How To Make Homemade Whipped Cream
Let’s talk about homemade whipped cream!
*post updated 12/9/16
Now you know I love me some Cool Whip. I’ve used it in plenty of recipes and have been known to eat it with a spoon like ice cream. But I know that many either aren’t fans of Cool Whip or don’t have access to it and I most certainly do not want that to stop anyone from making some seriously awesome desserts.
I’ve been asked quite a bit if real whipped cream could substitute for Cool Whip and the answer is yes! With a caveat. You need a stabilized whipped cream.
If you’ve never made homemade whipped cream before, have no fear! It is so easy, takes less than 10 minutes to make, has a seriously short list of ingredients and is cheap to make. Rock on.
Now you might find varying recipes for whipped cream with different recommendations on powdered sugar, etc, but this is my preferred method and the way I substitute for Cool Whip. It uses powdered sugar to stabilize it, so as temping as it might be to reduce the amount, I typically like a 2:1 ratio of heavy whipping cream to powdered sugar. It stays stable in the fridge for days. I’ve yet to have it wilt on me.
MY OTHER RECIPESYou just add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla extract to a mixer bowl and whip on high speed until it’s as thick as you need it. Most often I whip to stiff peaks. Soft peaks are shown in the photo, which means when you lift the whisk out of the bowl, the tip/peak falls over to the side a bit. Stiff peaks won’t fall, they’ll just be nice and firm.
The full recipe is below along with some additional notes.
How To Make Homemade Whipped Cream
- Yield: About 8oz of Whipped Cream
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Add all the ingredients to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed. Cream will initially bubble a little bit, then start to thicken.
2.ย Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form, for a total whipping time of about 5-7 minutes. When you remove the whisk and get little peaks that donโt tip over, you are done. Make sure not to over mix! It quickly goes from smooth whipped cream to curdled whipped cream, so watch it closely.
Notes
You can reduce the amount ofย powdered sugar if youโd like but then it will not remain stable and will likely โwiltโ.ย The amounts above make enough whipped cream to be equal to about 8 oz of Cool Whip.
Enjoy!
I'm a wife and mom to twin boys and a sweet black lab with a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the sugar!
This looks and sounds so good!! I love homemade anything!!
Thanks Jocelyn!
Homemade anything is the best, but especially whipped cream! It’s so easy – we should never buy that horrid canned stuff. I just followed you on Instagram too – I love looking at pics of food and dogs (that’s essentially all that’s on my Instagram feed).
Homemade whipped cream definitely beats the canned kind. I have to admit though – I still dig my Cool Whip at times for convenience. ๐
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Can anybody recommend a good brand of coconut cream that can be whipped within desserts (i.e. not Asian!), I am UK based and cannot seem to find anything here. Thank you Lindsay!
Hi Andrea – I haven’t experimented at all with coconut cream. I’m sorry.
mmmmm ๐
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What can you substitute for powdered sugar? And is all purpose cream okay? Aaaah I’m losing hope in making the no bake oreo cheesecake ๐
You can substitute regular granulated sugar for the powdered sugar, or not use sugar at all. The sugar can help thicken and sweeten it, but isn’t totally necessary. As for the cream, I don’t want to say for sure (it’d be worth trying) but I think you need whipping cream. I hope it works for you! Did you look at the homemade cool whip link?
Where can I find the homemade cool whip link that you speak of ?
It’s been several years since I mentioned that and I’m not sure what I was referring to. You can google homemade cool whip, but for the most part, they are all various ways of making a stabilized whipped cream.
Gia,
If you take your regular sugar and use a food processor or blender, you can make your own powdered sugar. Takes a bit of patience but works beautifully.
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Hi Lindsay! I came across your blog while searching for no-bake Oreo cheesecake. Your recipe calls for 8 oz Cool Whip, but I would like to use homemade whipped cream instead, which is why I’m here ๐
So my question would be, how much heavy whipping cream is equivalent to 8 oz Cool Whip? Thanks in advance. Looking forward to trying out the no-bake cheesecake soon!
