Have you ever wondered how professional bakeries get that amazing, perfectly shaped whipped cream on their fancy desserts? The kind where you think it’s frosting, but then you take one bite into it and realize it’s the most perfectly light, whippy, fresh cream? Chances are it’s just stabilized whipped cream. With the holiday season approaching, this is one little trick you need in your cooking arsenal. This method produces the perfect whipped cream that you love, but with a stabilizing agent, which means that it won’t fall flat or melt or get all goopy if it sits around for a while. If I’m taking dessert somewhere, or I know it’s going to sit in my fridge or on the counter for a bit, I always use this method. I also use this method to frost cakes and cupcakes when I want something lighter than a traditional heavy buttercream.
This is what I used on my Orange-Cranberry Cheesecake last week. There are a few options you can find for stabilizing whipped cream, like adding instant pudding mix, but I don’t recommend those. If you want pure, white, delicious whipped cream that tastes like normal whipped cream, go with this method. It starts with most of the same ingredients as regular whipped cream.
The little secret is a bit of unflavored gelatin. This won’t change the flavor or really the texture either, it simply provides some staying power. Sprinkle a teaspoon of gelatin over some cold water. If you’ve never worked with unflavored gelatin, it might seem weird, but it’s normal! You need to let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes to “bloom”. It will be thick and semi-solid.
Once it’s done blooming, you’ll heat it in the microwave just until melted. It only takes about 5-10 seconds, no need to boil it. Just whisk it until smooth. (Cutest-ever heart whisks from our Shop!)
I recommend you do this in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a hand mixer. Place the heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar in the mixer and beat for about a minute.
Then very slowly add the gelatin in a smooth, steady stream, as the mixer is running. Continue beating as normal until you reach medium-stiff peaks.
At this point, just use the whipped cream as you normally would. It works really well for spreading and piping. Like I said, I love this on cupcakes! As it sits in the fridge, it will set up a little more, and it will last significantly longer than regular whipped cream.
I hope to see this on lots of beautiful pies this holiday season!
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Total Time: 10
Description
A method of making bakery style whipped cream that doesn’t fall or melt. Great for piping onto desserts or even icing cakes and cupcakes. Double if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (like Knox, found near Jell-o in the baking aisle)
- 4 teaspoons cold water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place cold water in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. Let sit for 5 minutes. While it’s sitting, place heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or in a mixing bowl if using an electric beater. Once gelatin is set, place bowl in microwave and heat until gelatin turns to liquid, about 10 seconds.
- Turn mixer on to start beating cream. Let it run for about 1 minute and then with the mixer on high, very slowly pour the melted gelatin in, in a small steady stream.
- Continue beating cream until you reach medium-stiff peaks. Spread or pipe whipped cream as desired.
- Prep Time: 10
Questions & Reviews
OMG you’re legend for posting this!
This tip is great! I tried this recipe just for experiment. My whipped cream flowers have been standing for 3 days and the shape have not changed a bit!
Wonderful!
If you double the recipe, or more, do you have to double the amount of gelatin as well to accommodate the larger volume? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just always have a difficult time with stabilized whipped cream! Thank you so much!
Yep, just do the math like any other recipe!
Hi and Thank You! This looks great! Would you please tell me what you used for the sugar coated “berries” shown in the last photo. They look so pretty.
Hi Glenis,
Those are Sugared Cranberries. So pretty and so easy! Here’s the recipe: https://ourbestbites.com/2014/11/sugared-cranberries/
When preparing, is it ok to double the receipe?
you bet!
So glad I found this! I do need a little help though… I am needing to decorate in advance and have frozen buttercream frosted cakes without issue. Does this recipe freeze and thaw well after decorated? Also I need to make it orange.. Could I use orange jello mix in place of the gelatin and powdered sugar?
For the flavor, you’ll want to still use unflavored gelatin and just add extract and food coloring. You should however be able to freeze it no problem.
For some reason I can’t see the rest of the comments. My whipped cream is coming out a little lumpy/grainy. Any thoughts? Thanks!
You want to make sure you drizzle it VERY slowly while the beater is running very quickly. Otherwise it will solidify into lumps!
This I need to try. One of the chefs I’ve been watching on utube uses sour cream believe it or not. Check it out, his name is Bruno Albouze. For 2.5 cups of whipping cream he will use 4 Tbs of sour cream. that’s it, never tried it myself though but you can watch him preparing it in the video.
Thank you for sharing this precious info.. I was really looking for a was to stabilize the whipping cream.
So good to know! Thanks for the tip! Also, have you ever tried whipped ganache? I had never heard of it till one of my YW brought it to Night of Excellence a couple weeks ago. She used it as frosting and it. was. so. good!!!!!! It was like chocolate mousse. I’m not sure on the proportions they used, but it was basically chilled ganache that was whipped. It held up very well! So good! I would eat it plain any day!
Would stabilized whipped cream be a good option for an icebox cake? I have one in the planning phase, but the only pan available is a loaf pan, and I’m worried about turning it out and transporting it anywhere.
