Make Perfect Homemade Whipped Cream in a Food Processor

Homemade whipped cream makes simple fruit into fancy desserts, and impresses the heck out of guests on ice cream or pie. Make it at home without straining your wrist by using your food processor the right way.

Maybe there are whisk purists who insist it's the only way to get exactly what you want, but the L.A. Times' test kitchen tried it a few times with a food processor and standing mixer, and found that, if you can work at a slower setting, things turn out great. A few pointers: start with everything cold (ingredients and bowl), and add your non-cream ingredients just as the cream is starting to gather into shape. Beyond that:

Food processor method: Probably the best trick I've learned was from former Test Kitchen director Donna Deane. She showed me how to make whipped cream using a food processor. The method is the same: Place the cold ingredients in the bowl (the bowl and blade do not have to be chilled), and process until you get the consistency you want, barely a minute or two. The texture is rich and superior to any other I've tasted. And it's the method we used for the photo above.