How to stabilize Whipped Cream – 5 Different Methods
We all need our whipped cream dessert to look just as nice tomorrow as it does today. But keeping whipped cream fresh longer can be tricky. These five simple, easy and effortless methods to stabilize whipped cream will make sure your cakes, cupcakes, and desserts look fresh longer. You can try any of these five methods that work best for your current project.
Whipped cream is pretty much perfect for any dessert. Add a dollop of whipped cream to a bowl of cut fruits and you have turned your fruit bowl into a dessert!
Whipped cream with a pie or pastry is absolutely amazing too. Isn’t it? My kids will eat it out of a bowl with a spoon.
You can flavor whipped cream with anything from Vanilla to Cocoa, lemon, cinnamon, liquor, strawberry the list is endless.
Why do we need to Stabilize Whipped Cream? (Save/Pin)
What’s most important about cakes with whipped cream is the consistency of the cream.
- Too soft and it can make your dessert look limp.
- Have you tried to pipe with whipped cream? Stabilize whipped cream and suddenly piping with whipped cream becomes a dream.
How to stabilize Whipped Cream – 5 different ways
How do you whip Fresh Cream?
We covered that in our previous post on How to make Easy Homemade Whipped Cream – 4 different methods. Considering that we have many many desserts on this blog, you probably already seen that post by now. Don’t forget to see all the tips I gave use to as well.
Five ways to Stabilize Whipped Cream (Save/Pin)
Yup, you heard me, four different ways to stabilize whipped cream. Ah well, technically just two. So, Let’s talk about them and their substitutes as well as and which to use and when.
- Gelatin – This is very commonly used in Bakeries and commercial dessert shops. It usually has the longest shelf life. Your whipped cream will hold its shape longest. It’s not vegetarian so perhaps not a choice for everyone. A substitute for gelatin is usually agar-agar but I have not tried using it yet. If I do I will update the post and let you know.
- Cornstarch – is another way to stabilize whipped cream and it works really well. I use cornstarch more often for home desserts as compared to gelatin. Simple and easy as adding it to the whipped cream after adding the sugar.
- Confectioners Sugar / Powder Sugar – Again what you actually doing here is taking advantage of the starch in the confectioner’s sugar which usually is either cornstarch or potato starch.
- Milk Powder – This works on two levels, First it takes advantage of the starch in the milk powder which usually is cornstarch. Second, it adds a more milky flavor as compared to starch flavor to the stabilized whipped cream.
- Pudding Mix – You guessed it!! Pudding mix contains starch which most commonly is cornstarch or arrowroot.
This is a very old cake but still a popular recipe on my blog. In this, I did use gelatin to stabilize my whipped cream.
So which should you use when?
Most commonly I use the confectioner’s Sugar or the Milk Powder for homemade desserts. That’s because I do not keep my whipped cream desserts long. However, when it’s a customer cake? Ah… I use to stabilize the whipped cream with gelatin.
Why? I cannot decorate a cake last minute. I need to decorate and let the cake sit in the fridge a few hours before the customer comes to pick it up. The customer again won’t’ come just before the party so she again needs to keep it in her fridge for a few hours. I do want my whipped cream to hold up until dessert. In this case, gelatin works best.
For these Strawberry Cream Cupcakes, I used Confections Sugar in my fresh cream
Let’s start with the easiest – How to stabilize Whipped Cream
- Cornstarch – 1 tbsp for every 1 cup whipping cream
- Confectioners Sugar /Powder Sugar – 3 tbsp for every 1 cup whipping cream
- Milk Powder or Pudding Mix – 3 tbsp for every 1 cup whipping cream
- Start by whipping the cream with a whisk attachment.
- Slowly add the sugar or confectioners Sugar / Powder Sugar
- If using granulated sugar – once you reach soft peak stage.
- Add the vanilla and Cornstarch or Milk Powder or Pudding Mix.
- Continue to whip until stiff peaks.
- Your whipped cream is stabilized when you can see the peaks hold their shape firmly
How to stabilize whipped cream – 5 different ways
How to stabilize whipped cream with Gelatin
This can be a bit tricky so I have a few progress pictures for you below. It is still fairly simple. Pay attention to the temperature of gelatin when adding to the cream.
Tools
- K-Mix/ Kitchen Aid
- Whisk Attachment
Don’t you just love when Whipped cream makes a dessert look so delicious?
For this drink, I used pudding mix in my whipped cream.
