Im curious about making my own whipped cream as opposed to buying premade store brand/coolwhip... Has anyone made a bulk amount of whipped cream by using heavy cream? Im imagining pouring the heavy cream into a 5 gallon bucket and using a paint mixer drill to whip it. Would that even work? Does it melt if left out for a little?
Do you think that would be more cost effective? Is it more or less work to mix than just buying the premade stuff. Maybe a little more work but less cost? Im trying to make like at least 100 pies

Pls help!

Oof that is def going to smell if you use real cream. It always lingers on my hair when I've tried. Dream whip is great but it's pricey and I've never tried it in bulk. 100 pies!! I can't wait to see that! I'm going to DM you a recipe that might work though.

I think the better route would be to make a cool whip like topping to avoid the smell! Also, when using a cream whipping like that, when I've made for like nonwam life lol, you really need to put the bowl and blender blade part in the freezer as wellgood luck!

Hey there. Let me start by saying that I hope you do go the heavy whipping cream route because I'm a huge proponent of whipping your own vs going store bought. All of my content on my profile is with pies I whipped myself. You can see I perfected it over time with my most recent solo video being my masterpiece of pie production. But I'll break down my thoughts further.

Originally I used store bought products and unlike the previous poster, I found it harder to wash out both the cream and the smell. Im pretty sure this is due to the oils used in making those products vs whipping your own, just cream (maybe sugar for taste but that's optional)

Cost. I haven't sourced store bought in a long time but I can tell you that to make 24 pies, roughly 1/4 of your intended amount, costs around $135 from the Gordon food service I have in town. That's for the 40% cream (higher number results in stiffer end result which holds together and gives a great splatter, see profile picture) vanilla pudding (I do this for color but also filler. If I were to make pies as large as mine using only cream it'd be significantly more expensive) and frozen pie crusts( I par bake these. Roughly half the recommended time. It's enough to hold it's integrity and speeds things up.

Preparation. Again I don't know how long making store bought takes but I imagine it's faster. Even after perfecting the process it still takes me about 1.5-2 hours to make 24 pies. Granted I only whip 2-3 quarts at a time so moving up to 5 gallon bucket is an interesting idea. If you do try. Look up if the drill you're using can put out the same rpm of a mixer. Drill go fast but to not take all day to whip the mixer speed is pretty fast. Also if trying drill, I'm not sure if a paint mixer attachment will give you enough contact to whip 5 gallons at a time. A good whisk is best. When I've had to use regular beaters I noticed an increase in whipping time. So using a paint mixer would concern me. Try to find one that has as many arms as possible and is as tall as possible. You really want the beating attachment to be minimum the height of the cream you're whipping.

So that's a lot of information I know, but this is the process I've fallen in love with because of the physical and visual results. They feel amazing and look even better. If you do whip it yourself , I'll be downloading that video for sure!!!

Feel free to ask me additional questions on here or by DM and take a look at my content to see my results. Oh and speaking of results another benefit is controlling the end result. If you want wetter pies go 36% cream and don't whip as long. Pies like my recent session 40% Cream and whip until consistently reached. Can't wait to see what you decide

I always did it this way. Here in the UK there are no ready made products. From stand mixer to 5 gal. bucket - to crust. It's definitely cheaper and simple.

Go for it!

It's pretty time consuming (main drawback) but I've always maintained real cream in large volume rather than 'recipes' - was the key to great pies and flans (these add even more time). A stand mixer is essential otherwise you're exhaustingly tied to standing over a bucket for several hours. Then decant to your buckets (in a cool place) - and then cases/crusts for the shoot (I do this last or they take up all your space!)

It can leave a lingering smell (and it's greasy) but that's all part of the 'fun!' There are long life alternatives like Elmlea (although these take a longer time to whip).

Chilling the bucket and blade is great advice thank you!!!

Probably should mention that this would be in preparation for my Live show so time is very important, the less time mixing the better! I really appreciate everyone taking time to write out their suggestions! I got some experimenting to do!

As a chef, I first want to echo Bratty's comment about starting with all the components and equipment cold. If you happen to know anyone who works in a restaurant with one of those giant Hobart mixers, perhaps they could be nice enough to let you use it. You can easily whip 4-6 quarts of liquid heavy cream into something with considerable volume in about 5 minutes or so. Throw a little powdered sugar in there and you've got what you're looking for.

A large paint mixer would probably work too. Use it with the same mechanics you would as making cake batter with a hand mixer: the kind everyone used before stand mixers became a thing. Since you'll spend some time setting up for a shoot, you'll want the cream to be stable. To do that, add bloomed gelatin to the cream and sugar mixture before you start to whip it. The gelatin helps hold the air in the whipped cream. DM me if you need specific instructions on how to do it. Good luck!

Would love to know more about the gelatin / sugar / cream ratio and how you can best get this stabilized. In your experience, how long is it stable for at room temp? Also, do you use a paint mixer type drill attachment, or some other giant whisk attachment?

As a caveat, I've never attempted it with a drill attachment, but the science behind it is that you're whipping air into the cream and the fat and protein matrices hold the expanded structure in place. The gelatin helps to reinforce the strength of those matrices. I haven't tried holding it at room temperature for an extended time, but I will say that gelatin increases the life of refrigerated homemade whipped cream from just over a day to about 5-6 days. Obviously something more like a whisk/whip attachment will be more efficient, but my guess is that if you rotate the drill attachment enough within the cream in your container, it will inflate enough to become whipped cream. Much like an old timey butter churn: you'll end up with whipped cream before you get butter. That said, don't over-mix it or you'll actually make butter.

Try this as a ratio: 4 cups heavy cream / 1 cup powdered sugar / 2 teaspoons vanilla extract / 4 teaspoons powdered gelatin

You'll need to bloom the gelatin in cold water per package directions for about 5 minutes. Then to break it up, microwave it for a few seconds just until it turns to liquid--not too hot. Start by mixing the cream, sugar and vanilla for about a minute or so. Then, with the mixing device running, pour in the gelatin in a steady stream until combined. Whip until you get the thickness you want.

Yes. There's a perfect point you mustn't miss by more than a few seconds. A chef has all these timings, volumes and conditions down pat. Under-whip it's a bit sloppy, but over-whip and the batch is ruined - butter/cottage cheese and there's no getting it back. So it's slightly risky making very large amounts all at once.