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This Strawberry Whipped Cream recipe can made with either fresh strawberries or freeze dried strawberries! Both versions have amazing strawberry flavor and make a fluffy strawberry whipped cream you can pipe onto cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes and even pancakes!
Looking for more whipped cream recipes? Try these recipes for classic Homemade Whipped Cream, Baileys Chocolate Whipped Cream and Mascarpone Whipped Cream!
Table of Contents
Homemade Strawberry Whipped Cream
Strawberry whipped cream is so versatile and one of the most delicious flavors. It makes a great alternative to vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting and is even more fun than your average whipped cream.
How to Make Strawberry Whipped Cream
To make strawberry whipped cream, we’re going to combine cold heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and strawberry flavoring of some sort. You want to try to use heavy whipping cream, if you can, instead of regular whipping cream or heavy cream. The heavy whipping cream has a higher fat content, so it’ll whip better and stay more stable for longer.
For the powdered sugar, you also want to be sure to use the amount specified in the recipe. I tend to use about a 2:1 ratio of cream/liquid to powdered sugar. It helps add stability to the whipped cream and make it so that it spreads and pipes beautifully.
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Whipped Cream with Fresh Strawberries
To add strawberry flavor to the whipped cream, there are two options. The first is using fresh, real strawberries. If you’re a baking and fruit purist, this is the way to go.
Add your strawberries to a food processor to puree them, then strain the puree to remove the seeds. The puree is then cooked over medium heat until it thickens and reduces a good bit. This not only enhances and strengthens the strawberry flavor, it also thickens the puree.
The fresh strawberry whipped cream is nice uniform pink color with a lovely strawberry flavor. I used it on this Red Wine Poke Cake and is was delightful!
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Whipped Cream with Freeze Dried Strawberries
If you want to make whipped cream with freeze dried strawberries, the process is a little quicker. The only trick is to be able to find freeze dried strawberries. I often find them at my grocery store, but Target also usually has them. And of course there’s always Amazon.
Add the freeze dried strawberries to a food processor and grind them into a powder. I use about one cup of freeze dried berries and end up with about a quarter cup of powder.
The powder is added to the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar and all whipped on high speed until you get a nice, fluffy strawberry whipped cream! Unlike the fresh strawberry whipped cream, this version shows little specks of strawberries throughout.
The flavor is VERY similar to the whipped cream made with fresh strawberries, but the look is a little different. This one is also a bit more stiff than the fresh one, simply because you are adding a powder, rather than a thickened liquid.
How to Stabilize Your Homemade Strawberry Whipped Cream
Depending on the method of preparation and the look you prefer, you can choose the stabilized strawberry whipped cream you prefer. Both have very similar flavors, with slightly different looks. The fresh strawberries take a little longer to prepare, but otherwise all is fairly similar and simple to put together.
Keep in mind though that the fresh strawberry whipped cream will only be as good as the fresh berries you have, so if they aren’t really in season you might consider the freeze dried ones. For a darker shade of pink, you could even add a little extra red gel icing color (which is thick and won’t thin out the whipped cream).
This strawberry whipped cream is the fluffy, stable whipped cream you’ve been looking for! I hope you enjoy it!
You might also like these whipped cream recipes:
Stabilized Mascarpone Whipped Cream
Baileys Chocolate Whipped Cream
Stabilized Strawberry Whipped Cream (2 Ways)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: about 4 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Strawberry Whipped Cream recipe can made with either fresh strawberries or freeze dried strawberries! Both versions have amazing strawberry flavor and make a fluffy strawberry whipped cream you can pipe onto cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes and even pancakes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (190g) chopped strawberries OR 1 cup freeze dried strawberries (1/4 cup powder)
- 1 3/4 cups (420ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
- Red gel icing color, optional
Instructions
1. Add the chopped strawberries to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to discard the seeds.
2. Add the puree to a medium sized saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow the puree to come to a boil and continue to boil, stirring consistently to keep it from burning, until it has thickened and reduce to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes. To measure, pour the puree into a measuring cup. If it’s more than 1/4 cup, add it back to the pan and continue to cook it.
3. When the puree has thickened and reduced, pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled. This strawberry mixture can be made ahead, if you like.
4. When cooled, add the strawberry mixture, heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Be sure to use the full amount of powdered sugar, which helps stabilize the whipped cream.