How to stabilize whipped Cram – 5 Different Ways
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- and 1 tsp gelatin
- plus 1 tbsp cold water
- 3 tbsp caster sugar or fine grain sugar
- and 1 tsp Vanilla or extract of your choice.
Method:
Prepare gelatin
- Place the gelatin and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Let stand for two minutes.
- The gelatin will bloom and become soft.
- Place gelatin in a double boiler or microwave for 10 sec interval until all the gelatin granules are dissolved.
- Set aside to cool but not set. This is very important.
Whip the cream
- Pour the whipped cream into a mixer bowl.
- Turn the mixer on medium.
- After a minute – slowly in the sugar.
- Once the cream has reached between soft and stiff peaks – add a tablespoon or two of whipped cream to the gelatin to equalize the temperature.
- Now pour the gelatin mixture into the mixer bowl and continue to whip
- Do not over beat at this point. You will see the cream will hold stiff peaks.
- This whipped cream can be used immediately.
- You can spread it over a cake or pipe as needed.
Storage
- I have kept this whipped cream for up to three days in the fridge and it won’t go limp or separate.
- To Pipe – just place in a piping bag with your desired tip and pipe like you pipe your frosting.
Progress Pictures – How to stabilize whipped Cream with Gelatin
How to stabilize Whipped Cream with Gelatin – 5 Different Ways
Don’t forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
How to stabilize whipped cream 5 different methods
How to Stabilize Whipped Cream Five Different Methods
Prep
Total
Yield 4 servings
We all need our whipped cream dessert to look just as nice tomorrow as it does today. But keeping whipped cream fresh longer can be tricky. These five simple, easy and effortless methods to stabilize whipped cream will make sure your cakes, cupcakes, and desserts look fresh longer. You can try any of these five methods that work best for your current project.
Ingredients
- Whipping cream - 250 ml (1 cup)
- Gelatin - 1 Tsp
- Cold water - 2 tbsp
- Caster sugar - 3 tbsp (fine grain sugar)
- Vanilla - 1 tsp (or extract of your choice)
Instructions
Prepare gelatin
- Place the gelatin and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Let stand for two minutes.
- The gelatin will bloom and become soft.
- Place gelatin in a double boiler or microwave for 10 sec interval until all the gelatin granules are dissolved.
- Set aside to cool but not set. This is very important.
Whip the cream
- Pour the whipped cream into a mixer bowl.
- Turn the mixer on medium.
- After a minute - slowly in the sugar.
- Once the cream has reached between soft and stiff peaks - add a tablespoon or two of whipped cream to the gelatin to equalize the temperature.
- Now pour the gelatin mixture into the mixer bowl and continue to whip
- Do not over beat at this point. You will see the cream will hold stiff peaks.
- This whipped cream can be used immediately.
- You can spread it over a cake or pipe as needed.
Storage
- I have kept this whipped cream for up to three days in the fridge and it won't go limp or separate.
- To Pipe - just place in a piping bag with your desired tip and pipe like you pipe your frosting.
Courses Dessert
Cuisine American
Master the Basic and Dominate the Kitchen
One way to improve your cooking or baking skills is to get a grip on your basic recipes. Often it’s more easy and quicker than you think it is.
Simple things like making homemade caramel or butterscotch take five minutes but are so much better homemade.
Baking the perfect pie or pastry crust from scratch can make a huge difference to your homemade pies and desserts.
Did you know homemade buttermilk or condensed milk take less than 5 minutes as well? Yes!!
See some of my Basic Recipes with details or check out my Recipe Index for a list of all my recipes.
Hi Veena,
Thank you for these tips. Ill try it tomorrow. Just want to ask if i can fill layer with this and cover with swiss meringue butter icing?. Urgent response needed please. Thank you
Yes absolutely Tobore. You can fill a cake with whipped cream and frost it with Swiss Meringue BC
Oh great, Ill do that next time. I used your recipe today.At some point it curdled and i almost wept, then i popped it in the freezer for a few minutes and it got stabled enough to use. The silkiness was heavenly!
All conditions were perfect and i followed all instructions, against next time please what can i take note of especially?
Ah!! Sounds like you added the mix hot? or the weather was really hot? I usually use a bowl of ice water below my whipped cream in summer. This really helps a lot.
Just curious, could you use flavored gelatin with the same method? Give it a little extra flavor? I just used blue raspberry Jello in frosting and it was great, so it was in my head as I read this. 🙃
Oh Yes absolutely!! Extra flavor is always welcome right?
hi mam, very well explained. i have some questions plz help me out.