It’s about 1 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream for 8 oz of Cool Whip.
Hi again Lindsay! I finally had time to try out the no-bake Oreo cheesecake using “homemade” whipped cream, and I LOVED it!! Thank you for your recipe and this guide!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you!
Hello, I came across your website when I searched for the no bake orea cheese cake and I wish to use the homemade whipped cream and I have a question! Do you recommand making the whipped cream on the day of making the cheese cake or can I make it the day before? If I make it the day before, should I freeze it for the next day or refrigerate it? Thank you so much!
It should be just fine if you make it the day before and put it in the fridge.
hi! why do i need to freeze the metal bowl nd whisk ? can i just omit this procedure?
It’s best for the cream and utensils to be really cold so that the cream whips faster, but you don’t have to do that step. It’ll whip fine without it.
How long can you store this in the fridge? Can you make a batch a freeze for a later use too?
It should be fine in the fridge for day or so. In fact, if I want it to hold up a little better, I’ll add between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. It thickens it and it’s less likely to “melt”. I have frozen versions with the additional powdered sugar before they’ve been fine.
Hi just found your site thru google. You had said previously that you could freeze it? Can you or do you have that exact recipe?
Thanks
I don’t recall talking about freezing whipped cream. Did you just want to make it and freeze it for later use?
This recipe looks great! I would like to make the whipped cream for a chocolate mousse pie that I currently use cool whip for. In my recipe I melt a bar of dark chocolate, add a beaten egg yolk and mix in a box and a half of fat free cool whip. I place the mixture in a pie crust and freeze it. Would I be able to do the same with your recipe for the whipping cream? Thank you so much!
I would think it’d be fine. You’d want to use one and half of this whipped cream recipe.
I found your page because I was trying to find a substitute for Cool Whip. I am trying very hard to avoid HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP in the dishes I make and the things I eat. It is BAD for you and it is listed as the third ingredient in Cool Whip behind water and corn syrup. I wish Kraft would develop a healthy way of sweetening food products, but until they do, I will continue to avoid their products.ย
I have not tried the heavy whipping cream but am in the process of making my dish as I type. I hope I remember to get back and post how it turned out.
I hope you enjoy the homemade whipped cream. I have started using it for most things these days and love it.
You can eliminate the sugar and extract by adding 1 ย to 1.5 tablespoon of Vanilla Instant Pudding. This gives the whipped cream a lot more stability as far a breaking up. Especially if used as a topping.
Hi Lindsay.. is one portion enough of this recipe enough for the no bake nutella cheesecake?
Yes, it is. ๐
Can this be made and put in the frig? To use on pumpkin pie or jello and such. Thanks so much!!
Yes, it can be stored in the fridge. Just be sure to use enough powdered sugar to stabilize it. I’d say I usually use a 2:1 ratio, so if I use 1 cup heavy cream, then I’d use 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Hello,
Will this hold up in a pistachio dessert where it’s in a layer with cream cheese? Not get runny?
Thanks!
It should, just be sure to add the 2:1 ratio of powdered sugar so it stays firm. So for example, with 1 cup of heavy whipping cream use 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
Hi Lindsay! For your no churn ice creams (for ice cream cakes), does the whipped cream have to be stabilized with powder sugar? I usually use the Isi Whip to make my whipped cream since it’s so fast!
Thank you!
I do use the powdered sugar as a stabilizer, yes. I’m not familiar with Isi Whip.
Hi Lindsay:
Thank you for all of your postings. I have a question re: stabilized whipped cream. You recommend a 2:1 ratio of whipping cream to powdered sugar, yet the recipe indicates: 1 1/4 c. of whipping cream and 1/2 c. powdered sugar. Should there be less whipping cream or more sugar, or does it really matter? Thank you kindly.
Such attention to detail! I love it! You could certainly add the additional 2 tablespoons to make it an even 2:1 ratio, but as long as it’s pretty close, it’s fine. I find that writing “1/2 cup + 2 tbsp” sometimes confuses people, so I kept it simple. ๐