Okay, so I am unfashionably late to this party as well. It isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. But as they say, better late than never. The first time I tried whipping coconut cream, it was disastrous. Now that I’ve mastered it, I realize it wasn’t me that was inept, it was the brand I was using. The brand suggested came highly recommended by a fellow blogger of a vegan dessert recipe I was testing. I’m not blaming the author, I blaming the brand. I don’t care for canned goods, especially whipped cream. When it comes to coconut cream, I’ve always used “Kara” in the carton for all my curry recipes; it stays homogenized. Instead, I went with the one recommended. Live and learn.

Whipped cream is my favorite dessert topping. And I know every stage of the whipping process from froth to peaks, even when it crosses the threshold into that no-man’s-land of butter. Unfortunately, that was the consistency and flavor profile of the globular mass of coconut cream I first kitchen-tested. I went through 5-cans, and still, the topping looked and tasted like coconut butter. At this point, I was ready to throw in the proverbial kitchen towel and call it quits. But I’m not a quitter. Instead, I bought my brand and gave it one last go-round. To my delighted surprise, it behaved just like traditional heavy whipping cream. With beaters in hand, I went to the neighbors in search of a taste-tester. Needless to say, I hadn’t any problem finding takers. And all agreed, it was more delicious than regular whipped cream. So move over “Bessie,” the stats are in, coconut cream has officially jumped the fence as the preferred whipped topping among even non-vegans.

Recipe notes: What you will need: Mixing bowl (preferably metal and chilled along with the beaters). Active prep time: 5-minutes. Yields 2-cups. Difficulty level: Easy

Ingredients:

• 14-oz Kara coconut cream in the carton, chilled (should be available in Asian grocery stores in the dry goods section, or you can order Kara in a 4-pack of 16oz cartons online (they keep well in the pantry and are super convenient to have on hand)
• 2-Tbsp Stevia or maple syrup
• 1/2-tsp pure vanilla extract (depending on your extract, you may wish to add more. I use Madagascar, so it’s very pungent.)

Preparation:

1. Beat cream and gradually add sugar and vanilla.
2. Spoon into a container, cover, and chill