Simple instructions showing how to make whipped cream! 3 methods for Stabilized Whipped Cream & 4 different recipes for the BEST Homemade Whipped Cream.
Whipped Cream is a staple around our house during the holidays and everyone goes crazy when I make several homemade versions! Honestly, they’re easy to make and they taste SO much better than anything you can buy at the store.
I answer many common questions about making homemade whipped cream below, but if you’d prefer, you can just directly to the PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD, which includes all whipped cream recipes and stabilization variations. Or you can jump directly to whichever part you’d like to below:
— See the Classic Whipped Cream Recipe
— See how to make Stabilized Whipped Cream with Cream Cheese
— See how to make Stabilized Whipped Cream with Unflavored Gelatin
— See how to make Stabilized Whipped Cream with Dry Pudding Mix
— See the Almond/Amaretto Whipped Cream Recipe
— See the Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
— See the Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
— See the Chocolate Whipped Cream Recipe
What do you need to make whipped cream?
It’s very easy to make whipped cream. You’ll need 4 items:
- heavy cream (fat content at least 36%, preferably 40%)
- a stand mixer and hand mixer
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract- My favorite brand is Totonac’s Pure Mexican Vanilla Extract
How do you make whipped cream?
Pour the heavy cream into the stand mixer. Use the whisk attachment and whisk on medium high – high speed for 3-5 minutes, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix for another minute. That’s it! You’ve now got thick and sweet fresh whipped cream to use on pies, ice cream, hot chocolate, etc.
Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream?
When purchasing cream to make whipped cream, I prefer to buy heavy cream. It has a higher fat content and yields a creamier, more stable whipped cream. Stability in cream is important because it means you can pipe it on to desserts and it will maintain the lovely shape better. Have you ever piped canned whipped cream onto a dessert then noticed a few minutes later it begins to flatten? Heavy cream doesn’t do that nearly as much, especially if you stabilize it.
What type of heavy cream should I use for whipped cream?
All heavy creams are not created equally! Heavy cream is required to have at least a 36% fat content, but the brands on the shelf at the grocery store vary between 36-40%. (In contrast, whipping cream has only 30-35% fat.) So check the label and make sure you purchase the highest fat % of heavy cream you have available.
What is Stabilized Whipped Cream?
Stabilized whipped cream is whipped cream with a variety of ingredients added to make the cream thicker, more stable and has the ability to pipe lovely whipped cream for at least 24 hours after mixing. Generally, homemade whipped cream will break down and collapse after a few minutes or hours. This doesn’t happen if you stabilize it! Plus, it’s super easy.
I heard that if you make whipped cream with 40% milk fat heavy cream, then you don’t need to stabilize it, but I found that untrue. Yes, it’s a tad thicker, but it still breaks down with time, whereas stabilized whipped cream holds up so much longer.
How to Stabilize Whipped Cream
A quick google search will inform you there are a ton of different ways to stabilize whipped cream. I’ve gathered my favorites that not only yields amazing results, but also use more common ingredients.
Pro Tip: To make whipped cream faster, chill your mixer bowl and electric whisk attachments in the freezer for 30 minutes beforehand. The whipped cream whips up faster!
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Stabilizing Whipped Cream with Cream Cheese
This is my favorite way to stabilize whipped cream because it’s so simple & tastes lovely. All you do is whip the cream as directed, then once it’s thick and creamy, you’ll add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 1 oz softened cream cheese per cup of heavy cream. Whipped an additional 2 minutes and that’s it!
Stabilizing Whipped Cream with Unflavored Gelatin
Stabilizing whipped cream with gelatin requires a few more steps, but it’s simple to do and yields great results. Here’s what you need to do:
Combine 1 TBSP water and 1 tsp unflavored gelatin in a small bowl. Stir lightly, then let sit 5 minutes. The gelatin will absorb the water and it will be more solid than liquid. Microwave for 7 seconds, stir and then slowly pour into the whipped cream while it’s being mixed. Mix an additional 2 minutes, then it’s done!
Stabilizing Whipped Cream with Vanilla Pudding Mix
Stabilizing whipped cream with pudding mix is very simple! All you do is mix the heavy cream until thick, then add 1 TBSP dry pudding mix per cup of heavy cream. Mix an additional 3 minutes and taste, then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract as you’d like. The pudding mix already contains some sugar and vanilla, but I always add more.
Whipped Cream Variations
I love tweaking the classic whipped cream recipe in a variety of ways. It’s common for me to make a batch, then divide the unsweetened whipped cream into 3 bowls and make variations to serve for dessert. Here is the classic recipe, then my favorite whipped cream variation recipes.
