This espresso-infused whipped cream is made with only 3 simple ingredients. It's rich, bold, and the perfect topping for your coffee and chocolate flavored desserts.
Pour the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and espresso powder into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
1 cup (240mL) heavy cream, 1 Tablespoon (8g or 13g) sugar1, 1 teaspoon (6g) instant espresso powder2
Turn the mixer to medium speed (KitchenAid stand mixer speed 4 or 5, handheld mixer speed 2 or 3). The mixture will start to get frothy and bubbly. After about 2 to 3 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken.
Once mixture is visibly thick (you will be able to see the trail of the whisk), increase the speed to medium-high (KitchenAid speed 7 or 8, handheld mixer speed 4 or 5) and beat for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute. At this point, your whipped cream should start to look "billowy" and the trails from your whisk will be quite distinct.
Pull the whisk out of the bowl and check that the whipped cream in the bowl has formed what are called "stiff peaks." This is just a fancy term for "the whipped cream stays standing up when you pull something out of it."
Double check that your whipped cream is done by removing the whisk and flipping it upside down. If the peak stays tall without drooping off, it's done. If it's still a bit droopy, put the whisk attachment back on the mixer and beat another 10-15 seconds on medium-high (KitchenAid speed 7 or 8, handheld mixer speed 4 or 5) until stiff peaks form, checking after each 10-15 second increment.
Use immediately on your favorite dessert (like coffee cheesecake). Store whipped cream covered tightly in the refrigerator up to 2 days. See notes3 for freezing instructions.
Notes
Sugar: you can use granulated or powdered sugar here. I have used both and find a slightly smoother whipped cream with powdered. If you want to double or triple this recipe, powdered sugar is the way to go to keep everything light and airy. For 1 Tablespoon of sugar, powdered sugar will be 8g and granulated sugar will be 13g.
Espresso powder: this is not the same as coffee grounds. You can also use instant coffee grounds and use decaf of either of these ingredients (here is a decaf instant espresso powder).
Freezing: freezing and thawing leftover whipped cream will diminish some of the "fluff" factor, but it's doable and great for tossing onto slices of pie or into hot chocolate. See this tutorial for the best way to freeze it!
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.