Sweet or Not…….

Only eleven days left until Christmas, so I am thinking that the countdown is on! It isn’t looking very “Christmasy” around here, just a little wet, but I know there are those of you in other parts of the country that are under a full blanket of white right now. I had plans this week to share my dairy free hot chocolate recipe, as well as a few others, but first things first. Also, a friend of mine sent me a picture of pizzelles she made last year and I thought that this would be the absolute perfect filling for both those, and to top hot chocolate.

I know that traditionally, in both instances mentioned above, most people turn to spray cream, cool whip, or homemade dairy whipping cream. While I took my first shot at making dairy free whipped cream over a year ago, now that my family and I have been dairy free for five weeks now I decided that I had better master this process. My first batch over a year ago turned out tasty, but there were some flaws that made it pale in comparison to its dairy rival. I can tell you now that with a few key tips you can make coconut cream any time and it will beat out dairy whipped cream any day of the week.

The first time that I made coconut whipped cream it was for my Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal. It tasted amazing, but was runnier than I would have liked, and wouldn’t hold its shape.. I can tell you that my first error was the brand of coconut milk I bought, it was full fat, but didn’t have much cream in it. Since then I have bought name brands and they have come out perfectly. Most recently I bought 365 Organic Full Fat Coconut milk from Whole Foods, and by far this can had the most cream I have ever seen! It was approximately half of the can, which is amazing.

The second thing you must know is YOU HAVE TO CHILL, the can. 😉 Don’t shake it, don’t do anything except put it in the refrigerator UPSIDE DOWN. Leave it for at least a few hours. (I leave mine overnight.) When you take it out of the fridge, and open it, there will be the hardened cream at the top of the can ready to be removed, and whipped into a beautiful filling, or topping. Make sure you don’t throw away what is left in the can, you can still use it!

Third, chill your bowl, and beaters. Just toss them in the fridge about 30 minutes before you are ready to make the cream. When you remove the cream from the can carefully scoop it out and into the chilled bowl. It will look kind of chalky, but don’t worry, it will beat into a fluffy cream. You may need to add a tablespoon, or two, of the coconut milk that is left in the can until you reach the consistency that you like. Depending on how pure, or unrefined, your cream is will determine its color. This particular can wasn’t quite as bright white as others I have used, but it still turned out beautifully.

Once you are done beating the cream to the consistency that you would like you can choose to leave it “natural”, or sweeten it. This time I decided to add a teaspoon of Sugar 2.0 to the whipped cream so I could sweeten it up a bit. After you are done, if you aren’t using it right away, place it in a sealed container and put it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for 4-6 days. WAIT! Don’t throw away the rest of the milk. After you have scooped the cream out of the bowl dump the remaining milk, and little cream chunks, into the same bowl you made the cream in and beat the remaining little chunks into it. After that you can pour it in a jar, pop it in the fridge, and use it in your coffee. Then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Have you ever tried coconut cream?

What is your favorite way to enjoy whipped cream?

Easy Coconut Whipped Cream

By Angie Gouchenour

Ingredients

1 can FULL FAT coconut milk (Not the boxed stuff) (You can find it in the Asian Cuisine aisle or sometimes baking)

1 teaspoon sweetener (optional) I use Sugar 2.0

Directions

Turn the can of coconut milk upside down and chill for at least 2 hours

Make sure to chill the bowl, and beaters, about 30 minutes prior to whipping the cream

Remove the can from the fridge and turn upright and open

Carefully (Ok, you might have to dig, its pretty hard) scoop out the hardened cream into the chilled bowl; set the can and leftover milk aside

Beat the chunks of cream until creamy, you might need to add 1-2 Tablespoons of the leftover milk to create the creamy consistency you desire

Sweeten if you wish

If you are not going to use immediately store in a sealed container in the fridge for 4-6 days

(See above for notes on using the leftover milk)

Enjoy!