To make with freeze dried strawberries:
1. Add the freeze dried strawberries to a food processor and grind into a powder.
2. Add the strawberry powder, heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Be sure to use the full amount of powdered sugar, which helps stabilize the whipped cream.
Add the whipped cream to your favorite cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes or even pancakes!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 234
- Sugar: 15.1 g
- Sodium: 14.6 mg
- Fat: 18.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 58.8 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
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This turned out amazingly well! I work in a restaurant and I made it for my staff. It stayed cohesive for four hours in the breakroom. (I switched out to fresh ones for the second shift, but the first batch was still beautiful.) The taste and texture were amazing! I made a double batch for my first go-round, I was taking a risk, but it paid off in spades! Wonderful recipe and a wonderful product.
Did a test run to make sure it is good (used freeze dried strawberries) planning on using for my granddaughter’s birthday cake. Can this be frozen to use later?
If you frost something with it and then freeze it, it’ll be fine. If you make it, freeze it and want to frost the cake later, then no. When you stir it back up after defrosting it, it will deflate.
It’s midnight. I was hungry and rooting through the fridge and I saw that I had some heavy cream and frozen strawberries. A quick internet search led me to this recipe and suddenly,there I was making a whole cake at midnight to eat this with. I thawed the strawberries in the microwave and drained the liquid and it worked out quite nicely. This was very delicious on the cake I made
LOL! Glad you enjoyed it!
Used fresh strawberries, so Delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this whipped frosting with fresh strawberries and it tastes like strawberry ice cream! I ate half the bowl and the rest on my cake ! Simply amazing and delicious
So glad you enjoyed it!
I want to make this soon. If I use the fresh strawberries, how long will this be good for? I keep my strawberry cake in the fridge if that helps! Will it last as long as the cake? (3-4 days?) Thank you so much.
Yes, it should last as long as the cake if you’re using fresh strawberries.
Thank you! 😊
This was a huge hit! I used frozen strawberries and slowly cooked them down under med-low heat, strained them and once cool I added them to the whipped cream. I served it with angel food cake and fresh berries. This would be wonderful and stable enough to pipe onto a cupcake. I’ve booked marked this one to my favourites!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Lindsay,
Just a question. In your lovely photos, some of the whipped cream has strawberry specs and some do not.
Which method has the specs, the freeze-dried or the puree?
I am hoping that it is the puree as where I live in Canada, freeze-dried fruits are either impossible to find or are extremely expensive!
The specks are likely from the freeze dried strawberries. Sorry!
Hello! I’m hoping to make piggy pancakes similar to those in Sandra Boynton’s “Happy Birthday, Little Pookie.” How many ounces of dried strawberries do I need to equal a cup?
I can’t remember just how many cups are in the 1 oz bag, but I think you’d be able to get one cup from one bag. You could get two bags just to be safe.
Would you recommend this for your homemade strawberry cake recipe ?
I personally prefer the buttercream, but if you’d like whipped cream, then sure!
I’m making cupcakes to take to a party tomorrow. If I bake the cupcakes today, would it be okay to pipe the frosting on today (and keep refrigerated) or better to get up early tomorrow and do them right before the event?
Thanks!
You could pipe it on today. It should keep well.
Do you happen to know how many cupcakes this recipe would frost?
I’m not sure. I’m sorry.
Super easy recipe. Only chsnge is I cut the sugar way back. I sweeten to taste.
Great way to get rid of some strawberries that are a bit over ripe. Thank you!
Is there a recipe to omit sugared powder and use granulated sugar instead? And to use gelatin to stabilize it? TIA
I am doubling this recipe so is it logical to think that the reduction should be a half a cup versus the quarter cup?
Thanks so much
Yes, correct.
Is there any way to cut back the sweetness? Thanks!
Not really. There’s already very little sugar in it.
I think I overmixed it. I used the fresh strawberries method. Is there a way to fix it? I don’t want it to go to waste. Thanks!
I’m not sure that there is. I’m sorry!
Oh. Well, thanks anyway!
Hi! Can you add mascarpone cheese to this recipe to make it more stable/easier to pipe? I love your stabilized whipped cream frosting recipes with mascarpone cheese!! Turns out great every single time 💕
Sure, that’d be fine. Glad you enjoy them!
Will this hold up with ganache over the top?
I think it’d be ok if you refrigerate it first.
I’ve never bought freeze dried fruit before and I’m a little confused… you said to use about a cup of dried strawberries, puréed down to about 1/4 cup, right? A cup is 8oz and most bags of dried strawberries I’m seeing are 1oz bags. Does this mean I would need EIGHT bags for this recipe?
