Stabilized whipped cream frosting is a lightly sweetened, fluffy frosting that holds its shape better than regular whipped cream. It’s sturdy enough for piping and decorating cakes and cupcakes while still having the light texture and flavor of whipped cream.
Stabilized whipped cream frosting gives you everything you love about homemade whipped cream with a little more staying power. It’s light, fluffy, and only lightly sweetened, but it’s thick enough to pipe onto cupcakes or use to frost a cake.
Unlike regular whipped cream, which can soften and lose its shape fairly quickly, this stabilized version holds up much better after it’s whipped. It’s a great alternative when you want something lighter and less sweet than traditional buttercream while still having the ability to decorate your cake or cupcakes.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Cold water: It’s important to use cold water in this recipe.
- Gelatin: For this, you’ll need plain, unflavored gelatin, which is often sold just above flavored gelatin in the grocery stores.
- Heavy cream: It’s important to use cold heavy cream for the best results.
- Vanilla: For whiter frosting, you can use clear vanilla if you prefer.
- Salt: The salt helps to balance out the frosting.
How to make stabilized whipped cream frosting
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Add the cold water to a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over top. Whisk to combine.
Step 2: Let sit for 5 minutes to absorb and firm up.
Step 3: Microwave gelatin mixture for 10 seconds, just enough to melt the gelatin (not until hot). Let cool slightly. However, you don’t want it to firm up again.
Step 4: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cold cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form.
Step 5: Slowly drizzle in the melted gelatin, while whipping on low speed.
Step 6: Increase the speed and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
Step 7: Use to frost a cake or scoop into a piping bag to pipe onto cupcakes.
Recipe Tips!
- Start with cold ingredients: Whipping cream works best when it’s cold. Keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to begin.
- Chill your bowl and beaters if needed: If your kitchen is warm, chilling the mixing bowl and beaters for a few minutes in the freezer can make it easier to whip the cream.
- Follow the stabilization method carefully: The stabilizing ingredient needs to be prepared and incorporated as directed so that it blends smoothly into the whipped cream.
- Watch the cream as it thickens: Whipped cream can go from perfectly fluffy to overwhipped surprisingly quickly.
- Stop when you reach the right consistency: For frosting and piping, you want the whipped cream thick enough to hold its shape without continuing to beat it past that point.
- Keep it cold: Stabilized doesn’t mean shelf-stable at room temperature. Keep the frosting and desserts made with it refrigerated according to the recipe directions.
- Uses: You can use the cream on any dessert that you would normally serve with whipped cream. Fruit desserts like strawberry shortcake, cakes, tarts, pies all work well with this whipped cream.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The frosting will keep for about 3 days when properly stored in the fridge.
More frosting recipes!
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Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons cold water
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the cold water to a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over top. Whisk to combine.4 teaspoons cold water, 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- Let sit for 5 minutes to absorb and firm up.
- Microwave for 10 seconds, just enough to melt the gelatin (not until hot).
- Let cool slightly. However, you don’t want it to firm up again.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form.1 cup cold heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Slowly drizzle in the melted gelatin, while whipping on low speed.
- Increase the speed and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
- Use to frost a cake or scoop into a piping bag to pipe onto cupcakes.
Notes
- Cold water: It’s important to use cold water in this recipe.
- Gelatin: For this, you’ll need plain, unflavored gelatin, which is often sold just above flavored gelatin in the grocery stores.
- Heavy cream: It’s important to use cold heavy cream for the best results.
- Vanilla: For whiter frosting, you can use clear vanilla if you prefer.
- Salt: The salt helps to balance out the frosting.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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