simple whipped cream

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar (i've substituted fine sugar and the result is the same)

mix all ingredients in bowl until stiff peaks form. you'll know it's right when you pull the whisk up and your cream stands up on its own. do not overdue it. if you whip too much, your whipped cream will get lumpy. no one likes lumpy whipped cream. also, the first time i did this, i believe it may have taken about 20 minutes to whip the cream. be patient.

robin's helpful hint:
using fresh cream from a local dairy is a good way to cut the time in half for whipping, especially if you're doing this by hand.

you may have seen this reddi whip commercial, oil versus cream. well, this is better than both of those.