8 oz is a cup when referring to liquid, not solids. One cup of freeze dried strawberries weighs very little. A 1 oz bag is actually more than 1 cup, so you only need one bag.
Thanks for the clarification!
One more question… did you use red gel food coloring to achieve the color in your photos or did it just turn out that way naturally?
It turned out that way naturally.
Hi Lindsay! I made this whipped cream this morning and the flavor was sooooo good but I couldn’t get the stiff peak. I followed your instructions exactly but it wouldn’t stiffen. I used Lucerne Heavy Whipping Cream, made freeze dried strawberry into powder and used the exact amount of powdered sugar as on your recipe. Help please!
I’m really not sure. Based on the ingredients you list, it should’ve whipped fine. Was the cream cold and right out of the fridge?
Hi! I’m looking at different strawberry filling/icing options to go with a layered champagne wedding cake and cupcakes. Just wondering how stable this is without the use of gelatine? Also, how far in advance could it be assembled?
I would say that it’s pretty stable for whipped cream but does need to stay cool/cold. I’m not sure it’s ideal for an event where it’d sit out for hours. Maybe try out my strawberry buttercream. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/homemade-strawberry-frosting-two-ways/
This was so simple to make, and beat all the other recipes I’ve tried using boiled down fruit. As you said, the powder made the cream stiffer, always a good thing and the flavour was so lovely and intense. I made a raspberry version of this and found I had to add another tbsp of sugar – maybe raspberry being more tart. I used it to frost a chocolate chiffon cake. It was glorious. Thank you so much for this easy but delicious recipe.
I love this recipe….So light and yummy!! I’m going to try using this on a frozen ice cream cupcake.
A few questions:
How far in advance can I make this? How should I store it?
Can this be frozen for later use? Can it be pipped on cupcakes right from the freezer or need to be defrosted. If defrosted, do so in refrigerator??
Thank you in advance for your reply.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Whipped cream really does best if you add it to a cake or cupcakes right away. Often after it has been stored and you try to stir it, it deflates.
OMG, I LOVE IT!! How come I’ve never heard of DIY strawberry whipped cream in my life?! They looks amazing. Have to try this soon.
Made this with fresh strawberries for cream puffs and did not stabilize or thicken. The most it got was to a glaze consistency no matter how much powdered sugar I added. Disappointed if you’re going to try this out maybe go with freeze dried.
I have made this twice now and it’s a big hit. I used it to fill a chocolate roulade and it was amazing. Do you think this method would work with other fruits? I wanted to try this with banana.
Glad you enjoyed it! Are you wanting to use purée or freeze dried fruit. Freeze dried should be fine. Not so sure about cooked banana.
Hi! I’m planning on making this for my daughter’s birthday in 2 weeks. Could you tell me how much strawberry powder in grams? I’m a bit confused with the 1/4 cup as i googled it and got mixed answers. Thanks a lot and thank you for sharing the recipe.
I don’t know what it is in grams. I would go with measuring 1 cup of freeze dried strawberries in a measuring cup and then put that in a food processor to get your powder. If you end up feeling like your whipped cream could use more strawberry flavor, just make a little more powder.
This turned out amazing. Will be keeping this for future recipes for sure. Thank you for sharing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Question on this, when I searched Amazon for the freeze dried strawberries on the link you give, it’s unavailable. So I searched all options & they show a jar of strawberry powder. With blending the dried ones to a powder, could I just buy the jar of powder?
It sounds like that should be fine.
Trader Joe’s sells freeze dried strawberries 🙂
Dollar Tree sells freeze dried strawberries
This was so delicious! I did the powdered freeze dried strawberries, but I also sifted them to get the seeds and bigger flakes out for a slightly more uniform color. Used it for cupcakes to take to my kid’s school for her birthday. Her classmates went gaga over it! They were asking if it was ice cream on top (no, they weren’t frozen or anything), and one kid was saying “I thought I didn’t like strawberries, but I do!”. Such giant success, thank you! I’m saving this forever!
I’m so glad it was such a hit!
What do u of the icing is runny??
You could try whipping it for a little longer or adding some additional powdered sugar.
Hi! This looks so delicious. I wanted to pipe it onto cupcakes. Will the frosting hold for a few hours out of the fridge? I don’t want it to melt but I also don’t want the cake from the cupcakes cold from being in the fridge for too long.
