How to Make Delightful Frostings with Whipped Cream
Kitchen tools, gourmet foods, baking mixes, and hard-to-find baking ingredients mentioned in this article are available at The Prepared Pantry.
by Dennis Weaver
One Saturday, I was tinkering in the test kitchen. I had a ripe pineapple and we were serving cupcakes downstairs in our store. What’s a baker to do?
I sliced and trimmed the pineapple. Then, using a chef’s knife, I minced the pineapple. I put the pineapple in paper towels and wrung the juice out of it.
Then I made our standard whipped cream frosting—the recipe follows. After whipping, added strawberry flavor and a couple drops of pink food coloring and then folded in the pineapple. I used a little more meringue powder for stabilizer because of the residual moisture in the pineapple.
The cupcakes were delightful—with pink strawberry pineapple frosting. The frosting was light and airy and refreshing. The customers loved it.
The difference between whipped cream and whipped cream frosting is not much. Usually you want the frosting to hold up longer and so will need more stabilizer. While we add meringue powder to our whipped cream, we use more for frosting. We use meringue powder so often that we consider it a kitchen essential.
Standard Whipped Cream Frosting Using Meringue Powder
Whipping cream makes frostings lighter and less dense than butter. There are two requirements: You have to use heavy whipping cream, the best you can find, and you have to use a stabilizer. This recipe uses meringue powder though we often complement the meringue powder with other stabilizers. Most of the time, we will use three or four tablespoons for two cups of whipping cream.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of good quality flavor*
- 2 to 4 tablespoons meringue powder
* 1/4 cup rich dark cocoa, Ramstadt Breda or equal can be used in place of the flavor. Commercial grade flavors are usually more intense than flavors found in most stores. Adjust the among of flavor to taste.
Instructions
- Measure the whipping cream into the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Use the whip attachment.
- Add the meringue powder and flavor.
- Whip the cream at high speed until stiff peaks form and then beat a little longer. If you over beat your cream, it will turn to butter. That takes a lot of beating. Most people tend to under-beat their cream.
We use 40% fat whipping cream—the brand is Darigold and we get it from Sam’s Club.
Whipped cream frosting as described here should be used the same day. Whipped cream frosting can be rewhipped.
Other Stabilizers
Meringue powder is a stabilizer. Two other stabilizers that we use is cream cheese and unflavored gelatin. Use the unflavored gelatin according to the package instructions.
When we use cream cheese, it’s with meringue powder. Use two ounces of cream cheese for two cups of whipping cream. Cream the sugar into cream cheese before adding the other ingredients to avoid tiny lumps of cream cheese in your frosting. Four ounces of cream cheese will create a cheesecake flavored frosting which is very good.
Dennis Weaver is the founder of The Prepared Pantry, a full line kitchen store in Rigby, Idaho. The Prepared Pantry sells kitchen tools, gourmet foods, and baking ingredients including hundreds of hard-to-find ingredients.
