted by euphoria066 at 9:37 AM on November 7, 2013

I think you want Martha's Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake - last time I had it, it was made 4 layers and it looked spectacular.
posted by leitmotif at 9:47 AM on November 7, 2013

If everyone at the party can have a boozy dessert: syllabub! As fun to say as it is to eat.
A pretty plain version and an amaretto version, to give you some idea of possible variations.
posted by hilatron at 9:49 AM on November 7, 2013

Keeping with the English pudding theme, brandy snaps filled with brandy-laced whipped cream, where you're whipping to stiff peaks rather than soft ones.
posted by holgate at 9:51 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Bavarian Cream. Awesome because you make it ahead of time, then bust it out for dessert. Serve with berries and profiteroles or other crispy cookies. Nice with Chantilly Cream.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:54 AM on November 7, 2013

A simple and casual dessert that avoids boxed pudding is "Veiled Farm Girls", a Scandinavian recipe layering good-quality applesauce (which you can buy), whipped cream, and breadcrumbs toasted in a skillet with butter and spices.

I like Andreas Viestad's recipe at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Veiled-Farm-Girls-235002.
posted by Hypatia at 10:05 AM on November 7, 2013

If merengue doesn't frighten you, a pavlova is fantastic. Dump some berries and chocolate shavings on top and it will please everyone but the lactose intolerant.
posted by munchingzombie at 10:13 AM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Icebox cake without the wafers

Thin little cookies (Trader Joe's make a few great ones), lots and lots of whipped cream, and then chocolate sauce to make it fancy!
posted by hmo at 10:14 AM on November 7, 2013

Whipped cream + tiny cups of coffee.
posted by oceanjesse at 10:18 AM on November 7, 2013

I can't think of dessert that featured whipped cream, both in quantity and quality, as this Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Whipped Cream Tart from Bon Appétit. You could use a pre-baked tart crust and change the flavoring from peppermint to almond if the mint is too much pre-Thanksgiving. Also, my 4 qt Kitchen-Aid stand mixer couldn't handle the 3.5 cups (!) of whipping cream, so do that in two batches. The result is delicious and beautiful.
posted by wnissen at 10:19 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

My mom used to make this thing that probably has a name, but I don't know it.

Graham crackers at the bottom of a pan, chocolate pudding poured on top. The rest of the pan got filled with whipped cream all the way to the top of the rim. Crush walnuts on top. Oh man . . . I gotta go right now. To my kitchen. To eat this.
posted by mibo at 10:28 AM on November 7, 2013

Pavlovas
posted by hrj at 10:28 AM on November 7, 2013

Pavlova is great, but only quick or easy if you can buy a meringue base. One thing I do that makes it really special is to put a layer of berries macerated in a bit of sugar between the meringue and the whipped cream - it soaks down into the meringue and is bloody delicious. Must be done immediately before serving as it will make it soggy (but then you can turn the leftovers into eton mess - bonus!).

Otherwise, trifle. Lady finger biscuits soaked in sherry, then custard, jelly, whipped cream and top the lot with chocolate shavings. You can also chop some bananas into the custard or add some macerated berries for extra deliciousness.
posted by goo at 10:40 AM on November 7, 2013

Seconding Eton Mess, so fab they serve it at the Spotted Pig in NYC. I wanted to add that as a kid I loved having just whipped cream in a sugarcone.
posted by Dragonness at 11:20 AM on November 7, 2013

It doesn't get much simpler than this - the classic English strawberries and cream. I'm sure you can jazz it up by soaking the strawberries in alcohol or syrup or sweetening the cream if you wanted to.
posted by Jubey at 11:32 AM on November 7, 2013

Oh, Whipped Cream Cake Roulade. Recipe here. Le yum.
posted by headspace at 11:48 AM on November 7, 2013

Consider a crepe cake (you don't have to do the alcohol and flavorings, plain is great too)
posted by rmless at 11:49 AM on November 7, 2013

My aunt makes an angel food cake that is cut in 3 and layered with whipped cream, crushed pineapple and chopped macadamia nuts. It's topped with pineapple rings and more cream. Yum!
posted by Biblio at 12:18 PM on November 7, 2013

Cranachan is a Scottish dessert made with oats, raspberries, honey, whisky and whipped cream.
posted by usonian at 1:28 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Strawberry shortcake. Yum.
posted by wildflower at 1:45 PM on November 7, 2013

What about Alton Brown's Banana pudding. Unlike Paula Dean's it uses real whipping cream. Not that there's anything wrong with Cool Whip.

Speaking of Cool Whip, we make a dark chocolate cake and then cover with a pineapple whipped cream frosting. Basically a tub of cool whip, a well drained can of crushed pineapple and a box of vanilla pudding. Just fold it all together. I don't see why it wouldn't work with real whipping cream.
posted by kathrynm at 4:23 PM on November 7, 2013

How about Pineapple Snow?
posted by Snazzy67 at 6:21 PM on November 7, 2013

My son's favorite part of desserts is whipped cream too. I think the best bets I know of (and both have been mentioned here) are Pavlovas and Fools (I made a Berry Fool with twice the whipped cream accidentally and it went over like gang busters... actually the recipe is here (amongst other things)).
posted by katers890 at 6:22 PM on November 7, 2013

I once had a dessert at a cajun restaurant in Seaside, OR which, I believe, was called something like "Bourbon Pie" or "Chocolate Bourbon Pie." It was basically a pile of bourbon-flavored whipped cream served on a plate, drizzled with melted chocolate and with prettily sliced strawberries for garnish. I can't remember if there was any sort of crust, but I don't think so. Our group attacked it with spoons and nearly licked the plate. Googling for recipes seems to only turn up more traditional pies with whipped cream for topping, but there's no rule that says you can't just serve a bowl of flavored, sweetened whipped cream (perhaps some sort of liqueur or extract...or some sort of fruit zest or juice that won't curdle the cream), maybe with some perfunctory cookies or fruit. [Isn't that basically what chocolate mousse is?] Give it a fancy-sounding name and some pretty garnish and suddenly it's a legit dessert!
posted by spelunkingplato at 7:49 PM on November 7, 2013

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte...
posted by jim in austin at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2013

Atholl brose! Whip the cream stiffly for a mousse-like dessert; less stiffly for something more cocktail-like.
posted by Lexica at 11:01 AM on November 11, 2013