Whipped Cream Frosting
Need a fluffy, light frosting that holds its shape well? Look no further than this whipped cream frosting recipe! Made with just 3 simple ingredients. It’s more stable than regular whipped cream and is perfect for any make-ahead dessert!
I’m so happy to share this whipped cream frosting with you today, finally! It’s a component of many other recipes on this site, including my Tiramisu Cake, Black Forest Cake, and Banana Pudding Cake. But it’s never had its dedicated recipe post. Until now!
It’s about time!
I love this recipe, and I make it often. It works as a frosting or filling, as well as a topping.
You can pipe on cupcakes, spread it on layer cakes, or dollop it over all desserts.
It would be perfect with angel food cake or pound cake (I’ve got a lemon pound cake, chocolate pound cake, and marble pound cake recipe that you’d love), along with a handful of fresh berries.
And it’s a little more stable than regular whipped cream so you can make it up to 48 hours ahead, and it will keep its shape without deflating or weeping.
Why you’ll love this whipped cream frosting
- Easy to Make
- Simple Steps
- Only 3 Ingredients
- Versatile Recipe for Many Desserts
- Light and Creamy
- Pipes Well
What is in this whipped cream frosting recipe?
So what’s the secret to this magical whipped cream? There are a few key ingredients that make this frosting special.
If you love easy recipes, this frosting will become one of your favorites! There are only 3 simple ingredients in this frosting whipped cream recipe, but each one serves a specific purpose.
Cream Cheese: The cream cheese keeps this whipped cream extra thick and firm. The tanginess of the cream cheese is very subtle and not overpowering. It complements Red Velvet Cake or Carrot Cake perfectly.
Be sure to use full-fat cream cheese in a brick. The type in a tub is not meant for baking. It’s intended for spreading on bagels, so it’s soft, and your frosting won’t come out right if you use that. You need the high-fat content, dense cream cheese that’s sold in 8-ounce bricks for this frosting.
Mascarpone will be a great substitute if you don’t want to use cream cheese. It’s a super-creamy soft Italian cheese that has a milder, more buttery flavor than American cream cheese.
Powdered Sugar: This will serve to sweeten the topping, but powdered sugar also has a bit of cornstarch that will help stabilize the whipped cream.
Heavy Whipping Cream: If you are outside the U.S., you might know this as “double cream.” It’s very thick and rich. If you use light cream, table cream, or half and half, it will not whip up right, and you will have a runny mess on your hands. Look for “heavy” cream, “whipping cream,” or “double” cream.
How to Make Whipped Cream Frosting
Start by mixing the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Just blend them until they are smooth and combined.
It’s totally fine if the cream cheese is cold. Many dessert recipes specify that the cream cheese should be softened, but you can use it straight from the fridge for this topping.
This step can be done with the paddle attachment OR the whip attachment.
Next, you want to use a silicone spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. This will help prevent lumps in your whipped cream frosting.
Get your heavy whipping cream into a spouted container, such as a liquid measuring cup. Make sure it’s nice and cold! Cream whips up best when it’s cold. For best results, refrigerate your mixing bowl and whisk attachment too. The colder the better!
Place the whip attachment on your mixer (if you’re not already using it), and drizzle in the cold cream in a slow, steady stream while the mixer runs at medium-high speed. Every so often, turn the mixer off and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl again so that any lumps of cream cheese that may be clinging get incorporated before too much liquid goes in.
Once all the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until the icing becomes nice and thick and stiff peaks form. This should take no more than 2 to 3 minutes. If you whip it too long, you could break it down, and it could separate or become runny. So, as soon as you see it thickening up, turn off the mixer because you’re good to go!
How to Use
There are countless cakes, cupcakes and desserts that you can use this simply delicious frosting recipe with. Here are a few of my favorites!
Expert Tips
- Be sure to use full-fat cream cheese that comes in an 8-ounce block.
- Use heavy cream. Other types of cream will cause a runny frosting.
- Add a teaspoon of almond extract or vanilla extract for added flavor.
- Don’t overwhip the frosting or it will lose its shape. As soon as the frosting thickens, turn off the mixer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this good for piping and decorating?
This frosting pipes very well. It may seem a little loose when you’re putting it into your piping bag, but somehow it magically firms up while it’s in there. If you’re concerned about it running out as you fill the bag, clip the end with a clothespin or binder clip. When you’re ready to pipe, release the clip.
I typically use an open star tip or a french star tip to pipe this whipped cream frosting on cupcakes. It pipes beautifully for this type of decoration. You could also use it for a layer cake.
I’m not sure I would use it to pipe roses or write on birthday cakes, though. For something like that, you’d probably be better off with Swiss meringue buttercream or American-style buttercream.
Can it be tinted?
If you’d like to tint this frosting, add a drop or two of gel paste icing color to the finished frosting.
How long does it last?
This whipped cream frosing is much more stable than regular whipped cream (aka: Chantilly cream), which only lasts a few hours before it starts to weep and lose shape. With this recipe, you can make and frost your cake or cupcakes a day or two ahead.
It’s best when kept cold, so keep your dessert refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it. Or store the frosting in an airtight container until you’re ready to frost your dessert.
After about 48 hours, the whipped cream starts to give off some of its moisture. If it’s on a cake or cupcake, it’s OK because the moisture soaks into the cake, which is delicious.
