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. There are a few options you use for stabilizing whipped cream. I’ll show you one main method and mention a few others, below!
Ingredients Needed
- Unflavored gelatin – Such as Knox brand. Find this near the Jell-O on the baking aisle, usually up on the top shelf.
- Cold water
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Stabilized whipped cream 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.
- 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. 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!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover stabilized whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use or consume within 2-3 days for best results.
More Stabilization Methods
- Pudding Mix– adding 1-2 tablespoons of dry vanilla pudding mix per pint of whipped cream helps stabilize because it too, contains gelatin. It will add a slight color to your whipped cream, and a little bit of flavor.
- Cream Cheese – cream cheese is another great stabilizer. As little as 2 ounces softened cream cheese beat into a pint of cream will help stabilize and up to a whole 8oz of cream cheese creates a gorgeous silky whipped frosting that feels like a whipped cream/frosting hybrid. (Click here for a recipe!) If using this method, be sure to beat softened whipped cream until completely smooth and creamy before adding cream in a slow drizzle. Otherwise it’s easy to get lumps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stabilized Whipped Cream
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
- ½ cup powdered sugar more or less to taste
- ½ 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.
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
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!