Whipped Coconut Cream

I’m not going to lie, this is tricky to do. It takes patience and persistence. If you don’t get it right the first time you probably did it wrong, but that’s ok because it is really hard to do the first time. It’s like poaching eggs. The first time you get egg drop soup, but eventually you figure it out and once you get it, you get it! Who knows, maybe you will even get it right the first time! Don’t be discouraged, it took me three tries, and a chef friend of mine still has not managed (though I think that is because she gave up). Whipped coconut cream is totally worth it and hopefully with my instructions you will get it right the first time!

Makes: 4-6 servings

Preparation time: 8h10m
Cooking time: 8h10m
Total time: 8h10m

Ingredients:

  • 1 can full-fat BPA-free coconut milk

Equipment: refrigerator, hand mixer

Instructions:

  1. Place the can of coconut milk on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator and leave it for 8 hours. What this does is it allows the milk to separate into two layers. The cream rises to the top and solidifies, while the less fatty translucent milk is pushed to the bottom of the can. The cream is what we are going to whip. If you have a fat separator (the type used for making gravy) you could try to use that to separate the milk from the cream. You can also open the can and pour the contents into a glass jar with a lid - this way you will be able to see where the separation line is.
  2. Remove the can/glass from the refrigerator and open it. Be careful not to shake the container in any way. You need the liquids to stay separated.
  3. Carefully scoop the cream from the top and put it into a bowl. It will make up about 1/3-1/2 of the canned milk. Make sure you do not get any of the translucent milk in the bowl or it will not whip propperly. When spooning the cream out of the can make sure not to dig down instead use a horizontal motion. Once you see the translucent milk, stop scooping. You don’t want to risk getting any of it into the bowl. (It's like whipping egg whites; if you get any egg yolk in the bowl then they won't whip propperly).
  4. Now whip like there’s no tomorrow! Using a hand mixer on full power, whip the cream until it is fluffy. This might happen right away if the cream is super cold, or it can take up to 10 minutes. Remember whipping cow cream takes a little while too. So have patience. Just don't over whip it. You want it smooth and glossy, not lumpy.
  5. That’s it! You should hopefully have a bowl of whipped coconut milk! No need to add sugar or any thickeners. If it is not sweet enough for you try adding some ground cinnamon or some almond extract. You can put in some sugar if you want, but usually you would use this on top of an already sweet dessert.