Q: I have a quart of heavy whipping cream that I need to use up. Any ideas on what to make besides, you know, whipped cream?
Sent by Kathy
Editor: Kathy, if you're feeling adventurous, you could use it to make a batch of homemade butter:
→ Tip: Make Butter By the Pound in a Stand Mixer
Readers, do you have any ideas or recipes for using up a surplus of heavy whipping cream?
Related: Tip: For Perfect Whipped Cream, Use a Food Processor
(Image: bonchan/Shutterstock)
Floral Drink Dispen...

Scones (you can freeze them par-baked & save to eat later). Quiche.
Quiche, Cream biscuits or shortcakes made simply with cream (no butter) or Sweet cornbread.
Okay, this is still whipping cream, but this addition totally changed the game for me: add cocoa powder. I whipped in about 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with a splash of bourbon and a light sprinkling of sugar and dash of vanilla per 1 cup of un-whipped cream, then flopped it all over the top of bananas sautéed in butter and brown sugar. Sweet damn, it was delicious.
Ahem. But I've also been known to stir whipping cream into coffee if I'm feeling particularly indulgent. Or double-boiler it with chocolate chips for a chocolate sauce. And tallsarah, I'm with you on the scones!
Chocolate Ganache! Yum yum yum.
I like the butter idea... I actually have a pint of heavy cream in my fridge for that exact project! You can even mix in some herbs with it to feel fancy. Just make sure the cream is not ultra pasteurized. I don't understand the science behind it, but it never seems to work as well.
I buy local cream and it's always too much, so I have lots of tricks! You can actually freeze it if you're going to use it in baking. So I freeze it in 1.5 cup amounts (pumpkin pie), 1/4 cup (homemade nutella), and whatever amount homemade caramel sauce takes.
I also sometimes let it go sour and then use it as buttermilk in recipes. Because it's got a lot (A LOT) more fat than buttermilk, I decrease the fat in the recipe slightly.
You could make pots de creme with it - like baked custard only richer. I think you can even make yogurt with heavy cream.
Heavy cream is also good just drizzled over applesauce or desserts - no need to whip.
You could use heavy cream in some baking recipes that call for milk, to make it a little richer. I particularly like to use it when making scones. Homemade ice cream uses heavy cream along with whole milk as the custard base, so you could always give that a go.
Ragu, mashed potatoes, alfredo sauce, bechamel sauce, pancakes, hot chocolate.
Basically, anything that requires cream or milk. Cream is a no brainer. I hate to be rude..it just seems like I'm being asked "what do I do with butter?"
Oh and yeah, you can make butter with cream.
Cream biscuits (freeze unbaked - great timesaver!):
Smitten Kitchen Cream Biscuits
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/12/cream-biscuits/
Shirley Corriher's Touch of Grace biscuits (via Orangette) http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/11/great-relief.html
Hot Fudge sauce, ice cream, salted caramel sauce.
Quiche, biscuits, chocolate mousse, panna cotta, throw it through a food processor with some frozen fruit for instant ice cream. I always have some around, because I use about a tablespoon every time I scramble eggs or make an omelet, or if I decide I need dessert for breakfast I'll add it to my protein smoothie.
Gratin Dauphinois, Ice Cream, crème brulée, basically anything that requires cream.
Potato Soup!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/01/perfect-potato-soup/
or just about any other creamy soup. Yum.
And I can personally recommend Toasted Coconut Ice Cream.
http://megsiemay.blogspot.com/2012/05/toasted-coconut-ice-cream.html
I'd eat my weight in it if I could.
Whipped cream icing! Whipping cream, vanilla, white sugar (just a touch) and cream cheese.
SALTED CARAMEL. All heavy cream should be made into caramel.
Absolutely second the panna cotta suggestion. I made it for the first time and absolutely loved having it around. Ice cream is another way for me to use up cream. The fact that it keeps in the freezer means having dessert around longer.
ice cream! The way I make it, you make a custard (or pastry cream) first, and add an equal amount of heavy cream before you freeze it.
I've got some good ones!
Ginger ice cream, brown butter caramel ice cream with chocolate chips, honey ice cream with smoked sea salt, lemon balm ice cream, sweet and spicy ice cream, chikoo ice cream, malted chocolate chip ice cream...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/?s=heavy+cream&submit=Search
And speaking of pastry cream...I love it! I use it in tarts and with cakes. I've made a fresh strawberry tart with white chocolate pastry cream (and a hazelnut cocoa crust)...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/06/12/strawberry-tart-with-white-chocolate-pastry-cream-hazelnut-cocoa-crust/
You can also add cream to sauces, curries, and soups to make them, well, creamy!
whip it into your morning scrambled eggs. your life will be forever changed.