When i use whipped cream piping or decorationg the cake my cream is melting in my hands. And its coming runny from the nozzels.
And if i wanted to take my decorated cake outside in summer days my cream is melting. Plzzzzz mam help me out thanks
Anita sounds like you live in a very hot and humid place. Also are you using fresh cream or soy cream? The cream will usually melt when it’s warm which is why we have to keep in the fridge and yet the fresh whipped cream should work for a while. Try the gelatin version.
I also read somewhere that if you add a pinch of salt to the one that uses the powdered sugar (or I guess you could do it to any of the recipes) it will help cut down on the sweetness. It actually works! Thanks for all the great tips and recipes!
I add a pinch of salt in all my desserts and sweet stuff. almost everythign I make lol. I think it really brings out the flavors more and yes in buttercream it does help cut the sweetness.
Hi, thanks for the detailed info. I follow your YouTube channel too religiously, and love it. I have one question to ask you, I want to add pastry cream to my whipped cream, do you recommend using Gelatin(I used agar agar last time, it didn’t really become stiff), or just add pastry cream. I want something stable to be used as a filling for the cake. Looking forward to your reply.
TIA
Hey Madiha. Thank you! I have a Vanilla Pastry Cream for cake filling recipe, it’s a bit stiffer than the pastry cream we use for desserts. And then you can add a stabilized whipped cream which uses gelatin. The two together should hold very well in the cake.
I have tried using gelatin to stabilize whipped cream in the past but often ended up with lumps of gelatin in the cream…I just tried your “tempering” method and it worked like a charm. Thank you so much. My strawberry and cream cake turned out great.
Ah, I know what you mean Debbie. Those gelatine grains can be such a pain. I’ve done that in the past. So happy my method worked for you. Tempering is the full proof method for sure with whipped cream and gelatin. That strawberry and cream cake sounds yum. Love fresh flavors like these
I love ur blog. I made cake with whipped cream filling and stabilized whipped cream frosting. Then,I decorated the overnight refrigerated cake with the fondant but after 30 min on room temp,my fondant started melting. I don’t know the reason. Can you help me??
Hey Chhavi! why are you covering a whipped cream cake with fondant? Why not use buttercream instead? whipped cream is very light and has high moisture content – fondant is very heavy over such a delicate icing and the moisture melts the fondant. Next time use buttercream. Keep whipped creams just as it. They are best served as ‘whipped cream dessert cakes’
I didn’t even know this was possible! Thank you! Can you help with a couple of questions?
1. can these methods be used by adding to store-bought whipped cream? I have to do so much already, because of food allergies, I’ll take any shortcuts I can.
2. Do these help keep a dessert looking nice when it’s outside? Our party will be at a park and the temp will be in the low to mid 80s.
Thank you so much!
Lashonda. What do you mean store bought whipped cream? I think those are not dairy whipped cream but veg oil based non dairy creamers? So not this won’t work on those. This is for fresh cream made from dairy whipped cream. The more the fat content the better the whipped cream will hold. Yes, stabilized whipped cream usually will have a longer shelf life and will stay whipped longer but still not in hot humid weathers.
Ah ok. I didn’t know that, as we never use it! Thank you!
You are very welcome Lashonda
I did not know you could stabilize whipped cream. Always wondered how the pastry shops keep it so well for so long. Thank you – love your blog
Thank you Kerry. Yes you can and it works wonderfully just like the shops. Thank you – happy you love my blog.
Thank you for sharing these. I need to use whipped cream on my cupcakes all the time but I usually did it last minute and it was so stressful. Now I do it one day ahead and it is so much easier for me. Thank you.
You are very welcome Giselle. So happy to hear this helped – definitely sounds stressful to pipe them last moment.
Do you think stabilized whipped cream with gelatin would be okay for macaron filling? I find every other kind of filling to be too sweet when combined with the macaron shells. Have you tried this before?
Jill whipped cream would gets soaked into the macaron shells and make them soggy.. try a dark chocolate ganache or Meringue based buttercreams that are less sweet.. try lemon curd type of fillings that are not too sweet instead
Hi Veena
I have leaf gelatine in my cupboard and can’t decide what the equivalent of 1 teaspoon powder gelatine would be – can you advise please? Many thanks
Hey Penny, If I remember correctly – 1 tsp powder = 3 sheets and 1 envelope = 4 sheets.
Hi Veena. I live in Middle East and the closest heavy dairy whipping cream I’ve come across is with that with a cream ratio of 35.1%. Will I be able to stabilize with gelatin and pipe? Thanks.
