Gelatin Free Stabilized Whipped Cream

Why is stabilized whipped cream you may ask? It is whipped cream that will hold it's shape for quite a lot longer than just a regular whipped cream. You could wait until the last minute before serving a dish, make the whipped cream and then serve, but I like making things ahead of time incase I run into any problem. Traditionally stabilized whipped cream is made with gelatin. I wanted to make stabilized whipped cream for desserts but also for it to be vegetarian. I found a few solutions online, but struggled a ton with them. I ruined about 5 batches of whipped cream before arriving at this final product.

The ingredients you will need are :

- 2 tsp agar powder ( a gelatin substitute made out of seaweed )

- 1 tbsp white sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 473ml whipping cream

Put the agar in a small bowl and add about 1/3 of your whipping cream. You don't need to be exact with your 1/3 measurement, I just like to start off with a small amount to make it easier to mix in the agar. Stir the mixture vigorously with a fork or whisk for about 3 minutes. The agar clumps very easy, just when you think you've got them all, more appear. Even after all of the mixing I always strain the mixture through a wire strainer just to be safe. If you have lumps the whipped cream will have a little bit of a grainy texture.

Pour the agar mixture and the rest of the whipping cream in a cold bowl, metal works best. Add in the sugar and start beating with a mixer slowly adding your sugar and then when soft peaks start to form gently pour in your vanilla. Your whipped cream is done when you have stiff peaks forming. Your whipped cream can be used now or stored in the fridge for later use. More sugar or other flavourings can be added, but since it is going on an already sweet dessert more often than not I choose to leave it with a more mild flavour. Enjoy :)