Whipped Cream Frosting

Light and airy with just the right amount of sweetness, whipped cream frosting is a game changer! This stabilized whipped cream can be spread or piped for a delicate frosting that pairs well with any flavor of cake.

I love making frosting. It’s so much easier to make than people think and both the flavor and texture are way better than the stuff you get out of a can at the store.

People go bananas over my homemade buttercream frosting and it’s easy to see why. It’s just that good! 

But sometimes you need a frosting that’s a little bit lighter than buttercream, whether it’s because you are spreading it onto a delicate cake or you just want something less sweet.

That’s where whipped cream frosting comes in. This stabilized whipped cream can be piped or spread onto cakes to become the perfect lightly sweet frosting of your dreams.

WHAT IS STABILIZED WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING?

If you’ve ever made homemade whipped cream, you know that it is absolutely delicious, but not the most stable stuff. 

After a few hours, it starts to lose its volume and can get a bit weepy. So I always wait to whip it up until just before I’m ready to serve it.

But what if you want to use it for frosting a cake or use it in place of Cool Whip?

Well, then you need to stabilize it. Adding a stabilizer to your whipped cream does exactly what the name implies: It helps keep it stable so it doesn’t lose its volume and so it will hold its shape better.

This means you can pipe or spread it onto cakes or cupcakes and it will still look pretty (and taste great) a day or two later. It also means you can use it as a substitute for Cool Whip in recipes like my peanut butter pretzel dessert. 

What stabilizers can you use?

The two most common stabilizers for whipped cream are cream cheese and unflavored gelatin.

As much as I love cream cheese in a lot of applications, I do not like using it to make stabilized whipped cream.

Why? Because cream cheese has a very distinct flavor, and I want my whipped cream frosting to taste like whipped cream – not like cream cheese.

I prefer to use unflavored gelatin for making whipped cream frosting. It’s totally flavorless and it doesn’t affect the texture of the whipped cream at all. You’d never even know it was there! 

HOW TO MAKE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never used unflavored gelatin before. I’ll walk you through each step.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need 5 ingredients to make this stabilized whipped cream frosting:

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons water
• 2 teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

You will find unflavored gelatin in the baking aisle next to the Jell-O and pudding mixes. Knox is one of the best-known brands. For this recipe, make sure you use powdered gelatin as opposed to the gelatin sheets. 

Making this recipe

Before you get started, put the beaters of your hand mixer or the whisk attachment of your stand mixer in the freezer for at least 10 minutes. If you’re using a metal bowl, make sure it is very cold as well.

Keeping everything as nice and cold as possible will help the cream whip nicely.

Once everything is cold, prep your gelatin. Place the water in a small, microwave-safe bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let the gelatin soak up the water (aka “bloom”) for 2-3 minutes.

Microwave the gelatin in 5- to 10-second intervals until it is fully melted. This should take less than 30 seconds. The gelatin may smell kind of odd when it melts – don’t worry, it won’t affect the flavor of the frosting!

Let the gelatin cool while you work on the whipped cream.

Add the cold cream to your cold bowl, along with the powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Whip on high speed with your cold beaters until soft peaks form.

Keeping the mixer running, slowly stream the melted gelatin into the cream. Keep whipping on high speed until stiff peaks form – this won’t take very long to achieve. 

Now you can use your stabilized whipped cream however you like! 

USES

This recipe makes a beautiful, airy whipped cream frosting that pairs well with just about any cake. 

After all, who wouldn’t love a beautiful chocolate cupcake made with doctored cake mix and topped with whipped cream frosting? Or imagine it on top of strawberry shortcake cupcakes!

Because the frosting is so light, I think it pairs really well with angel food cake (or pineapple angel food cake) and strawberry shortcake. It’s also great for topping banana pudding poke cake or coconut cream bars.

I know some folks don’t care for Cool Whip, so you can also try it as a substitute for whipped topping. Try it in recipes such as s’mores pie or lemon icebox cake. 

FAQS

Can you make whipped cream frosting ahead of time?

Unlike recipes like strawberry frosting or cream cheese frosting which can be made in advance, stored, and then spread onto cakes, this stabilized whipped cream frosting needs to be made just before you use it.

The gelatin that stabilizes the cream will set up after a while, which can make the frosting harder to pipe or spread if you make it ahead of time.

So I recommend whipping up this frosting just before you plan to use it! 

How long can you store whipped cream frosting?

Once you have used the frosting to decorate your cake or cupcakes or used it in place of Cool Whip, you can store those items in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. 

Can you pipe this frosting onto cakes and cupcakes?

Yes! Whipped cream frosting holds its shape well, so it is perfect for piping onto cakes or cupcakes. As you can see in the photos, it looks quite pretty after being piped into swirls and would be great for rosettes, too. 

Can you add flavorings or food coloring?

Any flavor of whipped cream you like can be turned into whipped cream frosting if you use unflavored gelatin to stabilize it as in this recipe.

That means you can swap out the vanilla for other flavor extracts, such as peppermint extract. You can add citrus zest, espresso powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon…the options are endless!

And you can definitely use food coloring to color the frosting. To make sure you don’t over-whip the cream, add the food coloring when you add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Start with a drop or two and add more as needed.