Yes Chitra – 35% is good fat content – should definitely be able to stabilize.
Thank you so much for this detailed post. Always wanted to know how they do it at the shop. I tired the gelatin version and it stayed really fresh for a long time. I guess the gelatin is the best if you need it be last long. Thanks again.
Thank you Omeca. Happy this post was helpful. Yes often the shops go with gelatin cause it stays firm longest. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much
Hi ma’m,
I just wanted to know that I’m staying in oman and here I’m usking dream whip powder to make whipping cream. May i know how, hiw much n when to add cornstarch on it?
N, This post shows how to stabilize dairy whipped cream. The dream whipped cream I believe is already stabilized!! Not very certain but I’m quite certain it’s a non dairy whipping cream you are using made from veg oil? That just needs to be whipped to stiff peaks. I highly recommend reading the label on the carton.
I have mentioned in the post how much of each ingredient to use Thanks
Love this recipes.I always wanted to know how to do this. Thank you so much for sharing
Thank you Horn. Glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Veena, I live in Kolkata in India. Availability of dairy whipping cream here is limited. The only product that might qualify as a heavy whipping cream has a fat content of only 30%. The non dairy varities are excellent to work with but don’t taste that good. I cannot use gelatine; do you think this cream with a 30% fat content can be stabilised with milk powder? Will it be suitable for piping decorations on a cake? TIA
Ritu it the whipping cream is real dairy and 30% fat then it will stabilize with cornstarch or milk powder. Not sure if you can pipe firm with it but you might be able to pipe some border and stuff.. Again it all depends on the quality of the cream.
I believe you can get Tropolite (Brand Name for whipped cream). It’s the best product, healthy version and nothing to be added to it. You can whip and use it.
Thanks Roma
Thank you so much for your information
You are very welcome Lakshmi
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much Cliff
Thank you for sharing these methods! I was able to incorporate stabilized whipped cream into a family recipe that traditionally used Cool Whip. I used the corn starch option and it worked perfectly — tasted better, too! I’ve shared your link/site on my blog because I think it’s important to spread the word! Thank you, again!
Thank you Melanie. I’m happy to hear that. I saw your pecan butter tart looks good. I shared it on my page too – Please check your social share buttons cause they do not feature any image. I think you will get more traffic if people saw the image when they shared it.
What should be the ratio of cornstarch or milk powder or custard powder to whipping cream ratio?
I have mentioned them on the blog Mono.. just check the paragraph above the recipe for the one with gelatin
Can you pls mention the exact grams of cornflour needed for one cup whipping cream ?
Yes it’s mentioned in the post Anju. Just look above the recipe for – with gelatin.
thnx for ur recipie. one question I have that can I use cornflour instead of cornstarch???
Constarch and cornflour are the same just different name Tamanna. In the US we say cornstarch but most other places they say cornflour. <3
Hello Veena, can I get your advice on how to make a non dairy whipping cream to decorate the cake so it could stay looking good for at least one day?My daughter is allergic to milk and corn and egg white. And i’m planning to use the whipping cream to make rose flowers on a cake.
Fanny it depends on the type of whipping cream and weather you have. I think with non dairy you do not need to do anything more than just whip it. The one I used was made with veg shortening based and was quite stiff on it’s own. So had no problem with piping. I’d say whip a small batch and do a test first.
Hi Veena.. thank you for the recipe… can i add fondant figures on stabalized whipped cream.. will it melt the fondant figures?
Not sure it will melt per say but fondant is heavy so if you add straws below the figure for support might work. If the cream is soft it will soften the fondant.. it’s sugar and sugar will melt when it touched liquid..Know what I mean.?
Hi V. When can i add the colour in & do u think it will work very well on a 3 tear cake? Im still learning & i dont normally use fresh cream.
You can add color as soon as it reaches the desired peak. It can work with a three tier cake – Just work with them individually like you do with buttercream and then dowel and stack as per normal. Of course because it’s whipped cream you don’t have a long shelf life so keep that in mind and you need to keep in it the fridge so consider fridge space. Add fruit last minute of they will go limp.
If I want to add liquid colouring, when should I add it?
YOu can add it when it reaches soft peak stage.
Hello Veena,
I like to use cornstarch as stabilizer, do I need to add powdered sugar for sweetness and vanilla extract? When and how much?
For other flavors, such as chocolate or matcha (green tea), when and how much do I put in?