Classic Whipped Cream
- 1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high – high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix for another minute. Serve with dessert!
Almond / Amaretto Whipped Cream
- 1 pint whipping cream (2 cups)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract or Amaretto
Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high – high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
Add the powdered sugar and almond extract (or Amaretto liqueur), then mix for another minute. Serve as desired.
Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
- 1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high – high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste, then mix for another minute. Serve with dessert!
**You can scrape the inside of 1-2 fresh vanilla beans and use it in place of the vanilla bean paste!
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Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine the heavy whipping cream, brown sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat on high 3-5 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
Whipped cream is best when served immediately or stabilized if you plan to serve it 24-48 hours later.
Chocolate Whipped Cream
- 1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
- 2 oz softened cream cheese
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted & cooled 10 minutes
Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high – high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix for another 2 minute.
Slowly add the melted chocolate, while the mixer is still beating the cream. The chocolate was too thick/ cooled to drizzle in, so I added it in spoonfuls, allowing it to be incorporated before adding more. Repeat until all the melted chocolate is added. Serve with dessert.
How to Make Whipped Cream: 5 Incredible Whipped Cream Recipes + How to Stabilize Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Classic Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream 2 cups
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Almond/ Amaretto Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract or Amaretto
Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Brown Sugar Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted & cooled for 10 mins
Stabilized Whipped Cream with Cream Cheese
- 1 oz cream cheese softened
Stabilized Whipped Cream with Unflavored Gelatin
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
Stabilized Whipped Cream with Dry Pudding Mix
- 2 TBSP dry vanilla pudding mix
Instructions
Directions for Classic Whipped Cream
- Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high - high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix for another minute. Serve with dessert!
Directions for Almond/ Amaretto Whipped Cream
- Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high - high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
- Add the powdered sugar and almond extract (or Amaretto liqueur), then mix for another minute. Serve as desired.
Directions for Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
- Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high - high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste, then mix for another minute. Serve with dessert!
- **You can scrape the inside of 1-2 fresh vanilla beans and use it in place of the vanilla bean paste!
Directions for Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
- Combine the heavy whipping cream, brown sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat on high 3-5 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
- Whipped cream is best when served immediately or stabilized if you plan to serve it 24-48 hours later.
Directions for Chocolate Whipped Cream
- Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer for 3-4 minutes at medium high - high speed, until mixture thickens. When you pull the whisk up, the cream should form peaks that maintain their shape.
- Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix for another 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the melted chocolate, while the mixer is still beating the cream. The chocolate was too thick/ cooled to drizzle in, so I added it in spoonfuls, allowing it to be incorporated before adding more. Repeat until all the melted chocolate is added. Serve with dessert.
Stabilizing Whipped Cream with Cream Cheese
- This is my favorite way to stabilize whipped cream because it's so simple & tastes lovely. All you do is whip the cream as directed, then once it's thick and creamy, you'll add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 1 oz softened cream cheese per cup of heavy cream. Whip an additional 2 minutes and that's it!
Stabilizing Whipped Cream with Unflavored Gelatin
- Combine 1 TBSP water and 1 tsp unflavored gelatin in a small bowl. Stir lightly, then let sit 5 minutes. The gelatin will absorb the water and it will be more solid than liquid. Microwave for 7 seconds, stir and then slowly pour into the already whipped cream while the mixer is still mixing. Mix an additional 2 minutes, then it's done!
Stabilizing Whipped Cream with Dry Pudding Mix
- Stabilizing whipped cream with pudding mix is very simple! All you do is mix the heavy cream until thick, then add 1 TBSP dry pudding mix per cup of heavy cream. Mix an additional 3 minutes and taste, then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract as you'd like. The pudding mix already contains some sugar and vanilla, but I always add more.
Notes
Nutrition
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Simple instructions showing how to make whipped cream! 3 methods for Stabilized Whipped Cream & 4 different recipes for the BEST Homemade Whipped Cream.
Susi says
I love whipped cream and I can’t believe how easy this was, I made the one with the pudding, it was delicious!! And it frosted just as easy as buttercream. I am going to make another batch in the morning to pipe some designs on it. Thank you for these options, I will have fun in the future making different flavors.
Jill says
So easy and delicious. Hopefully I have enough for the cake I keep on eating it.
Jessa Latifa says
Using a hand blender with whipping blades, it takes a bit longer time. I have done it just now. Thanks for sharing awesome information. You deserve 5 Stars.
jv CARRINGTON says
FABLIOIUS lode your passion with food thank you. promoting stabilized whip cream you deserve round of applause.