Coconut Cream Is The Ideal Ingredient For A Vegan Whipped Topping

Want to make whipped cream but don't have any heavy cream at home? Or, are you ready to embrace dairy-free and plant-based alternatives when baking and cooking? Well, luckily for you, there's an ideal and easily accessible ingredient to make a vegan whipping topping, and that secret ingredient is coconut cream. 

Coconut cream is derived from the thick, rich, white liquid that rises to the top of canned coconut milk. When whipped or beaten with added sugar, coconut cream stabilizes and forms stiff peaks, making it a perfect dairy-free whipped topping. It rivals dairy whipped cream in terms of texture and mouthfeel: It's luxurious, creamy, and dreamy. As for taste, you get a mild coconut flavor that is pleasant and doesn't overpower. When it comes to looks, it's often hard to tell whipped coconut cream apart from whipped dairy cream, though if we have to nitpick, coconut whipped cream often resembles ermine cream or frosting more.

For those who value time and convenience, you can find canned coconut whipped cream in many supermarkets and grocery stores across the U.S. Canned coconut whipped cream is off-white, and the texture is similar to dairy canned whipped cream when coming straight out of the bottle's nozzle.   

Ready to make some vegan whipping topping with coconut cream at home? Simply chill coconut cream, then whip it by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. You can add a bit of granulated or confectioners' sugar to the cream, which adds sweetness and helps with stabilization, then beat it until stiff peaks form. 

You can then transfer this whipping topping to a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice and pipe it onto desserts like pastries, pudding, pies, and cakes or on top of beverages like coffee, hot chocolate, or even boba tea. Of course, you can always use a spoon and drop dollops of coconut cream whipped topping onto your desserts.

While dairy and coconut whipped creams both contain fats, coconut whipped cream does not have cholesterol. Easy to stabilize, creamy and luscious when whipped, subtly sweet with a delicious and mild coconut flavor, and free of cholesterol, coconut cream is the ideal ingredient for a vegan whipping topping.