You can fancy up both whipping cream and butter (and probably a bunch of these other recipes) by culturing the cream first. To do this, you add a spoonful of yogurt with active cultures to the cream, stir it up, and let it sit out on the counter, covered but not sealed, for 12-18 hours. Then proceed as usual.
I second the cream biscuits suggestion. I also freeze unbaked and they're awesome to have on hand for quick dinners. I use this recipe:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-cream-biscuits-in-109151
It tastes amazing, is super easy, and doesn't waste anything since the biscuits are cut in squares rather than circles. I just divide the dough in half, pat it into two small squares and cut each square into four smaller squares. Freeze on a cookie sheet then wrap up in plastic.
scones. mac and cheese for a super rich bechamel.
I second the ganache suggestion. You can freeze them as is or make some into truffles. It's really fun. Add some grand marnier to a small batch of ganache and you get orange liquor truffles. YUM!
I have this bookmarked to use cream and clementines:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/12/clementine_posset
I know you said not whipped cream...but! I saw a great idea about making the whipped cream, put it in a piping bag, pipe it the size of your mugs and freeze it on a cookie sheet and then bag them for future hot chocolate drinks!
Creme brulee! (Or pots de creme, panna cotta, flan, etc.)
Mascarpone - http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/2012/4/24/homemade-mascarpone.html
It's a lot easier than it should be for $7/16oz.
My favorite biscuit recipe is super-simple and uses a cup of heavy cream per 8 biscuits:
Combine 2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, 3 tsp (11 g) baking powder, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Add in 1 cup (240 g) of heavy cream and 3 tbsp (60 g) honey. Stir until just blended. Form into 8 biscuits on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake at 400 F for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
Once or twice a year my dad would poach his eggs in heavy cream we got from the farmer down the road. He just brought the cream to a simmer, dropped in two eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper and put a lid on them. Let them simmer until they were done to his liking and enjoyed with toast! I do it once in a while in his memory and cook them in his favorite skillet.
I also serve dad's cream poached eggs with James Beard's cream biscuits from a recipe like julie42 but used sugar instead of cream.
I love using cream for caramel and caramel-ly desserts. Try David Lebovitz's sticky toffee pudding! It's to die for.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/12/warm-sticky-toffee-pudding/
Make butter. I'm sure it's already been said. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE:
Make compound butters. Portion your homemade from-heavy-cream butter into half-cup amounts and flavor them all differently: Herb butter, garlic butter, honey butter, maple butter...the list goes on. (And yes--MAPLE butter: http://barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/10/maple-butter.html)
Second the mascarpone and salted caramels!
Also, creme fraiche. Add a tablespoon of buttermilk per pint (2 if you're converting the entire quart), stir, and let sit in a warm place for 24 hours or until thick. Keep in the refrigerator and use in place of sour cream or as garnish for vegetable soups, chili, etc. Or, add a little sugar and dip in berries - best dessert ever!
I always love a good sauce that's finished with cream. In the summertime, I like making this pasta sauce that's essentially crushed whole tomatoes, diced eggplant, some garlic and capers, all sauteed in olive oil - then a some crushed red pepper and cream is added at the end and tossed w/the pasta. It's really tasty.
And, that cream scone recipe is awesome too - I reduce the sugar from 3T to less than 1T for cream biscuits/same recipe.
Making butter is fun, but for me: strawberry milkshake. I inherited a HUGE bag of frozen strawberries from an ex-roommate, so when I had leftover whipping cream I didn't have much use for, I just threw it in my food processor with a whole ton of frozen berries and a little bit of sugar and it was absolutely delicious. Not healthy, but one of the best shakes I've ever had.
Smitten Kitchen's cream scones. No question.
I just put it in my coffee! All that fat makes a light breakfast more sustaining.
The cream scones from Cook's Illustrated are great too. The recipe is one of their books, but has also been copies online.
Ganache! I love having a fudgey dark chocolate spread available when the chocolate urgency strikes. Alton Brown's recipe is great. I make a sandwich with french butter cookies and freeze them for indulgence on the go! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/ganache-recipe/index.html