I’ve had some fun with my cordless drill in the past, turning it into a power scrub brush. I wondered what other tasks I could turn to my drill to complete, and then it hit me: Whipped cream! I checked my drill, and it could easily hold one beater.
While I was at it, I figured it made sense to give this test practical applications as well. In addition to the cordless drill, I tested a stand mixer and hand mixer to see which one was better at making whipped cream.
The setup for this experiment was pretty simple. I followed best practices for whipping cream (chilling everything, including the bowl and beaters beforehand), then started beating 6 ounces of heavy whipping cream. I stopped the timer when the cream stiffened up and soft peaks formed.
Aside from the novelty of testing to see how well a drill would do at whipping cream, I was eager to know the results of this test. I typically use my stand mixer to make whipped cream, because I assumed it was faster. This test would give me a definitive answer.
The results, from worst to first …
Cordless drill – unable to whip cream
I gave up after more than 4 minutes of whipping. The cream had taken on about half the air necessary to turn stiff, but it was still quite liquid. Who knows how long it would have taken to stiffen, but it was impractical to keep trying.
I hoped the drill had a chance because it turned at a higher RPM than the hand mixer. (The drill turns at 1,400 RPM. I have been unable to determine the RPM of the hand mixer, but it is noticeably slower.) Of course, with only one beater, the drill was missing half the beating power of the hand mixer. Plus, the beaters in the hand mixer turn in opposite directions to force the liquid in between and aerate it significantly faster. With only one beater, the magic is gone.
Stand mixer – 2:05 to soft peaks
The main problem with the stand mixer is that it whips cream by slamming the liquid against the sides of the bowl. This means the potential for spraying your entire kitchen with globules of cream is quite high. It’s not wise to turn the mixer to high speed when the cream is completely liquid, or it really will be flying everywhere. Even on lower speeds, the cream still sprayed.
Hand mixer – 1:39 to soft peaks
There’s no question I was surprised by this result. I pushed this mixer to the limit, holding down its “burst” button for the entire whipping time. The mixer held up, and handily defeated the stand mixer. Not only that, but it whipped much more cleanly – there wasn’t a single droplet of cream on my hands or the counter, or even the sides of the bowl!
From now on, I’ll use my hand mixer to whip cream. I’ll return my drill to its rightful place in the bathroom, serving as a scrub brush.
Updated, 9/27/11
I had a brain fart. And my readers let me know it. I tested the paddle attachment of the stand mixer, not the whisk attachment. I can’t explain why I didn’t realize I was using the wrong attachment. I’ve used the correct attachment to whip cream or egg whites plenty of times. In my head I was thinking “paddle attachment” and I completely ignored the whisk, even though it was sitting in front of me. I hope in 15 years I’m not reaching for a fork to slice a tomato.
Stand mixer with whisk attachment – 1:08 to soft peaks
As everyone suggested, the stand mixer with the whisk did perform the best – by a significant margin. Just for fun I kept whipping the cream another 30 seconds to compare it to the speed of the hand mixer. I was well on my way to making butter. While the stand mixer was the fastest, it wasn’t the cleanest (at least on top speed). There were a few cream splatters on the countertop. I think that is to be expected, however. When you’re driving a Ferrari, after all, you expect to burn a little rubber.
