Can You Freeze Whipped Cream?

Whipped cream is the perfect way to top your favorite desserts. It is also a great addition to coffee, hot chocolate, or milkshakes! Unfortunately, once opened, it won’t last for long in the fridge. The question remains: How can you prolong the shelf life of whipped cream?

Can you freeze it?

Yes, you can. Freezing whipped cream is a great way to save it and use it for later.

Let’s find out how to do it.

How to freeze whipped cream

Freezing whipped cream is easy, but not as obvious as you might think.

Just putting it in an airtight container is not always the best way, especially if you want to keep the stiffer character you get after beating.

Let me give you two solid methods and some preparation tips to get the frozen cream you want.

The best methods to freeze your whipped cream:

1. Using an airtight container.
2. Freezing in small dollops.

But before we get into that, let’s get the preparation done.

Prepare your whipped cream

Before freezing, there’s one important step you can take when you are looking to keep fluffy and stiff whipped cream that you can add to your favorite dessert after thawing.

And this is stabilizing the cream.

Stabilizing means you add a little thickener to the mix. This way, the whipped cream will hold its shape much better.

If you just want to freeze the liquid cream, you can skip this step.

Otherwise, here are the options to choose from to get your cream stabilized:

1. Sugar substitutes.

2. Cream stiffener.

3. Gelatin powder.

4. Pudding mix

Basically, you only need to add a relatively small amount of each to your mixture. How much exactly depends on the amount of cream. It’s best to simply try it out or follow the instructions on the packaging. You can learn more about stabilizing your cream over here.

When this is done, you have the best requirement to freeze the perfect whipped cream that keeps its stiff texture.

So let’s take care of the next steps.

Freezing whipped cream in an airtight container

To freeze your stabilized whipped cream in an airtight container, just follow these steps:

1. Add the cream to the container of your choice.
2. Seal the top of the container and make sure it is locked airtight.
3. Note the date and name to keep track.
4. Put the container into the freezer.

That’s it.

The next method we look at is a bit more work, but the results may be worth it depending on your needs.

Freezing your whipped cream in small dollops

Another great way to freeze whipped cream is in small dollops. This is because it better preserves the cream’s fluffy consistency while still being easy to spread on your favorite desserts.

To do this, these are the steps:

1. Take your whipped cream out of the fridge and spoon small dollops onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper or a frost-proof surface. Alternatively, you can do this with a piping bag or cream syringe.
2. Be sure to do this fairly quickly so that the cream does not remain at room temperature for too long.
3. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and leave it there for several hours, or until the dollops are frozen.
4. Once frozen, transfer the dollops into an airtight container or a freezer bag. When using freezer bags, make sure that you remove all air.
5. Note the date and name, and put it back in the freezer

Freezing in this way means that you can take out exactly the amount of cream you need for one dessert at a time.

Now all you have to do is place them on your favorite dessert.

You can also use these dollops for frosting cake and cookie pops, making truffles, or any other kind of sweet treat.

How to defrost or thaw whipped cream

Now that you know how to freeze whipped cream, you should also know how to defrost or thaw it.

So let’s look at some ways of doing this:

Defrosting whipped cream stored in a container

If you have frozen your cream in a container, there is nothing spectacular to do.

1. Just take the container out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator for about 4-5 hours, or until it’s completely thawed.
2. Then scoop out exactly what you need into your recipe or on top of your dessert.

Note that you might have to re-whip the thawed cream since it could be slightly runnier.

Thaw whipped cream frozen in small dollops

Thawing small dollops of whipped cream is easy, and you have several options.

The first way is to place the amount you need in the fridge for a couple of hours. After that, you can use it for your favorite dessert.

Or you can position them on top of your dessert. As the dollops are small, they will defrost quickly.

That’s it. 

How do you thaw whipping cream quickly?

If you’re short on time and need your whipping cream defrosted faster, what you can do is placing the container into a tub of cold water (not hot) for half an hour, or until thawed completely.

You should avoid hot water because this will most likely melt your cream and ruin its creamy texture.

Note: For all variations, keep in mind that you should not refreeze leftover cream. This will have a strong impact on the quality and is therefore not recommended.

What changes when you freeze whipped cream?

Frozen whipped cream does not have the same consistency as fresh whipped cream. It may also lose some of its flavor, but it still tastes good.

At least good enough for my needs.

Also, unlike other fatty products like coconut milk or cream cheese, whipped cream doesn’t separate after thawing.

How long can you freeze whipped cream?

Now you know how to freeze whipped cream, but maybe you are still wondering how long the cream will keep in your freezer.

The answer is that it depends on a couple of factors:

How well did you seal the container?

If the container was not sealed tightly enough, there might be water leaking into it and making the cream soggy.

Have you prepared everything properly without contamination?

If you’ve used a utensil for making something else before adding the whipped cream, such as your finger, greasy spoons, or even dirty hands, this might contaminate the whipped cream and spoil it.

How long did you keep it without cooling?

If you keep your whipped cream without cooling and in an open container, it will spoil faster. Maybe you had some guests over and the cream stood a couple of hours on the kitchen table. This might also cause it to spoil faster.

All these factors can affect how long your whipped cream will keep in the freezer.

I would recommend not keeping it in there for more than a couple of months. Maybe 2 – 3 months should be fine.

However, the best way to make sure is to check if it has a strange color or foul smell. If this is the case, don’t think twice and just throw it out.

Some inspiration – How to Use Frozen Whipped Cream

If you’re wondering how to use frozen whipped cream, you have many options.

Let me give you some inspiration.

1. Place them in ice cream cones or use them as frosting for cakes and cookies.

2. Scoop the whipped cream with an ice-cream scoop onto your favorite dessert such as pie, waffles, brownies

3. If you have a cake pop mold, scoop the whipped cream in there, and make delicious frozen treats.

4. Mix the whipped cream with fruit such as berries or bananas and use them for fillings in pies, cakes, or cookies.

5. Place some dollops on top of your favorite cupcake recipe before baking them to create a beautiful summer dessert.

6. Make truffles with whipped cream by adding some cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, or melted chocolate to it.

7. Add it to your favorite milkshake recipe and prepare a mouthwatering, frozen drink

Hopefully, you can find many ways of using your frozen whipped cream, since it is just so versatile!

Conclusion

Freezing whipped cream has many benefits. It’s a great way to preserve it for up to several weeks and months. When you follow the steps above, you can have delicious whipped cream any time the craving strikes. With a little planning, preservation, and a freezer, you’ll be well-prepared for when you need your fix of sweet creamy goodness.

Other questions asked when freezing whipped cream