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Make the Best Cakes with Whipped Cream Frosting!

It’s better than buttercream frosting! Make whipped cream frosting now with a free stabilizer! Add it to cart and use the code “ZPOW at checkout,

Whipped cream is so good you could eat it out of the tub or can, but what if I told you that you could make your own whipped cream and never have to run into an empty can or tub and out to the store again. Better yet, you can make that luxurious whipped cream into frosting. Whipped cream frosting is absolutely scrumptious —better than butter or shortening-based buttercream frosting. And it’s easy to make fabulous whipped cream. I’ll tell you exactly how to do it.

The Key Ingredients to Whipped Cream Frosting

The main ingredient in a whipped cream frosting should always be heavy whipping cream. That’s how you make the whipped cream part. We like to use 40% fat heavy whipping cream just because we’ve found it gives the best taste.

If you’re turning your already-made whipped cream into a frosting, use that as your base and just fold in the stabilizer.

The second key ingredient is meringue powder. This is the stabilizer for the whipped cream and is what sets normal whipped cream apart from whipped cream frosting. The problem with making whipped cream frosting is getting it to hold up, to not melt before its time. Meringue powder makes frostings and whipped creams firmer so your whipped cream doesn’t melt and your frostings on your cookies or cakes don’t mar so easy.

Gelatin and meringue powder are the two most common stabilizers but cream cheese, butter, cocoa, and melted chocolate will help stabilize your frostings as well.

Get meringue powder here.

Disclaimer: While whipped cream frosting tastes much better than buttercream and the added meringue powder helps to stabilize it, whipped cream frosting isn’t quite as stable as buttercream frosting and will only look pretty for one to two days. It’s best used the same day.

How to Make Whipped Cream Frosting

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In researching this article, I found recipes without stabilizers. They were usually followed by “use immediately.” You want a frosting that will hold up overnight without melting.

We wanted a simple way to turn luscious whipped creams into luscious frostings. The following recipe does that; it’s a standard for most whipped creams. Just use whatever color and flavor you want and you’re ready to go with a luscious frosting that will remain stable overnight. It can also be piped.

Basic Whipped Cream Frosting Recipe

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream (heavy whipping cream will hold up better)
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons flavor
  • 1/3 cup meringue powder*
  • Food color

Place all ingredients in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, stopping to adjust the flavor or color as necessary.

Notice this is a simple recipe for whipped cream. Just add meringue powder.

*Many recipes call for only 3 Tbsp. meringue powder. Using 1/3 cup meringue powder makes for a firmer and more durable frosting.

How to Make Fabulous Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

cupcake varieties

Using the basic whipped cream frosting recipe as a base, you can make any cake fabulous with flavored whipped cream frostings. We use caramel whipped cream in place of vanilla whipped cream regularly, but you can do whichever flavor you please.

One of my favorite whipped creams is caramel nut whipped cream. Make it as above but add chopped snacking nuts. The salty against the sweet and the crunch against the smooth is fabulous.

Other luscious whipped cream frostings include:

Click on any of the links below to jump to the recipes.

Caramel Nut Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

We decided to pair this whipped cream frosting with a pumpkin nut cake. The result was a home run. We served it up in the store, and the customers were just dying to learn how to make it.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons caramel flavor
  • 1 cup or to taste salted snack nuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup meringue powder

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  2. Add the sugar, cream cheese, and flavor and continue whipping.
  3. Fold in the nuts.

Salted Peanut Butter Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup salted peanuts, chopped
  • 1/3 cup meringue powder

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream, sugar, and peanut butter together in your stand-type mixer with a whip attachment.
  2. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
  3. Fold in the peanuts.

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting (cocoa)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup rich dark cocoa
  • 1/3 cup meringue powder

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  2. Add the sugar and cocoa powder and continue whipping.

Butterscotch Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  2. Add the sugar and flavor and continue whipping.

Lemon Cloud Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

We paired this light whipped cream frosting with a sweet lemon cake.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon flavor
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup meringue powder

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  2. Add the sugar, flavor, and zest and continue whipping.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  2. Add the sugar and flavor and continue whipping.

Orange Cloud Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons orange flavor
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/3 cup meringue powder

Directions:

  1. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  2. Add the sugar, flavor, and zest and continue whipping.

Chubby Cherry Flavored Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Cream together the cream cheese and sugar.
  2. Add the meringue powder, one teaspoon of flavor, filing, and the cream. Whip the cream into soft peaks.
  3. Add more sugar or flavor to taste and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Fudge Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (2 cubes) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup Ramstadt Breda Medium Dark Cocoa or equal
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  1. Whip the butter in your stand-type mixer with a whip attachment. Add the cocoa and meringue powder and whip until smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, whipping cream, and corn syrup. Whip until fluffy.

Chunky Peanut Butter Fudge Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup Ramstadt Breda Medium Dark Cocoa or equal
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • ½ cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions:

  1. Whip the butter in your stand-type mixer with a whip attachment. Add the cocoa and meringue powder and whip until smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, whipping cream, and corn syrup. Whip until fluffy.

The Shopping List

  • Meringue Powder. We consider this an essential in every kitchen. Use it when you make whipped creams and frostings. For example, we use meringue powder in all our holiday cookies adding enough to make a firm frosting that doesn’t mar with handling.
  • Food Color Gels. These are nine times more concentrated than liquid flavors and come in 40 brighter colors. They are less expensive than liquid colors.
  • Flavors. These are commercial flavors. Find flavors you won’t see in grocery stores.

Recipes to Use with Your Whipped Cream Frosting

Chubby Cherry Whipped Cream Cake

This cake is as pictured above with the Chubby Cherry Whipped Cream Frosting. For this recipe, we made a simple vanilla bean cake in a 9×13 cake pan, cut it in half, and stacked the halves on top of each other with a layer of whipped cream frosting in between. When we served it in the store, the customers just had to have the recipe it was so good.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Mix the cake batter according to the package instructions.
  2. Spread the batter into a prepared 9×13 cake pan and bake at 325 degrees for 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  3. Cool the cake on a wire wrack. Once it’s cooled, trim the edges back about 1/4-1/2 inch and use a ruler to cut the cake in half, either long or short ways.
  4. Stack and assemble the cake with the whipped cream frosting between the layers and decorate.

(Updated from July 29, 2016)

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