But if you make it ahead and store it in a bowl, you may notice that the frosting at the bottom of the bowl is looser and not as fluffy as what’s on top. So, if you’re using it as a topping, I recommend making it no more than 24 hours before serving it.
You’ll love how easy it is to make this whipped cream frosting and how convenient it is to make it ahead. Plus, there’s no fussing around with gelatin! Let me know how you decide to serve it in a comment below.
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Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese*
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 2 3/4 cups (654.5 g) heavy cream,, cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, (optional)
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed and pour the heavy cream down the side of the bowl in a very slow and steady stream, stopping every now and then to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula.
- When all the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to medium-high and whip until the frosting holds stiff peaks.
- Fold in the vanilla extract, if using.
Notes
- Can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
- Keep refrigerated.
- Makes enough to fill & frost 1 triple-layer 8-inch cake, 1 double-layer 9-inch cake, or 2 dozen cupcakes.
- Perfect for Black Forest Cake, Red Velvet Cake or cupcakes, Banana Pudding Cake, or Tuxedo Cupcakes.
- For a chocolate version, add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder in step #1 of the recipe instructions.
how can i add chocolate to this? Could I just add a box of instant chocolate pudding or cocoa? If so, how much
Sorry, I have not tried that so I can’t say for sure.
This whipped up beautifully! I am wanting it to be a little sweeter for my taste though. Is it OK to add more powdered sugar after it’s whipped? Or will that wreck the whole thing? Very beginning baker over here 🙂
Yes that should be just fine!
Followed directions, was just a liquid mess sadly
Would you know how I might go about adding a white chocolate twist/element to this whipped cream frosting -would that be possible? Thanks –
I would think you could just whip in a little melted white chocolate. You’d have to play around with amounts. Good luck!
How would this icing hold up to fill and ice a 3 layer coconut cake with fresh coconut covering the icing? Would using mascarpone give a more pleasing, milder flavor with coconut?
Sounds delicious! Good luck and enjoy!
How well does this hold up to adding food coloring?
How do I make this chocolate whipped cream icing????
The whipped cream icing recipe is delicious! Very easy to make even for seniors like myself! It is a keeper! Thank You!
So happy you liked it Maryanne! Thanks for the positive feedback!
Here’s another great way to stabilize whipped cream, and no cream cheese needed. It’s very quick and easy and won’t melt, wilt, or droop. I add agar-agar to buttercreams, meringues, and my signature Mock Whip Frostings – that hold up very well in very high heat.
How to stabilize whipped cream with Agar-Agar
Using Agar-Agar for Whipped Cream: For cream toppings or fillings that will stay firm and will not separate, add 2 T. sifted confectioners’ sugar and 1 t. agar agar powder to 1 c. whipping cream that is almost whipped. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form. You can add flavoring as desired.
Thanks!
Ugh….I am trying to find a light frosting like Ermine that I can make ahead.
It is for a white almond wedding cake that I have to make ahead of time – frosted at least one day ahead – or frosted the at the wedding location the day of.
It is for my daughter’s wedding cake, and she really liked my prototype with Ermine/Boiled Milk frosting.
Which frosting would you use, if you could make the cake a day ahead – Ermine, Whipped Cream w cream cheese, or a Swiss Meringue?
Hmm, that’s a toughie. All of those choices are so good. Personally my favorite is Swiss meringue, and it holds up really well especially when chilled. But ermine is a really good choice too. Ermine may be a little sweeter and lighter that Swiss meringue… Whipped cream would be the lightest of the 3 but may not hold up quite as well. I guess it depends on how far ahead you plan on making it. If it’s more than 1 day I’d probably go with Swiss meringue or ermine, depending upon your taste preference. Good luck; hope this is helpful!
Can you freeze it?
You can try doing that but I think it might lose a lot of its fluffiness as it thaws.
Looks easy enough, will be trying it this weekend on my Granddaughters BD cake. Will let you know how it goes.
hi, im still very confuse abt the whipping cream. There is 2 type of whipping cream in the store. One is dairy cream another is non dairy whipping cream. The dairy whipping cream cannot over beat because it will be watery and the butter n milk will be seperated. But the non dairy whipping cream is not same, this one have to whisk until stiff peak …. So which whipping cream i have to use for your this recipe? please reply. Thanks.
As I said in my previous reply, this recipe calls for regular dairy whipping cream.
hi may i know the heavy cream is dairy or non dairy cream? which one i should use for this recipe?
Heavy cream is a dairy product. If it doesn’t say “non-dairy” then you can safely assume that it’s regular heavy cream.
I made a batch with mascarpone yesterday and topped some vanilla cupcakes with it. Added some strawberries and it was so good! One batch was enough to frost 24 cupcakes and still have leftover whipped cream for eating with some berries. Yum! I’m excited to try with cream cheese next time!
Sounds delicious Poppy! I love the combination of mascarpone and berries!
Good morning. Approximately how many standard cupcakes will this frost? Thank you!!!
Please refer to the note at the bottom of the recipe card; thanks!
Can I leave it in a bag or the bowl and the following day pipe it onto cupcakes?
You can, but you might notice some loss of volume. Check out the info under the heading “How long does whipped cream frosting last.”