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. If you like to bake, 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, or I plan to pipe it and I want it to retain its shape, I always use this method. There are a few options you use for stabilizing whipped cream. I’ll show you one main recipe below, with two easy optional methods as well!
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 with Gelatine
- 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.
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
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.
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!
Okay I just tried this for some black forest cupcakes for my husbands birthday!! The instructions were so easy to follow and I followed them verbatim but I’m still worried that I didn’t something wrong! It’s sitting on a “test” cupcake, I guess we’ll see!! Been on for 10 minutes in my kitchen table and so far so good!
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://fit-over50.news/2014/11/sugared-cranberries/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
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.