How can I thicken whipping cream?

Corn starch only thickens when heated to 180 F, so it probably is not helping at all with your whipped cream.

I live in the US, so I cannot compare to whipped cream in the UK. Whipped cream for cake fillings is often beaten almost to the breaking point to make the foam as thick as possible. I assume you are whipping the cream sufficiently, and it still isn't getting as thick as you would like.

If that is the case, you might try stabilizing the whipped cream with gelatin. The link is one of many I have found on a quick search, and it specifically calls for 35% cream.

This long chowhound thread also has some interesting thoughts and advise.

This ochef link also provides an interesting method of using creme fraiche.

You're right about the fat content of whipping cream. English Double Cream has a typical fat content of around 48% compared to the thickest cream in N America which is heavy cream at about 35%.

You could try using crème de mais, a modified cornstarch which doesn't require any heat to thicken. I think its trade name is Clear Jel.

You can thicken Canadian 35% whipping cream by dehydrating it with dried apples. Place (natural) dried apple slices, loosely packed, in a sealer and add cream to cover. Refrigerate for 24 hours. The cream that is in direct contact with the apples will become very thick and greasy and you will have to squeeze it off with your fingers. Messy. Remix the clumps. Not sure of exact amount of apple for a desired result. Sliht apple taste to the cream. Experiment. Good luck.

Add gelatine - that's what commercial thickened cream is - cream with gelatin, lightly beat to incorporate, then let it set. Beat before using (not to whipped-cream level - just to get it to move :)

Use one leaf of gelatin dissolved in a tablespoon of warmed water for each pint of cream.

You can use cream cheese!!!!! This page suggests beating to soft peaks then adding 1 heaping teaspoon cream cheese per 1 cup of cream and beating until the desired consistency.

If you live in an urban area, I would think you would be able to get your hands on imports like the clotted cream you are missing, or mascarpone, which has 50% fat content.

After a quick search, I found a recipe (not mine) for making mascarpone at home, which requires cream with at least 25% fat content and utilizes tartaric acid. http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/mascarpone.HTM

Why buy the cow when you can make the cream for (practically) free? :-)

Good luck!

Try icing sugar. It makes the cream very sweet but does the job.

In the US, you can sometimes find something called manufacturing cream, which is over 40% fat. Still not quite UK double cream, but much closer than standard whipping cream. You'll probably need to find it in a restaurant-supply type of place; it's not something they carry at regular grocery stores.

Stabilizing it will thicken the whipped cream and make it more firm. I use gelatin. It's easy to find and easy to use. When I use this method, the whipped cream holds up for at least 24 hours (maybe longer, but I haven't had any left after that time frame). Here's a post from my blog with pictures and recipe. Hope that helps! :)

Try whipping it more. The more it is whipped, the thicker it gets.

Use guar gum. You can find it on Amazon. It is about 8x stronger than corn starch, so you can use less. I use it in my green tea matcha frappuccinos (frozen/iced lattes - like a smoothie).

What you see in stores may be butter cream frosting. Mix about 1:4 butter:confectioner's sugar.

Add instant pudding to thicken your cream. In fact, this is how I make a lot of my cakes for a rich, not so sweet, nice thick frosting. 1 pkg of instant pudding for 473 ml carton of cream is usually a perfect consistency.