Stabilized Whipped Cream is easy to throw together with just three ingredients. This recipe is perfect for topping cakes, piping, or using as a replacement for Cool Whip!
When I first started blogging, I made a ton of recipes using Cool Whip. It was such a fast and easy way to make desserts.
Over time my cooking style has evolved into a more from scratch approach, and my audience has grown to include people overseas. It seemed like a great time to provide a Cool Whip alternative.
This Stabilized Whipped cream is only three ingredients. It makes the exact same amount as an 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip. It will hold up to piping, keeping its shape for literally hours, and it is easy to double the recipe!
How to Stabilize Whipped Cream
- Freeze the bowl and the whisk. It is essential for this recipe to use a metal bowl and a metal whisk. Put them in your freezer for at least 15 minutes, but I prefer a half hour or more.
- Sift the powdered sugar with the gelatin. While you are waiting for the bowl to get cold, sift the powdered sugar and gelatin together twice using a metal sieve.
- Add the cold heavy cream and the powdered sugar mixture to the metal bowl.
- Whip it. Whip it good. With the mixer on medium high, whip the mixture until stiff peaks form.
Update
When this recipe was first published, I instructed to dissolve the gelatin into the whipped cream before combining it with the powdered sugar in the cold metal bowl. This was a method that worked really well for me, but was something readers struggled with. Some waited for the gelatin to bloom because that is necessary in some recipes that call for gelatin, though that isn’t necessary here. Other readers found that the gelatin clumped and as a result they didn’t get a truly stabilized whipped cream.
I have since changed the method. I suggest sifting the gelatin with the powdered sugar. This helps the gelatin distribute well in the final whipped cream. You will get the benefits of it stabilizing without any lumps or clumps.
Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting
This whipped cream works great as a frosting. As mentioned above, it will stay pipped in a perfect swirl for hours on end. To test this, I pipped a bit onto a plate and let it sit at room temperature. It held it’s form perfectly for 24 hours when I decided to toss it.
It will also make a great frosting just spread across a cake. Try it with our Caramel Apple Poke Cake or as a replacement to Cool Whip in our Mandarin Orange Cake.
Using in Pies
I have two great pie recipes that call for Cool Whip, and stabilized whipped cream with gelatin will work great as a replacement for it. I think it actually works better than Cool Whip in my Baileys Chocolate Pie. It is also perfect for my Shamrock Shake Pie.
FAQ
There are several sugar free “powdered sugars” on the market right now. Some recommendations would be Swerve, Monkfruit, and Stevia.
This recipe will last three days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it and it will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Yes! Freeze this in an air tight container. Keep it frozen for up to three months. When you are ready to use it, remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
No. As mentioned above, I left this pipped at room temperature for 24 hours and it continued to hold it’s shape.
While this is not made with the same ingredients as Cool Whip, it will behave like Cool Whip in recipes. As a bonus, it tastes better than Cool Whip.
While it is up for debate if the current version of Cool Whip is truly dairy free, it is easy enough to make this version dairy free by using a soy based heavy whipping cream.
Other Uses for Stabilized Whipped Cream
Besides the recipes we have mentioned above, there are some great uses for this recipe. Use it as a replacement for Cool Whip in the following recipes:
If you make this stabilized whipped cream recipe or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar sifted twice
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream cold
Instructions
- Freeze a metal bowl and the metal attachment for a your hand held mixer (or your stand mixer and metal stand bowl) for at least 15 minutes.
- While you are waiting for the bowl to get cold, use a metal sieve to sift the powdered sugar and the gelatin together twice.1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin, 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- Add the cold heavy whipping cream to the cold bowl with the powdered sugar mixture.1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Whip on high until stiff peaks appear. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe will hold up as frosting on a cake, and will stay stiff when pipped for hours.
Emily says
I am making a layered number cake out of very thin shortbread layers and want to know if this frosting will hold up when I place the second shortbread layer on top of the first. I plan on piping large blobs before layering. I just don’t want it to completely smash it.
Hi Emily! I’m a bit late in answering this because I was traveling. Truthfully, I haven’t tried doing a layer cake with this yet. That said, it is very stable. So I think it would hold up the same way any other frosting would.
María “Teresa” Legler says
Hi,
You had mentioned a plant based whipping cream for those with lactose intolerance. Haven’t located locally. Any suggestions? Doubt it can be shipped.
Silk makes a heavy whipping cream, so that would be what I would use: https://silk.com/plant-based-products/creamer/dairy-free-heavy-whipping-cream-alternative/
Vickie says
Your recipe has a flaw. Gelatin will not dissolve in heavy whipping cream. You have to dissolve it in water and let it bloom because if you don’t all your gelatin will do is clump in the whipping cream and it’s useless. Is It possible you forgot to add that into your recipe?
We will have to agree to disagree on this one. I’ve made it, and others have made it following these steps and it worked great.
Louise says
I doubled the recipe since I planned to put the whipped cream in the middle and on top of an angel food cake. I layered a good amount of sliced strawberries in the middle and more on top. This held up perfectly!
I’m so glad to hear it, Louise!
Rina says
Orange cake
20 ounce pineapple
A small can?
I’m not sure what you are asking here. If you are asking for the size of the can of pineapple, it is best to grab the can that says 20 ounces on it.
Jan McArthur says
Would it be possible to use a teaspoon of flavoured jello instead of unflavoured gelatin? I understand it will add flavour, but hey, that could be a good thing.
I would want to test it. I think there are other things happening in Jell-O so it isn’t a one to one replacement.
Michelle says
What gelatin brand do you use that doesn’t get clumpy? I’m having the same issue as other comments where it did not dissolve. And I used the most popular gelatin brand. Had to throw the whole thing out and go to the store for more heavy cream.
I’m so sorry that happened! I use Knox.
Celestine says
Will this recipe work with granulated sugar? When I use powder sugar the whipped cream tastes like metal
Thank you
I’ve never made this with granulated sugar. My concern would be that it would make it gravy.
Kathie Jones says
Making tomorrow! The whipped cream that is But sounds like a good idea. I use a small amt, .5t, of Mexican vanilla but thats just me. The cake is baking but sounds like the recipe I lost somewhere in the house😁. I did use some applesauce with the oil. Glad to have found this.
Thank you,
Kathie
Terry says
Not sure what I did wrong but the gelatin turned into gummy type little strands in the whipped cream. I can fish them out but will the whipped cream last?
You need the gelatin to ensure that it is stabilized. So if you take them out you will have great whipped cream but it won’t hold a shape or stay fluffy.