By simply choosing the type of cream to incorporate in your baking, you can significantly transform any dessert and pastries recipe into something else entirely. If you’re a dessert and pastry connoisseur, you’re most probably familiar with many of them – but how much do you truly? Here are 10 types of creams to use for desserts.
This type of cream consists of half milk and half cream with 10% to 12% fat. It’s often used for coffees and beverages, and it can perfectly substitute milk in various recipes. Pan sauces, creamy pasta sauces, and gravies often use this cream because of its incredible thickness.
Also referred to as single cream or table cream, light cream helps bring moisture to desserts after you pour it over crumbles and pound cakes. Just like half and half cream, light cream can also be used for coffee. But this type of cream works best for soups and gravies because of its usual 12% to 18% fat content.
For those who are fond of mouth-watering desserts, heavy whipping cream is an ingredient that your recipe should not miss. Heavy whipping cream is a rich and thick cream that’s usually added to decadent desserts and dishes. It typically consists of 36% to 40% fat.
When it comes to thickness, double cream reigns supreme. It boasts a 48% fat content, making it the thickest cream. This cream is an ideal pouring cream for ice creams, buttermilk scones, and chocolate truffles.
Sour cream is created by adding bacterial cultures to the cream to produce lactic acid. This lactic acid results in a slightly sour taste and a thicker-than-normal consistency in the cream. With its slightly tart flavour, you can use sour cream to make dips, salad dressings, and casseroles.
The same process is used to make light sour cream as with sour cream, except it contains a reduced fat and caloric content. It is a desirable component in nutritious recipes like salad dressings since it contains a blend of good and bad nutrients. With its tangy and delicious taste, you can top light sour cream on baked potatoes for a truly appetising meal.
Crème fraiche is a thick and rich cream with a consistency similar to custard. It’s a version of sour cream, except with higher fat content, and is good for cooking because it’s less prone to curdling. With a usual fat content of 39%, crème fraiche is great for pan sauces and soups because it helps thicken them.
Irish cream is classified as a liqueur because it combines a distilled liquor along with other sweeteners and flavours. The result is a lower and less concentrated alcoholic flavour in the final beverage.
Not just the flavor, but the perfect balance and contrast of hot and cold with a distinct pop of color makes ice cream a great pancake topping.
Chantilly cream refers to a sweetened whipped cream that may include other flavourings like vanilla.