This simple Stabilized Whipped Cream recipe will hold its shape for days without using gelatin, meringue powder, or artificial ingredients.
Best Ever Whipped Cream Recipe
Have you ever tried to make a dessert using whipped cream that lost its shape in no time flat?
You are not alone, but I’m here to help you make perfect whipped cream that will hold its shape and stay looking beautiful for days. The secret ingredient is skimmed milk powder (nonfat powdered milk or Nonfat Instant Dry Milk).
Why This Recipe Works
- The all-natural ingredients give a fresh, creamy taste that is simply delicious.
- The powdered milk and confectionery sugar help thicken the cream and stabilize it, so it’s easy to work with and holds its shape for days.
What Is Whipped Cream Made Of?
It’s simply made of heavy whipping cream but varies from recipe to recipe. This recipe is powdered sugar, vanilla, and skimmed milk powder.
All Natural Stabilized Whipped Cream
I’ve seen a lot of whipped cream recipes that use gelatin, nondairy creamers, and commercial cream stabilizers. But I find the best way to make whipped cream that tastes natural and keeps its creamy texture without falling flat is ordinary powdered skimmed milk. It’s made from milk, so it’s natural in flavor but stabilizes the cream to hold its shape for days (scroll down for the complete recipe).
Does Cream of Tartar Stabilize Whipped Cream?
I get a lot of questions asking if Cream of Tartar helps with stabilizing whipped cream. The answer is yes; it does help, so if the cream you are working with doesn’t thicken as you’ve hoped, try adding a 1/2 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the recipe.
Please Note: Cream of Tartar will add a slightly sour taste to the cream.
Equipment Needed
This recipe can be made using a food processor or a mixer (although an excellent old-fashioned whisk works just as well). My step-by-step photos use a food processor, but the video shows a mixer to show you both ways it can be done.
How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Add the cream to a medium-sized mixing bowl or food processor, then add the powdered sugar (to taste), skimmed milk powder, and vanilla to the cream.
- Whip the cream until it thickens and holds its shape without falling back into the gap.
Step By Step Instructions
To make the whipped cream, start by adding the skimmed milk powder, vanilla, powdered sugar, and whipping cream to the bowl.
Use cold cream as chilled cream works best and whips up quickly.
Whip until thick. You’ll start to see ripples as it thickens in both a food processor and a mixer.
Be Careful Not To Over Whip – Whipped cream can quickly go from cream to butter if over whipped.
You’ll know it’s ready when you run a spoon through it, and the cream holds its shape without any cream falling into the gap.
When removing the blade, you should be able to tip it slightly over the bowl with no whipped cream falling off the edge.
What To Do If You’ve Over-whipped Your Cream
As soon as you realize you’ve overwhipped, stop whipping. Try not to panic – All may not be lost. Add a few tablespoons of fresh cream and mix it in using a wire whisk. It should take just a few turns of the whisk. If it looks grainy or resembles more butter than cream, you may have to start again.
Please note that this technique won’t work if your cream has started to separate into small lumps of butter. If that has happened, then you might as well continue to beat and see how easy it is to make butter!
Erren’s Top Tips
- Don’t leave in a hot environment for too long. The cream will soften too much or melt.
- To color your whipped cream, use gel or paste food coloring and add it before you start whipping. Adding it later may cause it to lose its structure.
- Stored in an airtight container, this whipped cream stores well in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days, but be sure to check the date on your cream before starting.
- Make Chocolate Whipped Cream by adding 2-3 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and nonfat milk powder.
On Powdered Milk
Powdered skimmed milk can be found in most supermarkets, but you can also buy it here on Amazon (#paidlink).
Using Full Fat Powdered Milk – I recommend using nonfat powdered milk. I haven’t used full fat myself, but I’ve been given mixed reviews on using it.
FAQs
Powdered or confectioners sugar dissolves faster in the cream. Using white sugar rather than powdered sugar will cause the whipped cream to not thicken as easily (if at all). It can take much longer to get it to the point where it’s stabilized which could be very close to forming butter if you’re not careful.
Essentially, yes. To whip cream, it must contain at least 36% or more milk fat so whether the label says whipping cream or heavy cream, they’ll both work.
Whipping Cream Around The World 🌎
- In the US: I recommend using heavy whipping cream for this recipe, but whipping cream works as well
- In the UK: Both Whipping cream and double cream whip up really well.
- In France: See this article for some great information.
- In Australia: I recommend using double cream for this recipe.
Using ultra-pasteurized heavy cream – Ultra-pasteurized heavy cream is harder to whip, but it can be achieved. Be sure it is really cold and try using chilled bowls and tools. It should whip fine, but it may take a few more minutes than regular pasteurized cream.
Did you make this?
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Let’s Make How To Make Stabilized Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream also known as double cream chilled
- 6 to 8 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons skimmed milk powder (aka nonfat powdered milk or Nonfat Instant Dry Milk – on Amazon)see the link in the post above
Instructions
- Add the cream to a medium-sized mixing bowl or food processor then add the powdered sugar (to taste), skimmed milk powder, and vanilla to the cream.
