238 g of heavy cream is 1 cup. Cream is lighter than milk per cup because fat is less dense than water, so a cup of cream weighs a few grams less than a cup of milk even though cream feels richer and thicker. That small gap is exactly the kind of detail that matters when a ganache recipe is written in grams and you are working in cups.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from USDA, measured poured. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
Method and source
The figure on this page comes from USDA, measured poured. Cream with at least 36% fat that whips to firm peaks. Whipping, ganache, sauces and soups.
A note on disputed figures. USDA lists heavy cream at about 238 g per cup; King Arthur rounds it to 227 g.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the cup, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Conversion table
| Cups | Grams of heavy cream |
|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 59.5 g |
| 1/3 cup | 79.3 g |
| 1/2 cup | 119 g |
| 2/3 cup | 158.7 g |
| 3/4 cup | 178.5 g |
| 1 cup | 238 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 357 g |
| 2 cups | 476 g |
| 3 cups | 714 g |
| 4 cups | 952 g |
Quick reference: 100 g of heavy cream is about 0.42 cups, and 50 g is about 0.21 cups. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Three real kitchen examples
A chocolate ganache for a birthday cake
A ganache needs 238 g of heavy cream to 340 g of dark chocolate. One cup of cream, poured to the line in a jug, is the right amount. Heat the cream until it steams, pour it over the chopped chocolate, and let it sit for two minutes before stirring. If the cream is short by even 20 g, the ganache sets too firm to spread; too much and it will not hold its shape.
Whipped cream for a pavlova
A pavlova topping calls for 476 g of heavy cream, which is 2 cups. Pour both cups into a chilled bowl and whip with a tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form. Cream whips best cold, so keep it in the fridge until the moment you need it, and stop whipping as soon as the peaks hold, because over-whipped cream turns grainy and then buttery.
A creamy tomato soup for four
A soup recipe lists 119 g of heavy cream to finish the pot, which is half a cup. Stir it in off the heat at the very end so it does not split. Half a cup is easy to measure in a jug, but it is also the point where a scale earns its keep: guessing half a cup of a thick liquid in a dry cup is how soups end up either bland or greasy.
Getting it right in your kitchen
Dairy products vary in thickness, so the method matters. Thin dairy like milk and buttermilk is poured into a jug; thick dairy like sour cream, yogurt and cream cheese is spooned into a dry cup and levelled, pressing out air pockets as you go. Bring dairy to room temperature before adding it to a batter unless the recipe says cold, because cold dairy can seize melted butter and leave lumps. If a recipe gives dairy by weight and you only have cups, use the table below rather than guessing: a cup of cream cheese is noticeably heavier than a cup of milk, and the two are not interchangeable by volume.
Scaling is straightforward once you know the cup weight. Doubling a recipe that calls for 238 g of heavy cream means measuring 476 g, or 2 cups, and tripling it means 714 g, or 3 cups. Halving is just as easy: half a cup is 119 g. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. A cake scaled by half still needs half the flour, half the sugar, half the butter and half the heavy cream, not just half of one of them. If you are scaling a recipe by an awkward factor, like two thirds, weigh the heavy cream rather than trying to measure two thirds of a cup in a jug, because the jug markings are not precise enough for fractions of a cup.
When should you weigh heavy cream instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the heavy cream until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Refrigerate; use within 1 week of opening.
- Keep cream refrigerated and use within a week of opening.
- Chill the bowl and whisk before whipping cream for faster peaks.
- Add cream to hot dishes off the heat to prevent splitting.
Frequently asked questions
Is heavy cream the same as double cream?
Not quite. Heavy cream is at least 36 percent fat, while British double cream is around 48 percent fat and noticeably thicker. A cup of double cream weighs a little less than 238 g because it contains more fat, but the difference is small enough that you can use the same conversion and adjust by eye.
Can I substitute milk for heavy cream using this conversion?
Only in limited cases. A cup of milk weighs 244 g and a cup of cream 238 g, but the real difference is fat content, not weight. Milk will not whip, and sauces made with milk instead of cream are thinner and more likely to split. For a sauce, use three quarters milk and one quarter melted butter as a rough stand-in.
How do I measure heavy cream without a scale?
Pour it into a measuring jug and read the level at eye level. Cream coats the sides of the jug, so let it settle for a few seconds before reading. For amounts under half a cup, a tablespoon measure is more accurate: one tablespoon of heavy cream is about 14.9 g.
Why is cream lighter than milk per cup?
Fat is less dense than water. Cream is roughly 36 percent fat and milk about 3.25 percent, so a cup of cream contains more of the lighter component and weighs a few grams less. The same principle is why a cup of olive oil weighs only 216 g.
Does whipping change the weight of cream?
No. Whipping adds air, which increases volume enormously, but the weight stays the same. That is why whipped cream must be measured before whipping: 238 g of cream becomes about 2 cups of whipped cream, and weighing it afterwards would give a meaningless number.