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Crème Chantilly or Chantilly Cream is one of the many types of cream the French use to fill and decorate their amazing pâtisserie! It´s definitely the easiest to make out of all French pastry creams and in this baking basics post, I will share with you my recipe, some tips and tricks for making it, as well as some great recipes to use it in!
What is Crème Chantilly?
Crème Chantilly is whipped cream that is lightly sweetened and can contain any additional flavouring of your choice (see below).
Unlike other French creams that are made from an egg custard base (for example, crème pâtissière or crème diplomate) all you need to make crème Chantilly are two ingredients: double cream and icing sugar.
In French pâtisserie, Crème Chantilly isn´t used very often to fill bakes, but instead has more of a decorative purpose. It may also be added on top of coffee or hot chocolate!
Whereas the French use other pastry creams to fill their patisserie, in Britain, it is quite common to fill choux pastry delicacies such as profiteroles or éclairs with this sweetened cream! In Germany, where cakes tend to be a bit dry as they don´t contain layers of cream/mousse etc withing, often a piece of cake is served alongside a dollop of this sweetened cream!
Different Flavour Variations of Crème Chantilly
Besides adding a little sugar to sweeten the cream, you can also add any flavouring of your choice to your Crème Chantilly. I usually stick to vanilla, but you could also add some orange extract, rosewater, coffee, espresso, lemon zest or a little booze (e.g. some Rum or Bailey´s) to flavour your cream.
I find it best to add the flavouring before you whip the cream. Adding it later (if it´s a liquid) can sometimes lead to the cream splitting and can also make you overwhip the cream.
Tips for making Crème Chantilly
My top tip for making Crème Chantilly is to make sure everything is cold! Your cream, your mixing bowl and your electric beaters! If your ingredients or equipment are too warm, often the cream doesn´t whip up properly and you are left with a bowl of soup (still tastes good, haha, but not what you want!).
I´d also recommend using an electric hand whisk when making Crème Chantilly. You can, of course, do it by hand, but it´s just a lot easier to do it with an electric whisk.
In my opinion, the best type of sugar to use when making Crème Chantilly is icing sugar (aka powdered sugar). Because you are using cold cream, it´s best to use the finest sugar possible to make sure it dissolves well. You could, if you have nothing else, use caster sugar instead (about 40g per 600ml double cream). I have also used vanilla sugar (very common in Germany) to make Crème Chantilly, which kills to birds with one stone, adding both sweetness and vanilla flavouring to your cream.
Finally – do NOT over-whisk the cream! The whipped cream can turn from being the perfect consistency into something not short of butter within a second! Once you notice the cream thickening (should take about 1-2 minutes depending on how cold your cream was), start going a bit more slowly. Stop every few seconds to check the consistency. You are looking for soft peaks that hold their shape and a consistency that can be piped. Stop as soon as you have reached that stage, otherwise, the cream will break into lumps, start to look grainy and eventually turn into butter. And we wouldn´t want that!
Recipes in which you can use Crème Chantilly
As I said, the French mainly use Crème Chantilly for decorative purposes. For example, to pipe a decorative collar around these mini choux pastry towers called “Religieuses”.
If you are wanting to go down the British route of using Crème Chantilly, then why not try making it to fill these Chocolate Éclairs? Or use this sweetened cream to layer on top of a Classic British Trifle.
Personally, I love flavouring my Crème Chantilly with Bailey´s Irish Cream and then pile it on top of this Chocolate Pavlova or add it to my Chocolate Orange Trifle.
Or, as previously mentioned, just serve a big dollop of your Chantilly Cream with a slice of cake, like this Black Forest Gâteau or German Baked Cheesecake.
More French Baking Recipes
- 3-Day Crusty French Baguettes
- Baguettes aux Olives | Olive Baguettes
- Chocolate Éclairs
- Crème Pâtissière (Vanilla and Chocolate Versions) | Baking Basics #8
The Basic Crème Chantilly Recipe
Ingredients (to fill ~20-30 choux buns, easily halved):
- 600ml double cream (chilled)
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or a different flavouring of your choosing)
Method:
- For the best results, make sure you chill the bowl (ideally a glass bowl) and electric beaters in the fridge for at least half an hour before making the Crème Chantilly.
- Pour the cream into the chilled bowl, sift in the icing sugar and add the vanilla bean paste or good-quality vanilla extract.
- Starting on a slow speed to prevent the cream splashing everywhere, whip the cream until it slowly starts to thicken. Increase the speed and whisk until you think the cream is almost at the right consistency.
- Continue whisking, only a few seconds at a time, until the Crème Chantilly is thick, can hold a peak and is of a consistency that can be piped.
- Use immediately or chill in the fridge for a maximum of two hours before using.
Don´t forget to check out some of my other baking basics:
#1 How to make Shortcrust Pastry
#2 How to master Chocolate: Melting, Tempering, Icing and Decorating
#4 How to make a Sourdough Starter
#5 How to make the Perfect Buttercream (Normal, Dairy-free, Vegan)
#6 How to make Hot Water Crust Pastry
#7 How to line a Tart/Flan Tin