Thank you,
Milka
Yes you can add powder sugar for sweetness and vanilla as well. I use 2 tbsp powder sugar and 1 tsp vanilla for every 250 ml of whipping cream. I prefer to add matcha when it is in liquid form before wipping. As for melted chocolate – fold it in cooled once the cream is whipped.
What is matcha
Matcha is Japanese green tea powder
Hi Verna! I love your recipes and tips! Can I cover my cake with fondant if I use stabilised whipped cream as frosting?
No if you want to cover the cake in fondant please use buttercream or ganache or any firm icing. Fondant is too heavy for whipped cream
Is it whipped cream can stand in hot weather in phillippines like how many hours? Tnx. I admire your works a lot
No I don’t know about that. I have not tired it in hot weather. I have used it in summer but indoor only. A few hours <3
What does work best in hot weather?
Hot and humidity will always play it’s part on cold cream. So I highly recommend you keep it in the fridge a much as possible. You can use cornflour but gelatin might give you a little more shelflife.
Hi. You said we can use corn flour as a stabilizer; but on your picture it seems like you’re pouring corn syrup. Is that what you meant?
The post is showing you two method. The step by step pictures is showing you gelatin not corn syrup. The second method I mentioned is corn starch – there is not post for that. Please read the post again so you know which to refer to Thanks.
Hi veena i live in france. What is the name of whipped cream in france.thank you for your reply
Heavy cream (for whipped cream) I think it’s called… “Crème Fleurette” Please check. It should say creme’ about 35% to 38% and over lol
The Creme’ fraiche is not the same. It’s sour cream.. <3 Hope this helps. Sorry been a long time since I visited France. <3
Hi there Veena do you have any tips on how to stabilise cream cheese
Hello Veena , this is a very good tips .
Thanks
I am passionate about her work, you are a true artist. God bless you. Kisses.
I love baking and just wonder what kind of recipe you use for the whipping cream? Just natural cream, vanilla, and sugar? Great job on your blog!
I buy 38% cream from the super market and yes, just cream, vanilla and sugar
Thank u Veena. Could u please confirm the size of a cup which u have mentioned above as 1 cup of whipping cream.
A standard cup size is 250 ml.
U said 1 cup of whipping cream but what size is the cup?? TIA
Thank you so much for giving tips to stabilise the whipped cream
Thank you so much for giving tips to stabilise the whipped cream
Excellent works you do
Thank you. Something I've learnt today.
Thank you 🙂
Great now I can easily stabilize whipped cream. Thanks a lo
Thanks but can u also give tip to make perfect whipped cream at home plz plz plz
You need to make a book 🙂
Ty so much
thanx for the nice tutorials you always share
Thank you so much for your sharing. I love to try soon.
This is a great tip! Question, will it melt from hot weather though? Butter cream icing does that and it is pretty annoying.
I use whipped cream not stabilized and it doesn’t melt (at least not right away, only after it’s been laying outside the fridge long) and I live in a rather warm country. I haven’t made stabilized whipped cream yet (which I’m planning to real soon), but I’m guessing that it’d be all right!
Thank you so much. I just wanted to ask won't the cornflour change the taste of the whipped cream ??
I just used it and it did not alter the taste.. Although I did add vanilla flavoring.
Thank you so much. I just wanted to ask won't the cornflour change the taste of the whipped cream ??
hi … u had cornflour or pudding mix in powder form? tnxxx
thanks for letting me know how to stabilizing whipping cream.
Perfect recipes at the perfect time!!! My daughter has requested a minnie cake for her birthday and I am not a fan of fondant! So I decided I needed to find a way to make it with fresh cream! Thanks for letting me know the best way to stabalize the whipped cream!!! Would you still add the color at the end?
Hi veena… can u plz tell me if I can use gelatin in this way with non dairy whipping cream?? Also please tell me if decorating cakes with non dairy whipping cream is a common practice?
Hi veena, just want to ask if this will not melt easily? Coz im planning to use ur recipe for cupcake.. im here in muscat city oman.. the weather is hot this time… Thanks
Roditha
Thanks for the kind gesture Maria. That is so sweet of you. I know about 'whip it'. It's an excellent stabilizer. I use to use when in the US. I do not find it here however, and don't like any other similar products.
This post is especially for those like me who cannot get products like 'whip it'. Sometimes it's best to know the simplest and easiest
Hi Veena,
You could also add some milk powder in the similar way as the cornflour or pudding mix to stabilize the whipping cream. This will help give body and volume.
Yes you sure can William – Milk powder usually has starch added to it to prevent the mix the milk solids from clumping. So yeah if you want cream to be more milky you can add milk powder as well.