Elderberry Whipped Cream

With Tom Bivins

When making your own whipped cream you should buy what is called whipping cream or else buy heavy cream.  The high butter fat content of whipping cream (at least 30%) allows it to whip into twice its’ volume and it is what gives the end product that great taste and texture that we think of as whipped cream. 
Whipped cream is often flavored, vanilla being the most common or popular form, which is called Chantilly Cream. In this recipe Chef Tom Bivins of the New England Culinary Institute uses an Elderberry Blossom Syrup that he makes himself. Any flavored syrup can be used, whether you purchase it or make your own. 
Whipped cream is sold in cans but you should be aware that the end product is considered unstable, meaning that the cream will begin turning to liquid within a half hour. For this reason this type of whipped cream should not be used if you are going to have a dessert sitting around for a while.

Ingredients

For Elderberry Blossom syrup: 24 each elderberry flower blossoms (this should be 24 full sprays of blossom not 24 individual flowers) 1 cup sugar 1 cup water ½ vanilla bean
For Elderberry Blossom Cream: ¼ cup Elderberry Blossom Syrup 2 cups cream

Instructions

For Elderberry Blossom syrup: 1. Take 24 elderberry blossoms and cut off the flowers from the stem.  Bring water and sugar to a boil. 2. Add the elderberry blossoms, and the vanilla bean pods and seeds to the syrup; remove from heat.  Steep overnight. 3. Strain through china cap and place in a clean glass jar or bottle- there should be no flowers or vanilla bean pod in the mixture; the vanilla bean seeds are okay.  Refrigerate for several weeks or hot seal for longer term storage. 
For Elderberry Blossom Cream: 1. Whisk cream to soft peaks.  Whisk in the syrup and continue to whisk to medium stiff peaks.  
Use the cream with berries, shortcakes, scones and other traditional tea items.  
Also use the syrup with sparkling water or with sparkling wines such as prosecco or less expensive sparkling wines, or in other alcoholic cocktails of your own creation. 
Recipe courtesy of Tom Bivins, Executive Chef, New England Culinary Institute, 2011.

Currently executive chef for New England Culinary Institute, Tom Bivins has worked at fine inns in Vermont for the past 17 years. After graduating form Louisiana State University, Tom attended and graduated from New England Culinary Institute in 1991.  He became the chef for the Inn at Shelburne Farms from 1993-1997, after a stint as its Pastry Chef and Sous Chef. He left Shelburne Farms to open The Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vermont as executive chef. While helming its kitchen, The Pitcher Inn received its Relais et Chateaux designation. In 1999, he became the executive chef at The Old Tavern at Grafton in Grafton, Vermont, one of the Original Historic Hotels of America.  Tom joined the educational team at New England Culinary Institute in 2003 and became its executive chef in 2004.

Chef Tom utilizes a love of Vermont’s local farms, seasonal produce, artisan cheeses, and wild foods to develop menus and instruct students of the Institute. His passion for seasonality has been showcased at The James Beard Foundation, Epcot Center Festival of Food and Wine at Disney World and at the Smithsonian Institution’s Food Culture USA in 2005, highlighting wild foods with wild crafters Les Hooks and Nova Kim of Wild Gourmet Foods of Vermont.
He is currently president of Vermont Fresh Network, an organization committed to fostering relationships between farmers and chefs, a member of Chefs Collaborative and a past Vermont chapter chair of American Institute of Wine and Food.  He is a founding board member of the Wild Food Gathers Guild. In 2006 and 2008, he was a Slow Food USA delegate to Terre Madre in Turin, Italy and is currently faculty advisor for Slow Food NECI, a campus chapter of Slow Food USA.