Thanks!
It should be ok for a couple hours as long as the temperature isn’t too warm and there’s not some heavy decoration on top.
Would this be ok for a layer cake? In between the layers and to frost all around? My son wants one for his birthday and I’d like to do three layers, at least an inch thick, using your strawberry cake recipe. Thought ther whipped cream would be a nice lighter choice for a summer cake.
Yes, this is a stable whipped cream and it’ll work well with a cake. I hope you enjoy it!
Can you tell me, in what section at the grocery store would I find the freeze dried strawberries? Would it be by the canned fruit or maybe by the nuts and trail mix snacks?
I usually find them by the nuts and trail mix type snacks. Some grocery stores are a little bit different. Target usually has them near the nuts and stuff.
Hi.can i use frozen strawberries i will thaw?is it planty sweet for.kids.bday cake or should i use more sugar?thanks.
Frozen strawberries should be fine. I would just try to remove as much of the water moisture when they thaw as you can.
So glad I found your post. Using the freeze dried strawberries turned out great and I like how it stabilized my whipped cream! First I’ve ever heard of doing this. So much easier than puréeing and tastes so good. Next I’ll try using freeze dried raspberries. Thanks so much!!
I’m so glad it was a success and you enjoyed it!
I would like to use it instead of buttercream filling inside a cake covered with fondant. would it last out of the fridge for some time? how long?
As long as the cake is in a cool environment, it should last for at least several hours. I’ve actually never had it welt or deflate. It will start to soften though so keep that in mind if the cake will be heavy.
This recipe looks perfect for an upcoming birthday cake! Thanks so much for sharing!! How bags of the freeze dried strawberries would I need for the 1 cup?
Thanks
I believe I used one bag, but it might have been two.
I put the freeze dried strawberry whipped cream on my strawberry shortcake cupcakes and they were a huge hit!! Thanks so much for this amazing new frosting idea! 🙂
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Renee! I want to try this recipe on cupcakes as well but am worried about it melting if left out for too long. Did you pipe right before eating or were you able to pipe and leave the cupcakes out? If so, for how long? Thanks!!!
This looks like it would be perfect for my daughter’s birthday cake. I’m making an ice cream cake – can I frost the cake and then stick it back in the freezer overnight?
Yes, definitely!
I want to make a layered Black and White Angel Food Cake with this strawberry whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for my daughter’s birthday. She lives an hour away, do you think the whipped cream would hold? Maybe add geletin to maintain for the ride? Would fresh vs dried strawberries make a difference? I haven’t had to transport a cake this long before and I don’t want to mess it up! Soggy cake wouldnt be a great birthday present. lol Thanks!
As long as you keep the car cool, it should be fine. Surely gelatin could help, but either one should be ok.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, can’t wait to try it! If I wanted to add gelatin powder to stabilize it some more, when do you suggest adding it?
You use paddle or whisk attachment?
Whisk attachment
Hi! Is this enough frosting to cover and fill a 3 layer (8 inch pan) cake?
It depends a little on how much frosting you like. I’d probably do 1 1/2 recipes worth or maybe even double it.
Can I pipe this on a cheese cake the night before – chill it overnight and then let it sit out for two hours before serving?
Yes, that should be perfectly fine.
Made this whipped cream as a filling for my daughter’s birthday cake this weekend and it was amazing! I will only use freeze dried strawberries from now on! Easy and super fluffy! Thank you for a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I made this for my strawberry cheesecake and it is so yummy!! I’m curious in your thoughts of making this as a lemon flavor?? I’m wondering if the lemon would be too acidic and break it down too much?
I haven’t tried it, but it’s entirely possible. Lemon juice does often cause cream to separate.
Maybe you could try with just the zest?
Oh my gosh, this looks so good!!!!! I am totally going to make this soon! Keep up the good work!!!
-Hannah
Also, what would you suggest I put this whipped cream on? Any recipes you have made that would go with this?
Could you make this with any other fruits? Like raspberries or cherries, for example?
Yes, other fruits should be fine.
Honestly, the things you could use it with are kind of unlimited. 🙂 I used it on this Red Wine Poke Cake, but it’d also go well on this No Bake Vanilla Cheesecake as a way to dress it up, or with this cheesecake, or these cupcakes – even this cake. It’d be great in a trifle too. Endless possibilities!
I love the idea of this going to try it on your strawberry cheesecake next week.