Delicate, soft and versatile, the Chantilly cream is a world pastry institution. With this cream you can fill numerous desserts: from cream puffs to layers of millefeuille or sponge cake, Chantilly is the perfect cream for any occasion. Its composition is of a unique simplicity: with only 3 ingredients you get a soft sweet cloud that never tires for its delicacy. If combined with the Custardthe Chantilly Cream can give life to Diplomatic cream (also called Italian Chantilly), used to fill pastries, cakes and pancakes. Here’s how to make Chantilly cream with our quick and easy original recipe.

Preparation

1

To prepare the Chantilly cream, start by taking the seeds of the vanilla pod with the help of a sharp knife: open the pod lengthwise and ‘scrape’ away the seeds by collecting them on the back of the knife. Then place them in a large bowl with the cream.

2

Start the electric mixer (or the planetary mixer) at low speed first; when the first bubbles begin to form, slowly pour in the sifted icing sugar, increasing the speed of the whips.

3

Continue to whip reaching the maximum speed of the whips until you get a thick and full-bodied but not hard cream; it must be soft. The Chantilly cream is now ready to be used in your pastry recipes.

Accessories

• A large bowl
• A sharp knife
• An electric mixer (or a planetary mixer)
• A kitchen sieve

Tips and tricks

• To perfectly whip the cream, it must be well cold from the refrigerator. In addition, we recommend that you also allow the bowl in which it is to be mounted and the whips of the electric (or planetary) mixer to cool. If you have space, put them all in the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before using them: it will be easier to get a firm whipping of the cream.
• For all those who are lactose intolerant, it is possible to replace the classic fresh cream with one cream of vegetable origin.
• To infuse the vanilla aroma into your Chantilly cream, you can also use vanilla pods already without their seeds. In this case you can leave them to infuse in the whipping cream overnight (in the refrigerator). In this way all the aromas will be incorporated. Before whipping the cream, strain it through a colander.
• To whip the cream with the electric whisk, we advise you to starting from a low speed of the whips, and then increase it gradually, only once bubbles begin to form on the surface.

storage

The Chantilly Cream it should be consumed as soon as it is made. It can be preserved at most for one day in an airtight container, but it would most likely lose consistency and begin to disassemble.

History

The history of Chantilly cream would begin in the sixteenth century under the name of ‘milk snow‘. Between legends and real facts, it is not known precisely who the paternity of this simple and delicate cream is. There are tales that claim that the real inventor of Chantilly was the cook François Vatel which in the seventeenth century was operational of the castle of Chantilly (in Picardy), at the court of the King of France.

It is said that Vatel had to prepare a banquet for the sovereign and being short of eggs he tried his hand at preparing a cake using only cream and sugar. The King and all the guests were enthusiastic about this dessert and asked the cook the name of the cream used. According to legend, Vetel gave her the name of the castle in which they were located: Chantilly. This anecdote was also taken up by the 2000 film ‘Vetel’ with the actor Gerard Depardieu.

Over the following centuries the cream has become a real institution like basic preparation of world pastry. Versatile and delicate it is the fundamental ingredient, together with the custard, for the realization of the diplomatic cream.