Thickness Of Whipped Cream

Our answer

Nigella's No-Churn Salted Caramel Bourbon Ice Cream is a combination of pre-made canned caramel and double (heavy or whipping) cream. The mixture should be whisked until thickened, that is until the mixture is thick and when you lift the beaters it just holds its shape on the surface. It is slightly beyond ribbon stage (the mixture should not flow off the beaters) but is slightly less than soft peaks and we would not beat the mixture beyond soft peaks stage as it will become too stiff. Bear in mind that if you are whisking in any alcohol then the mixture will thicken further, so we suggest erring on the side of caution as you can always whisk a fraction more after adding the bourbon, if needed.

If you are using heavy or whipping cream, note that for this recipe you can whisk the caramel and cream together straightaway as the caramel is already quite thick. For some other no-churn ice creams with condensed milk you need to whisk the whipping or heavy cream first as the lower fat content of these creams can make it more difficult to whisk the combined mixture to the correct consistency if you don't whisk some air into the cream first.