Beat the cream until light and fluffy. Be careful not to beat too long, or you may end up with butter again. Add vanilla and sugar, if you with, just before you finish beating. When you whip cream, you put air into the mixture in the form of tiny bubbles. These air bubbles give the whipped cream its light, fluffy texture.
Whipped cream has a delicate structure.
The milk in the cream that encloses the bubbles is supported by fat. The more fat in your cream, the more support the bubbles will have.