How to fix over whipped cream

The hood in the Epicurious Test Kitchen is loud. So loud, for example, that if I'm washing dishes while also whipping cream in the stand mixer, I can't hear the mixer running and might forget that it's on. Which is exactly what happened to me the other day when I was testing no-churn ice cream recipes.

By the time I realized, the cream was well on its way to becoming butter. So I just kept on mixing it until it was completely separated into thick yellow butter and thin white buttermilk, strained it, and pressed it into a jar.

Luckily we always have extra pints of heavy cream in our test fridge, so I was able to start over again. But this all took up way more of my afternoon than I wanted it to, and just because I broke the first rule of making whipped cream: never step away from the mixer!

I find it's actually safer to make whipped cream with a handheld electric mixer—or even go for the arm workout of whipping it by hand. That way, I can't possibly be tempted to multi-task and will keep my eyes on the bowl to make sure I stop whipping at the exact moment of soft peak perfection.

If you do over-whip your cream past that soft peak stage and into the stage where it's starting to get stiff and clumpy, there's an easy fix: more cream! You'll want to switch to whipping by hand to do this fix: simply pour about an extra tablespoon of heavy cream into the bowl and whisk gently, adding more cream tablespoon by tablespoon until it's reached your desired consistency. It will actually come back from the edge.

But if you've gone past the point of rescue like I did the other day and you're seeing liquid separate from clumps of cream, don't throw it away! Just take it all the way and make butter.

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Oops, did you end up with over-whipped whipped cream? No problem, here’s a solution to over-whipped whipped cream.

Yikes, my whipped cream is getting grainy!

You decided to make some fresh whipped cream. Yum! But unfortunately it went from smooth and creamy to broken and grainy in a matter of seconds.

The second you realize you’ve gone too far – STOP! Put down the beater, breathe and relax. All is not lost, there is a way to save over-whipped cream and have it looking smooth and creamy once again.

To rescue over-whipped whipped cream, add a few tablespoons of fresh cream to the grainy whipped cream. Gently beat it into the existing mixture. In fact, to be safe, blend in the added cream by hand using a wire whisk. All it takes is a few turns of the whisk.

Add one to two tablespoons for fresh cream

Whisk in fresh cream by hand to avoid over whipping again.

Only a few seconds of whisking and cream is smooth again.

Silky smooth whipped cream ready to go.

This technique will work as long as your over-beaten cream hasn’t started separating and forming small lumps of butter. If your cream has started to separated, then you might as well continue to beat and show off your butter making skills!

If lumps of butter have formed already, it can’t be returned to smooth cream. Might as well have fun making butter!

Getty Stewart is an engaging speaker and writer providing tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas to make home cooking easy and enjoyable. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.

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Making whipped cream seems easy enough, but if you beat cream too long, luscious, soft peaks can quickly turn into a grainy mess. If you catch it fast enough, you can simply fold in more un-whipped cream to fix an over-whipped nightmare. However, if the cream starts to turn a pale yellow, and if solid globules start to separate from liquid, the cream can’t be rescued. You’ll have to start the whipped cream from scratch, but you can still make butter with the over-whipped batch.

1
Stop beating the cream as soon as possible. If you’re beating the cream by hand, stop whipping it as soon as you notice it’s started to deflate and form a grainy texture. If you’ve walked away from your standing mixer, turn it off as soon as you remember you left it running.[1]
- Any further agitation will separate the cream and turn it into butter. Your over-whipped cream will not be salvageable if it’s on the way to becoming butter.
2
Check the cream to see how over-whipped it is. You should be able to fix the cream if it’s deflated, sticks to the sides of the bowl, but only somewhat grainy. If it’s very grainy, has turned a pale yellow, or if it’s started to separate into butterfat and buttermilk, you’ll have to start from scratch.[2]

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3
Add un-whipped heavy cream one tablespoon at a time. If your cream looks salvageable, pour in a tablespoon of cold unwhipped cream.[3] [4] You’ll probably have to add one fourth to one third of the amount of cream you started with, but adding a little bit at a time will help you control the consistency.[5]
4
Refrigerate your cream if you need to leave the house. If you need to run to the store for more cream, put your over-whipped cream in the fridge. If you leave it out at room temperature, the fat will continue to break down and make it more difficult to salvage.[6]
5

Fold in the unwhipped cream gently. A rubber spatula is a great tool for gently folding in the unwhipped cream. Carefully incorporate the unwhipped cream, and add more one tablespoon at a time until the mixture is smooth and forms soft peaks.[7]
- You can use a whisk if you don’t have a rubber spatula. Just whisk gently: don’t beat or whip the mixture.[8]
6
Stop folding when you've reached a smooth consistency. Stop mixing as soon as you've folded in enough cream to make your topping presentable. You won't want to end up with another over-whipped mess! Serve a spoonful on your favorite dessert or refrigerate it until you're ready to use it.

1
Keep beating until the cream separates into butter and buttermilk. You should see the cream separate into pale yellow butter and thin buttermilk within ten to fifteen minutes.[9] The amount of time will depend on how long you whipped the cream before you noticed you over did it.
2
Strain the butter and buttermilk mixture through a colander. Once the butter and buttermilk have separated, you’ll have to strain the solids from the liquid. Pour the mixture through a colander into a large bowl. Press the solids you catch in the colander to strain as much liquid as possible.[10]
- Don’t throw away the liquid buttermilk that you’ve drained. You can use it in a variety of recipes.
3
Rinse the butter in an ice bath until the water runs clear. Roll the solids you’ve strained into a ball. Place the ball in a bowl of ice water, and knead the ball to squeeze out even more buttermilk. Change the water and repeat the ice bath process until the water doesn’t become cloudy with buttermilk.[11]
4
Knead the butter to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. After giving it ice baths, continue to knead the butter until you can’t squeeze out any more liquid. Moisture can harbor bacteria, so squeezing out as much liquid as possible will extend the butter’s shelf life.[12]
5

Flavor your butter with salt, herbs, citrus zest, or honey. Homemade unsalted butter tastes wonderful on its own, but you can also add your choice of flavors. Salt and herbs, such as dill, thyme, or rosemary, are great savory choices. If you added sugar or vanilla when you were making whipped cream, add a sweeter flavor, like lemon zest or honey.[13]
- Amounts will vary based on how much butter you’ve made. A little bit of flavor will go a long way, and you can always add more if necessary, so just start by adding a dash. A quarter to a half teaspoon of any added flavoring agent should be a good start.
- If you have lots of over-whipped cream to turn into butter, you could split it into batches and add a different flavor to each.
6
Strain the buttermilk through a fine sieve. Pour the buttermilk that you separated from the butter solids through a fine-mesh sieve, cheesecloth, or a coffee filter. Giving it one last strain will remove any traces of solids.[14]
- It will then be perfect for making pancakes, dressings, fried chicken, and lots of other recipes.
7
Store your butter and buttermilk in the fridge for a week. Be sure not to let your scratch-made butter and buttermilk go to waste! They will each last up to a week in the fridge. You could also freeze them for up to a month.[15]

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This article was co-authored by JoAnna Minneci. JoAnna Minneci is a Professional Chef based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. With more than 18 years of experience, Chef JoAnna specializes in teaching others how to cook through private cooking lessons, team-building events, and wellness and nutrition classes. She has also appeared in numerous television shows on networks such as Bravo and Food Network. Chef JoAnna received Culinary Arts training from the Art Institute of California at Los Angeles. She is also certified in sanitation, nutrition, kitchen management, and cost control. This article has been viewed 45,880 times.

Co-authors: 7

Updated: January 20, 2022

Categories: Eggs and Dairy