Whipped Vanilla Coconut Cream

A dairy-free alternative to cream

This decadent whipped vanilla coconut cream tastes wonderful from the spoon (or finger!), as a topping for desserts, cupcakes, or even added to hot chocolate. It’s really simple to make, and is a healthier, non-dairy alternative to traditional whipped cream due to the special type of saturated fat, known as MCFAs (Medium Chain Fatty Acids), contained in coconut.

The MCFAs in coconut can help to support the immune system, are easily digested, and are used primarily for energy instead of stored on the hips – so we think these are pretty good reasons to eat more of it.

You’ll need to be a little organised to make the cream, by standing a tin of coconut milk upside down in the fridge the night before. Sounds a little weird, we know. But this should make the fat in the tin float to the top. When you’re ready to make the cream, you need to quickly flip the tin, open the ring-pull and gently drain the thin coconut water into a bowl. Don’t throw this away – save this thinner coconut ‘water’ for smoothies. You should now be left with coconut cream sitting at the bottom of the tin, ready to be scooped out, and whipped.

On occasion this may not work – and this can simply be due to the brand of coconut milk you buy. Some brands of tinned coconut milk may have emulsifiers in, which can prevent the cream from separating. If your cream and milk don’t separate in the fridge, experiment with another brand, ideally with no ingredients other than plain old coconut milk in the tin.

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