- Using a food processor or mixer, whip the cream until it thickens (this doesn’t take long at all, so check often).
- When you run a spoon through it, and it holds its shape without falling back into the gap, it’s ready to use.
- This recipe yeilds about 2 cups.
Tips + Notes
- Use Cold Cream. Chilled cream whips up the quickest.
- Be careful not to overwhip – the mixture can quickly go from cream to butter if over whipped. See the post and video for examples of what it looks like when it’s whipped enough.
- Powdered skimmed milk Can be found in most supermarkets, but you can buy also buy it here on Amazon (#paidlink)
- To add color, use gel or paste food coloring and add it before you start whipping, and adding it later may cause it to lose its structure.
- Don’t leave in a hot environment for too long. The cream will soften too much or melt.
- Stored in an airtight container, this recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days, but be sure to check the date on your cream before starting.
Nutrition Information:
Just a Few Ways I’ve Used This Recipe
This is one of my most popular recipes here on Erren’s Kitchen. To date, it’s been shared over 200k times. I have used it for dessert fillings and toppings as well as frosting for countless recipes.
Update Notes: This post was originally published on Oct 12, 2015, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, tips, FAQs and a video in July of 2018.
Susy says
I’m looking to make this but I would prefer to have my cream unsweetened. Is the powdered sugar necessary for stabilisation or will it still work without?
Erren Hart says
Hi Susy, Sorry for the late reply. I’ve had a bereavement I had to take some time off for. To answer your question, no it is not necessary to have the sugar.
Meghan Hansen says
Hey, love the recipe but I’m confused as I saved this recipe awhile ago and recently came back to check how much it made. I noticed the quantities of the ingredients changed, why? My recipe had 1.25 cups vs 2 cups of heavy cream and 1 Tbsp of milk powder vs 2 Tbsp.
Also, it says it yields 2 cups of whipping cream which I’m thinking this didn’t get updated? If you start with 2 cups of heavy cream you should yield more than that. Please clarify why the changes, I made it with my recipe and it came out good?
Erren Hart says
I apologize for any confusion caused by the changes in the recipe. We occasionally update our recipes to improve them based on feedback from our readers and our own testing. In this case, we found that increasing the amounts of heavy cream and milk powder resulted in a more stable whipped cream that held up better over time. As for the yield, 2 cups is a rough estimate and can vary based on factors such as the temperature of the cream and the speed at which it is whipped. I’m glad to hear that your version turned out well, and I hope you continue to enjoy making stabilized whipped cream!
Ida Soekoe says
Just a tip about confectioners sugar or caster sugar. I you run out, just blitz some regular granulated sugar in your liquidizer for a bit. And you have tge right sugar at a much lower price.
Erren Hart says
Great tip, Ida! Thanks for sharing!
Sam says
I followed the recipe, as written, and it turned out nicely. I placed it in the fridge overnight in an airtight bowl to pipe on my French silk pie the next morning. Unfortunately, it has lost its shape. Luckily, I had gelatin on hand. After adding 4tsp gelatin bloomed in 8 tsp water, it was fixed, kept it’s shape even with a long car ride and hours before eating, and tasted great.
I won’t be trying this again. Not sure if I goofed something, but I need to be confident in the stability of my whipped cream.
Erren Hart says
Hi Sam, I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you. Are you sure you whipped it up enough to look like my photos? If whipped enough, it should remain stabilized.
Pauly says
can i use a full fat milk power instead of skim milk powder?
Erren Hart says
Hi Pauly, I’ve honestly never tried it. The pastry chef who taught me this method said to use nonfat milk powder. I was very young at the time and never thought to ask why. If you use full fat, I can’t guarantee the result will be the same.
LeelaLin says
This worked great and was delicious. Used heavy whipping cream with chilled bowl and beaters. Also, used powder vanilla and non-fat instant milk powder.
Erren Hart says
Thank you for trying our stabilized whipped cream, LeelaLin. We’re so glad to hear that it worked great and that you enjoyed the flavor. Thank you again for trying our recipe and for your kind words!
Frances Flink says
Hi, Can i whip this at home and rewhip quickly a couple of hours later if it’s softened a bit or will it stay good enough to pipe?
thank you
Erren Hart says
Hi, there shouldn’t be a reason to re-whip the cream once it’s whipped and stabilized. That said, yes, you can if need be.
Becky says
This was a great recipe and the whipped cream tasted wonderful. And the best thing is that it held up perfectly. Thanks so much Erren
Erren Hart says
I’m so happy to hear it, Becky! You are very welcome!
Amanda says
I know this recipe is 4 years old but with the holidays I wanted to try something else, this recipe worked up super quick and easy and tasted amazing for my husband’s loved holiday dessert. It held up great as a cake topping. plus was great on hot chocolate and coffee. Thanks for continuing to share even 4 years later!
Erren Hart says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Amanda, and for taking the time to write this review! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe so much and that it helps to make your holiday celebrations a success.
Shea says
I love that I don’t have to mess with gelatin. I used my food processor and had whipped cream in a minute. I will never go back!! Oh, and it tastes delicious!!
Erren Hart says
Yay! Love hearing this! So glad you’re a convert! 🙂