Rum Punch!

This clip from Mary Poppins has been in my head all night!



My posh New York City sister told me she recently went to a party where the whipped cream tasted better than any she'd ever had.  When she asked the woman who made it what her secret was, she told my sister that Kahlua was to blame.  Now, I don't know exactly how I feel about cooking with Kahlua, and I'll spare you the details.  What I will tell you is that this information from my sister led me to buy rum extract this week, and boy, am I glad I did!  According to the 2000 Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook, you can make rum-flavored whipped cream by adding 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of rum extract to 1 cup of cream.  Lemme tell you:  It is delicious!

I made breakfast for dinner tonight: pancakes topped with rum-flavored whipped cream, strawberries, bananas, a tiny bit of syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Check it out:

So definitely try this recipe!  I bet it would taste good on nearly anything that calls for whipped cream.  I, myself, will probably not stop there; I'm going to try flavoring my whipped cream in all kinds of ways now.  I really don't know why I haven't done so before.  And just in case you're wondering, here is a list of ideas (from the same Betty Crocker cookbook):

Flavored Sweetened Whipped Cream:  Beat 1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons granulated or powdered sugar, and one of the following ingredients in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed.

• 1 tsp grated lemon or orange peel
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp rum extract
• 1/2 tsp maple extract