Different types of cream for baking

Baking and using a type of cream pretty much go hand in hand. There are the types where the word cream is literally in the name, but there are also different types of cream where it is not immediately obvious that it is a cream.

And then you have the difference between the names used in different countries and different types of creams mentioned in foreign recipes. It’s no surprise that a lot of people get confused and we’re often asked what the difference is and what can be substituted for what. To shed some light on the cream situation I will explain it in this article. Where possible I will also give the Dutch name for the cream.

What is cream?

Perhaps the most helpful place to start is by explaining what cream is. Cream is a dairy product made from cow’s milk. When the whole milk sits for a while, a layer of fat rises to the top, you skim it off and that’s how you get cream. Nowadays there are many other ways of making all kinds of cream, but to be officially allowed to call a product cream it has to contain at least 10% fat.

Different kinds of cream

Below I will discuss all types of cream. To distinguish between them, I have divided them into the well-known (Dutch) types of cream and the lesser known types of cream.

Pastry cream (banketbakkersroom)

Officially, pastry cream is not a real type of cream, but since it contains the word cream, I will discuss it briefly. Pastry cream is similar to custard and is made from sugar, egg yolks and milk. So there is no cream in it at all. Besides, you have to make it yourself and you won’t find it in the fridge section of your supermarket. Want to know how to make it? Check the recipe for pastry cream here.

Crème fraîche

Crème fraîche is a type of cream with a fat content of 30%. This makes it a real cream. It is often firm and thick, but after stirring for a while it becomes more liquid. Crème fraîche can be used in both hot and cold dishes. For cold preparations, you can replace crème fraîche with sour cream.

Cooking cream (kookroom)/single cream or light cream

Cooking cream is actually a light version of heavy cream. It is basically the same product, but with less fat. This means you can’t whip it until it gets stiff. It is usually used to add a creamy taste or texture to sauces or soups, but you can achieve the same effect with unwhipped heavy cream or crème fraîche.

Cooking cream usually has a fat content of 20%. In the Netherlands this is called cooking cream (kookroom) but it might also be called single cream.

Mascarpone

Mascarpone is not actually a type of cream, but an Italian cheese made from cream. It is therefore similar in consistency to cream cheese and is used in much the same way. It has a fat content of around 40% and can be used to make delicious tiramisu or mascarpone cream. It’s also quite easy to make yourself and I’ll be sharing a recipe for that later.

Cream cheese (roomkaas)

Cream cheese, like mascarpone, is a type of cheese. Made from cream, the name says it all. It can only be called cream cheese if it meets a number of requirements, one of which is that it is made from cream.

This is why cheaper but similar products are often called dairy spread or soft cheese rather than cream cheese. Want to make a cream cheese topping? Make sure you use a product that mentions cream cheese on the label.

Heavy whipping cream (slagroom)

Whipping cream is cream as it should be. It has a fat content of 35% and is actually the cream that is skimmed of the top of the milk. Unlike cream with a lower fat content, whipped cream is easy to whip (due to the higher fat content).

Want to make whipped cream that doesn’t deflate? Whip some mascarpone first and then add the whipping cream and sugar. Whip this into stiff peaks. That way the end result will hold much better.

Sour cream (zure room)

Sour cream is known in the Netherlands both by it’s English name and by the Dutch name. On the shelves you will usually find it as sour cream. It has an incredibly low fat content of just 10%, so it can only just call barely call itself cream.

It is actually the light sister (or brother) of crème fraîche, and you can easily substitute them. It is often advised not to heat sour cream, but I have never had any problems with it.

Foreign cream types

With foreign I mean the types of cream that aren’t (easily) available in The Netherlands. So it might not be foreign to you.

Clotted cream

Clotted cream comes from England. It is an incredibly thick cream with a fat content of about 64%. Clotted cream is rarely used in cooking or baking, but it is used as a garnish. Think of scones with clotted cream.

Clotted cream is a little less known here in the Netherlands but it is becoming more common and it’s a bit easier to find in some stores during the holidays. Depending on where you live it might be easy or not so easy to find.

You can make it yourself, real clotted cream is made in the oven and is a pretty labor intensive job (I tried it once and will share my recipe and experience soon!), but there is also a quick version that comes close to the original. I will share how to make that soon too!

Double cream

Another British product is double cream. It is an incredibly fatty whipping cream that stiffens incredibly well. It has a fat content of around 48% and is therefore much thicker than Dutch whipping cream or slagroom.

Always check how it is used in a recipe to see how best to replace it. If it’s to be used in a recipe, you can use normal whipping cream, but it won’t be the same. If it needs to be whipped until stiff, use the mascarpone and whipping cream trick from above.

Heavy cream

Heavy cream is the American equivalent of double cream, but with less fat. Are you still with me? It is lighter than double cream, but in most cases thicker than Dutch 35% whipping cream.

Heavy cream has a fat content of between 36% and 40%. This makes it much closer to Dutch whipping cream, and you can basically always substitute heavy cream for whipping cream. The difference in fat content is minimal.

And there you have it; the entire list of cream types you can find in the grocery stores. Which ones you can find is depending on where you live and whatever the retail stores buy but with the above list you should be able to replace whatever is mentioned in a recipe with another type. Taking the above considerations into account.