Love to make cakes but are always lazy to buy heavy cream because the selling price is too expensive in the market? Why not try making it yourself instead of replacing it with regular milk? Remember, regular milk does not have the same content as cream. As a result, the resulting product is not able to texture or taste optimally afterward. For example, you can only make butter from heavy cream, not high-fat milk. Luckily, making cream from plain milk isn't as difficult as moving mountains because all you need is high-fat milk and butter or gelatin. If you want to get a real and natural cream, try using non-homogenized milk!
Ingredients
Heavy Cream
- 180 ml cold milk (high fat or with 2% fat content)
- 75 grams of unsalted butter
For: About 240 ml heavy cream
Whipped Cream
- 60 ml cold water
- 2 tsp. (10 grams) plain gelatin
- 240 ml high fat milk
- 30 grams of powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. (7.5 ml) vanilla extract
For: About 470 ml of whipped cream
Separating Cream with Milk
Milk that has not gone through the homogenization process
The resulting dose will vary
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making Thick Cream
Step 1. Melt unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat
Put 75 grams of unsalted butter in a saucepan. Then, turn on the stove and use low heat to melt the butter. If necessary, you can stir the butter periodically with a spoon or a rubber spatula.
Do not use margarine or salted butter so as not to confuse the taste of the resulting thick cream
Step 2. Pour 15 ml of melted butter into the cold milk
This method is known as "tempering" (mixing things gradually) and is very important to do! If all of the butter is poured into the milk at once, the milk will heat up quickly. As a result, the texture of the milk will be lumpy.
- Use high-fat milk for best results. However, if you are reluctant to consume high-fat milk, you can also use milk with 2% fat content.
- Do the tempering process in a separate container, such as a large measuring cup.
- At this stage, you will use the entire milk (60 ml).
Step 3. Pour the milk into a saucepan with the remaining butter and cook all the ingredients over low heat
First of all, you need to pour the tempered milk into the pan with the remaining butter. Then, cook all the ingredients over low heat until the milk heats up. Occasionally, stir the solution with a dough beater. Once the milk starts to look steamy, you can move on to the next step.
Don't wait for the milk to boil
Step 4. Process the milk until the texture thickens
Although using a blender will give you the best results, you can actually process milk with a food processor, electric mixer, or even a hand mixer. The length of time it takes for the cream to thicken will depend on the tool used, although generally it won't take more than a few minutes.
- Process the milk until the texture is thick and soft like heavy cream.
- This recipe will not make the milk texture as thick as whipped cream.
Step 5. Store the cream in the refrigerator and use it within one week
Let the milk sit at room temperature, then transfer it to a closed container before placing it in the refrigerator. Your homemade cream can be used in place of heavy cream in a variety of recipes!
As time goes by, the cream will separate from the liquid.
If this condition occurs, simply shake the container used to store the cream.
If you want, you can also heat the cream over low heat and stir gently.
Method 2 of 3: Making Whipped Cream
Step 1. Mix water with plain gelatin, then let it sit for 5 minutes
First, pour 60 ml of cold water into a small or medium sized saucepan. Then, sprinkle 2 tsp. (10 grams) unsalted gelatin into it. Let them sit for 5 minutes or until the gelatin is absorbed into the water and makes the texture of the water more chewy. Do not light the stove at this stage!
- Don't have gelatin or don't want to use it? You can also use gelatin powder for similar results.
- To enrich the texture of the cream, use 60 ml of high-fat milk instead of water.
- Do not use jelly or flavored gelatin. Both contain added sugar and flavorings which of course will affect the taste of the cream.
Step 2. Cook the water and gelatin mixture over low heat until the color is clear while continuing to stir
This process should only take a few minutes. If the desired results are not obtained, increase the heat of your stove a little. After the gelatin is completely dissolved and the color of the water turns clear, please move on to the next step.
If you use milk instead of plain water, be aware that the color of the gelatin solution will not turn clear. Therefore, just wait for the gelatin to completely dissolve before moving on to the next step.
Step 3. Allow the gelatin solution to cool down, then mix it with the high-fat milk while stirring for a few seconds
Turn off the heat, then set the pan aside until the gelatin solution reaches room temperature. After that, pour 240 ml of milk into a bowl, then pour the cooled gelatin solution into it. Stir the two with a mixer for 20 to 30 seconds until well combined.
- The time it takes to cool the gelatin solution will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. In general, the gelatin solution should be allowed to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Make sure you only use high-fat milk that, as the name implies, contains a higher fat content. In other words, other types of milk will not give the same results because the fat content is not too high.
Step 4. Mix powdered sugar and vanilla extract
Add 1/2 tsp. (7.5 ml) of vanilla extract and 30 grams of powdered sugar into a bowl of milk and gelatin solution. Then, mix all the ingredients again until the color and texture are consistent and don't clump.
- If you want, you can also use other extracts or flavorings, such as almonds.
- However, you must use powdered sugar! Do not use regular granulated sugar in this recipe.
