Vanilla frosting is great but have you tried whipped cream cupcake frosting? Stabilized whipped cream frosting has vanilla in it so it may taste similar to vanilla frosting, but it’s slightly lighter despite it being thicker than regular whipped cream. If you haven’t made or eaten stabilized whipped cream before, you are in for a treat!
What’s in Homemade Cool Whip?
This stabilized whipped cream is thick, sweet, and delicious. The best part is that it’s super easy to make and goes with most desserts!
- Heavy Whipping Cream: The base of any whipped cream recipe. Make sure to use heavy whipping cream or whipping cream, not half-and-half!
- Powdered Sugar: Sweetens the whipped cream without making it gritty.
- Instant Pudding Mix: The dry pudding mix acts as a stabilizer for the whipping cream to help prevent it from weeping (melting). I chose vanilla to give this a classic flavor, but you could change it up by choosing chocolate, pistachio, butterscotch, cheesecake, or lemon.
- Vanilla Extract: Gives this whipped cream vanilla flavor.
Pro Tip: Adding more pudding mix will not stabilize the whipped cream more, and it will not taste good!
How to Stabilize Whipped Cream
This is only one of several methods for stabilizing whipped cream. You can also use other starches, such as cornstarch, powdered sugar, or milk powder, or you can use unflavored gelatin.
- Cornstarch: Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 4 tablespoons powdered sugar with the heavy cream and whip to firm peaks.
- Powdered Sugar: Mix 6 tablespoons powdered sugar with the heavy cream and whip to firm peaks.
- Milk Powder: Mix 6 tablespoons of cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar with the whipped cream and whip to firm peaks.
- Gelatin: Bloom 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin with 4 tablespoons of cold water, let stand for 2 minutes, then microwave for 10 seconds. Whip the heavy cream for 30 seconds, then add 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Once the cream has reached medium peaks, add 1-2 tablespoons of the whipped cream to the gelatin, stir, then pour all of the gelatin into the whipped cream. Whip until it reaches firm peaks.
Stabilized whipped cream is whipped cream with additional ingredients added that help it hold its shape (in this case, instant pudding mix). Stabilized whipped cream is essentially the same as Cool Whip!
You could, but it’s not recommended. The vanilla pudding mix stabilizes the whipped cream, making it thicker and helping it to hold its shape. Without the vanilla pudding mix, it wouldn’t be suitable as a cupcake frosting as it would melt (weep) too easily.
Stabilized whipped cream, like regular whipped cream, needs to be extremely cold in order to whip to stiff peaks. Be sure to adequately chill the bowl and beaters, and use heavy cream straight from the refrigerator. Do not bring the heavy cream to room temperature! If you find it is not whipping after several minutes, place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes, then try again.
Stabilized whipped cream will last for up to 4 days if stored properly in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can! However, I do not recommend covering a whipped cream frosted cake with fondant, as the stabilized whipped cream will not support the weight of the fondant.
This recipe makes enough whipped cream to frost 24 cupcakes.
How to Make Ahead and Store
Unlike traditional whipped cream, stabilized whipped cream can be made ahead. Store stabilized whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before using.
Store leftover stabilized whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How to Freeze
I do not recommend freezing stabilized whipped cream on its own, as it can become difficult to spread/pipe once frozen. However, stabilized whipped cream can be frozen after it has been piped/spread onto a dessert, and it will keep well for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
This stabilized whipped cream is a great alternative to regular whipped cream or Cool Whip for many desserts, including Banana Cream Pie, Angel Food Cake, Apple Crisp, Better Than Sex Dessert, Key Lime Pie, Sponge Cake, Chocolate Lasagna, or Buttermilk Pie. You can also use it to frost chocolate cupcakes like I did in these pictures!
Stabilized Whipped Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream 454 grams (35% fat)
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar 35 grams
- 1 tablespoon dry vanilla instant pudding mix 10 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
- Place a large mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Place all ingredients into the chilled bowl and beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 3 to 4 minutes.2 cups heavy whipping cream, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon dry vanilla instant pudding mix, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Notes
- For every 1 cup of heavy cream, you can expect to get 2 cups of whipped cream!
- Make sure both the mixing bowl and the beaters are extremely cold!
- If you live in a hot/humid climate, you may wish to place a bowl of ice water under the bowl of whipping cream to help keep it cold.
- While you can use a stand mixer, I recommend using a hand mixer for the most control.
- If your whipped cream is not coming to stiff peaks, chill it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then try again.
- Adding more pudding mix will NOT stabilize the whipped cream more, and it will NOT taste good!
- Overwhipping the cream will lead to separation of the cream into buttermilk and butter.
- You can add this whipped cream to a piping bag and pipe it on your favorite desserts!
- Do not leave stabilized whipped cream out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Print button opens the same recipe in a new tab. Won’t let me print.
Great stuff. I make mini cheesecakes and use this as topping…it’s wonderful.
I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe!
The print option doesn’t work. Prob a good recipe but my computer isn’t in my kitchen
Hi Karen, I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble! The print icon should open up the recipe in a new tab, then you’ll need to select print again up at the top. If it’s still not working, I recommend trying a different browser, as it appears to be working on my end!