Sundae Driver

I don't make them often at home, but I love a good sundae.  When I was out shopping yesterday at Trader Joe's, I decided a sundae in the very near future would be ideal.  Living near Boston, the ice cream consumption capitol of the world, it seems natural to eat ice cream on a cold day.  Among the items I picked up were some coffee ice cream, their house-brand peppermint sandwich cookie and cream ice cream, and their caramel fleur de sel sauce.  I plan on a scoop of each ice cream, some caramel sauce, some heated hot fudge, a few drops of Byfar Coffee Syrup, and a dollop of homemade maple whipped cream.

If the only whipped cream you've ever eaten is the stuff from a can, I recommend experimenting with making your own sometime.  Not only is the flavor generally richer than the stuff from a can, but you can add extra flavors and modify the sugar content.  The store-bought stuff is highly sweetened.  Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the canned stuff every now and again; but if I can make my own, I do it.

While it is possibly to make whipped cream by standing around for 15-20 minutes whisking with a fork or a wire whisk, I am a big fan of electrical methods.  An electric hand-mixer is very useful for this, as it cuts down the time required by a lot.

I do have an important tip regarding adding liquid flavorings to whipped cream: stir those flavors in before you start mixing with a hand mixer or stand mixer.  If you don't, you may find yourself with whipped cream floating atop your maple syrup or your grenadine.  About 30 seconds with a fork or a wire whisk should be enough.

Whipped cream generally takes a couple of minutes with a hand-mixer.  After your cream is able to form soft peaks that don't just fall down, you have whipped cream.  You can continue for longer if you want firmer whipped cream, but be careful.  If you whip it for too long, you'll end up with butter and buttermilk.  This is not what most people want on top of their ice cream.  However, if you like it a little buttery, you might want to whip it for longer than needed.

Sure, it's still fine to eat store-made stuff from an aerosol can.  If you have the time, though, try the homemade sometime.