We’re officially in the season of strawberries and cream, enjoying fresh and fruity desserts that are light and airy. If you’re rustling up an Eton Mess or using cream as a central part of your pudding, knowing how to save your cream could prove integral to the quality of the final product.
Don’t take your eye off the ball, because it takes just a few seconds for the cream to overwhip and split. The culinary experts at Delish revealed their simple method on TikTok for restoring overwhipped cream to its former glory. You don’t even need any extra ingredients.
Delish said: “If you went too far with whipping your cream and it’s starting to look a little like butter, I have an easy solution for you.”
If you overwhip your cream, you run the risk of it turning into a thick, grainy mess. Eventually the cream will separate into butter and buttermilk.
The fat molecules clump together, losing the smooth texture of whipped cream. If you continue whipping the cream after this point will lead to the formation of butter.
So if your cream becomes lumpy, add a little bit of double cream to the bowl. Gently fold the runny cream into the whipped cream with a spatula.
Fold until the overwhipped cream is smooth again. Delish promised that the results will be “beautiful”.
However, there may be circumstances where you won’t have any double cream on hand to help mix the problem. Delish said: “If you used all of your heavy cream, you can use just like a little bit of milk as well, that will also work.
“And if all else fails, just keep whipping it, turn it into butter.”
If you’re looking for summer dessert inspiration, you can recreate Mary Berry’s pavlova at home.
Ingredients
For the pavlova
- Six large free-range egg whites
- 350g caster sugar
- One teaspoon of white wine vinegar
- One teaspoon of cornflour
For the filling
- 600ml double cream
- One teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
- 200g strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 300g raspberries
- 200g blueberries
- 50g pomegranate seeds
- A few mint leaves, to decorate (optional)
- icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C (140C for fan ovens) or Gas Mark three. Prepare a large baking tray by covering it with baking parchment. Mark a circle measuring 30 centimetres (or 12 inches) in diameter in the centre of the paper, then draw a second circle, 15 centimetres (six inches) wide, within the first to create a ring shape.
Place the egg whites into a clean bowl and beat them using an electric whisk until they form soft peaks that gently hold their shape. Gradually incorporate the sugar, adding it slowly while continuing to whisk at full speed until the mixture becomes thick, shiny, and firm.
Combine the vinegar and cornflour in a small container and stir until smooth. Gently fold this into the meringue mixture.
Carefully spoon the meringue onto the prepared ring shape on the parchment. Use the back of a large spoon to form a shallow channel around the ring where the cream and fruit will be placed later.
Place the tray in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 140C (120C for fan ovens) or Gas Mark one. Bake for between one hour and one hour and fifteen minutes, until the exterior is crisp but remains pale. Switch off the oven and allow the pavlova to cool and dry inside for at least one hour or leave it overnight.
When ready to assemble, whip the cream together with the vanilla paste and icing sugar until it holds firm peaks. Fill the trench in the meringue with the whipped cream. Arrange the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and pomegranate seeds over the top. Add a few mint leaves for garnish, if desired. Before serving, dust with icing sugar and slice into portions.