- If you don't like sweetness too much, just use 2 tbsp. (15 grams) powdered sugar and don't use vanilla extract.
Step 5. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 90 minutes while continuing to stir every 15 minutes
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then put it in the refrigerator. Every 15 to 20 minutes, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, then knead the dough in it with a dough beater before placing it back in the refrigerator. Repeat the process several times for 60 to 90 minutes.
- While it's refrigerated, the dough should stick together better and the texture will harden. That's why, you need to stir it periodically so that the ingredients in it don't separate when you let it sit.
- For best results, refrigerate the dough beater used. Believe me, doing so is effective in speeding up the process of whipping the cream and preventing the cream from breaking.
Step 6. Beat the dough with a hand mixer until the texture is soft and smooth
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and beat the dough in it using a hand mixer. Do this process until the texture of the dough thickens and forms soft peaks.
- Make sure the mixer touches the entire rim of the bowl until the cream has doubled in size.
- The duration of whipping of the cream will depend on the temperature of the cream, the speed of the mixer, and the consistency you want. However, the cream should only need to be whipped for a few seconds.
- If you don't have a hand mixer, you can also beat the cream with an electric mixer or a food processor equipped with a whisk.
Step 7. Store the whipped cream in the refrigerator for up to 2 days
For best results, store the cream in a container or glass bottle with a lid to make the cream easier to use, even if the taste doesn't change. Do not use plastic containers because the chemicals in the plastic can seep into the cream and affect its taste.
- Although the shape and texture resembles heavy cream, they are actually two different types of cream.
- Whipped cream is best when used to decorate the surface of waffles, pancakes, fruits like strawberries, etc. Or, you can also use it as a cake filling.
Method 3 of 3: Separating the Cream from the Milk
Step 1. Pour the milk that has not gone through the homogenization process into a container
Since later you will be inserting the vegetable spoon into it, use a container with a wide enough surface and clean condition.
- If the milk you are going to use is already stored in a glass container, skip this step.
- This method will only work if you're using milk that hasn't been homogenized, especially since it doesn't contain any extra cream.
- The best way to find out whether or not a product has been homogenized is to check the label on the packaging. If the milk is in a glass container, you can also look for streaks of cream on the surface.
Step 2. Let the fresh milk sit for 24 hours
To practice this recipe, you can buy non-homogenized milk at the store or use fresh milk expressed directly from the cow. If you choose the second option, the milk must first be allowed to stand for at least 24 hours.
Because the cream content in fresh milk has not gone through the maximum separation process, the 24 hours is useful for raising the cream to the surface of the milk
Step 3. Look for the cream line that indicates the separation between the milk and cream
Usually, milk will be lighter in color and transparent than cream. In addition, cream will also have a thicker texture and a more yellowish color than milk. After going through the separation process, the cream content will rise to the surface of the milk so that it can be detected easily.
- Even though it's called a "cream line", it doesn't mean that the line between milk and cream will be clearly defined. In general, the two will look like lettuce sauce that separates after sitting for a while, when the liquid settles to the bottom of the bowl and the oil floats to the surface of the liquid.
- If you can't find the line of cream you're talking about, it means the milk needs to sit longer. Or maybe what you're actually using is homogenized milk.
Step 4. Insert the ladle just above the cream line
Use a soup spoon or vegetable spoon that is not too large so that it can be easily inserted into the container. Then, take a separate cream and make sure the spoon doesn't hit the milky liquid underneath.
If the cream is too thin and difficult to scoop out with a spoon, you can also suck it up with a special pipette to transfer the spices
Step 5. Take the cream with a spoon and put it in another container
Slowly lift the spoon filled with cream and transfer the cream inside to another container. If you don't have another container, you can also store the cream in another bowl or glass container, as long as both have lids.
If the cream is picked up with a dropper, make sure you don't suck the milk underneath! Most likely, you'll only need to partially dip the dropper into the cream to keep the milk underneath from picking up
Step 6. Repeat the same process until about 2.5 cm of cream remains in the container
Leave a little cream so that the milk liquid underneath doesn't get picked up accidentally. In addition, the remaining cream will also make the texture of the milk taste more delicious (equivalent to high-fat milk) when drunk.
Accidentally mixing milk into the cream, no matter how small it is, can damage the texture of the whipped cream or butter that you are about to make. In general, the results are not much different from when you accidentally add water to butter or whipped cream
Step 7. Use the separated milk and cream as desired
Milk can be drunk directly, processed into dishes, or mixed with coffee and cereals. Meanwhile, you can process the separate cream into butter or whipped cream.
- Close the milk and cream container tightly, then store them in the refrigerator until they are ready to use.
- Finish the milk and cream in a maximum of one week.
Tips
- If it's made with butter and gelatin, your cream won't really be the same as what you're likely to find on the market. However, the texture and taste are quite similar, really!
- Don't beat the cream for too long! If you beat too long, the cream will clump and turn into butter.
