When a cake recipe calls for "heavy cream" does that mean whip cream?

[onecent]

I think that is what they mean, but none of the containers in the milk aisle say just "heavy cream". I should know this I presume, but I'm
wondering if I am correct. Can anyone comment please? Thanks.

[housewolf]

1. Heavy cream

Most supermarkets don't carry anything labeled "Heavy Cream" any more... it's basically whipping cream without the stabilizers that they add. So use whipping cream and you'll be fine.

What arae you making? I just made a whipping cream cake this week that was out of this world... so tender, moist and delicious. Good luck with yours.

[onecent]

8. I'm making a Texas Sheet Cake (Chocolate)

I went to a birthday party for a friend of mine and someone had made this and I have never tasted anything so good. I had to buy a special cake sheet pan (bought it from Paula Deen website or QVC, can't remember which) and I've made it once. ( I didn't add the pecans, however, as most of the relatives don't care for pecans) or so they say...

I used Whipping cream and wanted to make sure that was correct

Now, some people in our family like white cake, and I found a recipe for a White Texas sheet cake and I plan to try that. Want to bake alot for Christmas...but these will probably have to be baked shortly prior to distribution.

I've been baking for at least 50 years and had NEVER even heard of a texas sheet cake, but it makes all other cake look inferior in my eyes.

Thanks for the help all. You're the best!

[onecent]

9. By the way, it doesn't ask to have it whipped it just says to add

1/2 cup heavy cream. IT IS wonderful!

[kentauros]

10. I'd like to know more about this "special" sheet pan

I'm guessing it's nothing more than a standard half or quarter sheet pan you'll find in bakeries ;)

Here's a pic of my 15yo half-sheet pans:





At the time, they cost $5 each, new, from a budget restaurant supply place. They might cost twice as much today, but they are very durable. If you're not using them in a bakery, expect them to last a lifetime (bakeries are very hard on equipment, even when great care is taken.)

[Warpy]

2. It's heavy cream here in NM

but it's whipping cream in New England.

Go figure.

But yes, they're the same. It's according to fat content and only the highest fat cream will actually whip without a lot of help.

(FWIW, you can whip a mixture of milk and powdered milk and it will look like whipped cream, but it's not going to fool anybody)

[ginnyinWI]

3. personally, I would substitute half n half or even whole milk.

Most recipes really don't need to be that rich, and most of us don't need the calories. To me, using heavy cream is like using the amount of salt called for in the old recipes--it's just too much of a good thing.

[hippywife]

4. Oh, but just once in awhile

it's worth having the real thing. Especially if you're taking it somewhere like a pot luck where it's not around the house for you to eat the whole thing. :rofl:

[ginnyinWI]

5. I hear ya, hippy! nt

[surrealAmerican]

13. In a cake recipe that may not work.

Most "cream cakes" use cream instead of butter. Milk will not give the same texture as cream.

[hippywife]

6. I'm still waiting for the answer to housewolf's question.

What kinda cake are ya makin'?

to C&B, onecent.

[housewolf]

7. Differences in creams

This info is based on FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations for dairy products, and categorizes cream by the amount of milk fat the product contains.

Half-and-Half, according to the which contains between 10.5 to 18 percent milk fat. I think every carton of half-and-half that I've looked at specifies about 10%.

Light Cream, aka coffee cream or table cream, has become quite scarce on today's market. It contains anywhere between 18 to 30 percent milk fat.

Whipping Cream contains 30% milk fat.

Heavy Cream consists of at least 36 percent milk fat. I've recently found some that containes 40%.

Most whipping cream and some heavy creams contain addidtives such as mono- and diglycerides (which are intended to put air into the cream as it is whipped), carrageenan (to help hold the whipped cream peaks) and polysorbate 80 (to help create stiff peaks). Both are generally ultra-pasturized to extend their shelf-life Iwhich also destroys some of the proteins in the cream that promote whipping). These additives act as emulsifiers and stabilizing agents. Pasturization results in a 20-day shelf life while ultra-pasturization results in a 60-day shelf-life. Often pasturized heavy cream contains a higher milk fat percentage than ultra-pasturized heavy cream.

Whipping Cream and Heavy Cream will both whip up to about the same volume. Whipping Cream whips up to peaks faster than Heavy Cream, but Whipping Cream loses its peaks and becomes watery after just a few hours in the refrigerator while Heavy Cream holds up for about a day.

As for taste, freshly whipped whipping cream is lighter and more airy than either of the heavy creams. It is more fleeting, melting in your mouth almost as soon as you were able to taste it (no doubt because of the lower fat content). Of the two heavy creams, the higher fat, pasteurized cream is the thickest as well as the best-tasting. It is sweeter and more buttery than either the ultrapasteurized heavy cream or the whipping cream. Evidently, the additives, as well as the process of ultrapasteurization, compromise the sweet, delicate flavor of cream.

In cooking taste test, with a simple reduction sauce with chicken broth, all three creams thickened upon reduction without breaking, but the sauce with the pasteurized, highest fat cream was by far the most appealing—velvety smooth and pleasant tasting.

[grasswire]

11. I don't like to use the 40 percent for whipping or baking

I used it at the coffee house for awhile, cuz it was in stock for the scone baking. It was not good for topping cream pies, as it just does not hold up. Very greasy mouth feel, too.

[hippywife]

12. Has that mouth feel

in ice cream, too. I have to restrict it to no more than 1/4 of the recipe.