Thanks for the wonderful tip. Hate when whipped cream gets all wilty. In hot, HUMID Florida that can happen in seconds. Have to tell you a funny story. My mom was a stupendous cook & would make goodies for the 2 boys who lived behind them. One day the 10 year old called & asked if she had some whipped cream. Curious, my mom asked what he was going to put it on (since his mom didn’t cook or bake). He said “my friend is here & I was telling him you make REAL whipped cream & now he wants to try it”. He was used to having only the stuff from a can. HAHAHAHA Of course, then she quickly fixed something for him to put the REAL whipped cream on 🙂 When I think of whipped cream I always think of this story.
Tavette – S. Fla.
Haha, I love it!
What an awesome trick to know!! Thank you for posting this!
How long will this hold once outside the fridge? I want to use this for making cupcakes. But the cupcakes will be outside of frigde for at least 3 hours. Do u think it will start to droop by then?
As long as they’re not in a super warm environment, they should be just fine!
Thank you!
I could have used this last week! I made a coconut cream pie for a church supper and didn’t want the whipped cream to wilt, so I left it to the last minute. Then I forgot I needed to whip it…and the pie ended up covered in Cool Whip! I’ll make this next time!
This is awesome!!!
This sounds great. Unfortunately, my daughter is a vegetarian and won’t eat anything with gelatin. Is there another alternative you can recommend?
You could try another commenters tip about using cornstarch- read through the comments and you’ll see it!
This is amazing. I can’t believe i haven’t ever tried this. Thanks!
Will this work in a CO2 creamer? And if so, what will the time of use period be? Don’t want it to set in the creamer!
hmmm, good question, I’m not sure! My fear would be getting lumpy since normally I add the gelatin while the beater is running to avoid any clumps of gelatin setting. But if you give it a shot let me know!
I tried it last tuesday with cocoa powder and whipped cream and until now the texture and the taste of the frosting is still the same nothing change
Thank you for this. I’ve always wondered how this was done and this is a perfectly times post with the holidays fast approaching. Thank you!!
I am so glad you posted this! I have always wondered how to make it so it is not so runny! Great idea!
Do I need to use more gelatin when making more then 1 cup of heavy cream
Yep, you’ll just have to do the math.
I’ve used a bit of honey as well, to prevent separation if I have some leftovers I want to keep overnight (who does that?!), but I’ll try this next time I want dimensional whipped cream goodness. = )
Gelatin makes it no longer vegetarian. Sucks. Dang. Sad to hear this is what restaurants probably are using. 🙁
That is true but I have another tip I learned by mistake! If you don’t have a ban on alcohol that is. YEP I was making cream puffs and wanted a rum raisin flavor. I used powdered sugar as usual and then to give it a bite I added little rum…like one cap full. I was so surprised when it just stayed and stayed! No animals were hurt in the process hahahah
You can use agaragar (plant based) which makes it vegetarian
Thank you so much for the tip!!
Who knew?! So happy you shared this fantastic little trick! Thank you!
Hi , I have tried a few different methods to stabilize whipped cream, including one using gelatin.
Also, there is a product called “Whip It” (I think) that will do this. But the method I like the best is using cornstarch. You put a little cornstarch (1 tsp) with a little confectioner’s sugar ( 1 T) in a saucepan. Then you blend in 1/4 cup heavy cream. Cook it until it just starts to thicken. Then add a little vanilla. When it cools, gradually add it to 3/4 cup of heavy cream as you are whipping. it. I like the texture of this cream much better that the gelatin-stabilized whipped cream, which I find a bit spongy. Probably most would not notice the difference, though.
interesting, I’ll have to try that sometime. With the very small amount of gelatin I use here, you really can’t notice a textural difference.
What a great idea and less expensive than gelatin, plus should be okay for vegetarians. I wonder if it could be done in the microwave, little by little?
Genius! I’m not on pie duty for Thanksgiving. I’ll probably just give myself an assignment for a pie at home. Haha!
I’m totally using this for cupcakes! Question- for your banana cream pie recipe you guys recommend making it a day in advance but you don’t use stabilized whip cream for the topping. Does it end up being watery? Do you think I should top it with this instead or does it come out ok the next day using the non-stabilized whipped cream?
Even with banana cream pie, I usually wait to do the whipped cream until the day of. I would probably use this method if I were making it a day in advance.
Once I was in a bind looking for a stabilized whipped cream solution, and had no gelatin. The other option I found was cream of tartar. Bad idea! Don’t do it!
Haha, good to know!
I always have really great luck with cream of tartar as a stabilizer. My grandma taught me to use 1/8 teaspoon in the cream to help it hold. Sorry it didn’t work for you.
I don’t think you got your grandmother’s instructions correct. Cream of tarar works as a stabilizer in MERINGUE because it acidifies the egg whites, much the same as whisking them in a copper bowl.
It will do nothing to stabilize whipped cream.
Use one TLB cornstarch.
I can’t wait to try this! How long do you think this will “last”? I make a chocolate truffle pie with a top layer of whipped cream and am wondering if I could do this a full day before Thanksgiving and the whipped cream would still look good the next day (or even the day after, if we’re lucky enough to have leftovers).
Yes, it should last from the day before. I made my cheesecake last week and had some in the fridge for 2 days and it was great.
It is perfect. I used this for Key Lime pie topping. It holds perfectly. Thank you
This was such a great recipe! Thank you so much!! It was grand atop a carmel cheesecake! Woohoo!