Whipped cream

Chill a bowl and whisk, then pour in cold double cream and whisk until it leaves soft or firm peaks. Stop as soon as it holds its shape; a few extra seconds can turn it grainy and then buttery.

Usually not: single cream has too little fat to trap enough air for stable peaks. Use cold whipping cream or double cream instead, and avoid UHT cream if it does not whip reliably.

If it is only grainy, gently whisk in a spoonful of cold unwhipped cream at a time until smooth. Once it has separated into butter and liquid, it will not return to whipped cream.

Keep it covered and chilled, and use it within a day for the best texture; it may soften or release liquid as it stands. Whip it close to serving time, or stabilise it with a little mascarpone for a longer-lasting topping.

Yes. Pipe small rosettes onto a lined tray, freeze until firm, then transfer them to an airtight container; use them straight from the freezer on hot chocolate or desserts. They soften quickly once thawed.

Serve it with fruit, mince pies, scones, hot chocolate or puddings such as crumble and sticky toffee pudding. For pavlova, add it shortly before serving so the meringue does not soften.

No. Whipped cream is made by beating dairy cream, while whipped topping is usually a manufactured alternative that may contain vegetable fat, sweeteners and stabilisers. Whipped topping has 224 kcal per 100 g, compared with 303 kcal in whipped cream.

Whisking first traps air in the cream; continued whisking breaks the fat globules apart until they clump into butter and separate from the liquid. The leftover liquid is buttermilk, though it is not necessarily the cultured buttermilk sold for drinking.