Is cornstarch really the best way to stabilize whipped cream ? Honestly, I wanted to know if this was true, since so many online recipes recommend cornstarch as the stabilizer.
For years, I only used gelatin as a stabilizer – but, admittedly gelatin can be a hassle to add to whipped cream. Cornstarch on the other hand is so easy to incorporate.
But does it actually work as well? Let’s put it to the test with 7 other methods .
What is stabilized whipped cream?
Easy chantilly cream is great for immediate use, but it won’t keep its shape and stay stable for long. A stable whipped cream must be thick, pipeable, even able to use as cake frosting, and should keep its shape for HOURS .
Not only that, it should also,
- Be creamy
- Stay white and fluffy
- Not weep (separate)
- Not lose definition (when piped)
Whipped cream is made with cream that has at least 35 % fat or higher! In Canada, we call 35% cream, heavy cream.
In the UK, double cream with 48% fat is readily available, and makes a thicker, richer whipped cream.
In Australia and New Zealand, this is available as thickened cream, and may also contain stabilizers such as gums in it as well.
In the US, 35% cream is sold as whipping cream.
heavy cream
How whipped cream works
Whisking introduces air into heavy cream (or whipping cream), which is an emulsified liquid (oil in water). The air bubbles get trapped in the liquid, protected by the fat molecules that form a sheath around it.
The more air that’s introduced, the more the cream will expand and become a foam with lots of air bubbles trapped in the cream network.
But, with time, the air molecules will want to coalesce (merge together or fuse). The large air pockets will weaken the fat bonds, and the air will eventually escape.
- The whipped cream will then deflate.
- The fat molecules separate from the emulsion and the water will “weep” out of the whipped cream.
However, this process CAN be delayed with the use of different types of stabilizer.
Adding stabilizers to the cream when making whipped cream results in stronger bonds that won’t weaken with time. So the cream can hold its shape and texture for longer without weeping and deflating.
Each stabilizer works slightly differently to achieve this goal.
Which stabilizers did I test?
I tested 7 different methods to see which stabilizer worked best. I only tested the stabilizers that are most popular.
- Gelatin (my favorite)
- Cornstarch
- Cornstarch paste (cornstarch cooked in cream)
- Instant clearjel (modified starch)
- Instant vanilla pudding mix (that contains modified starch)
- Cream cheese
- Milk powder
- Control (with no stabilizers)
I tested these at room temperature for a few hours, and then also tested them at a warm room temperature.
I made a small batch of whipped cream for each stabilizer.
This is how much I used per 1 cup of heavy cream.
- 1 tsp (3.5 g) gelatin bloomed in 17.5 g water
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp cornstarch, cooked in about 25 mL cream (I made a larger batch with 2 tbsp cornstarch, and used only 33% of the paste to account for 2 tsp)
- 1 tsp instant clearjel mixed with a minimum of 2 tsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp instant clearjel mixed with a minimum of 3 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
- 56 g softened cream cheese
- 1 tbsp milk powder
What I checked
Each batch was piped onto a labeled baking tray, and some piped into smaller containers (labeled).
- How does it perform at ambient / room temperature, around 24 – 25 ℃ / 75 – 77 °F ?
- Can it handle warmer room temperatures, around 29 – 32 ℃ / 85 – 90 °F ?
- Is the whipped cream still spreadable / useable a few hours after making it?
- How easily does it overwhip?
Results
After 4 hours at 24 – 25 C / 75 – 77 F
The whipped cream without stabilizers (control) was deflating and it was losing some definition. There was notable weeping, as liquid separated from the foam.
In order of least liquid accumulation (or weeping) to most was as follows,
- Cream cheese – Starting to melt, and there is a little weeping at the base.
- Cornstarch – Deflated considerably and showed signs of melting (breaking down).
- Milk powder – Very similar to the control. Starting to melt as well.
From the remaining tests, in order of least definition loss to most,
- Gelatin – Doesn’t look like it lost any definition. No weeping. Just slightly deflated, but the shape remains unchanged.
- Instant clearjel and vanilla pudding – Both are very similar in structure. No weeping, and and still has pretty good definition. Both have deflated slightly, but holding their shape.
- Cooked cornstarch – Surprisingly not weeping, but starting to melt.
After storage at29 – 32 C / 85 – 90 Ffor 1 hour
These stabilizers were melting and weeping so much that I had to put paper towels around some of them to prevent run-off! In order from most weeping to least weeping,
- Control
- Milk
- Cornstarch
- Cooked cornstarch
- Cream cheese
The top three performers were,
- Gelatin
- Instant clearjel
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
All three of these stabilizers did not show signs of weeping even at higher temperatures.
There was more softening and deflation with clearjel and pudding mix. But, they didn’t melt considerably and lose too much definition in the piped swirls. The softening lead to these whipped cream samples having a softer texture throughout.
Gelatin as a stabilizer deflated the least with the least amount of definition.
However, it does form a very thin “film” on the surface because the gelatinized outer layer is exposed to air that can make it firm. However, inside the thin film, the cream was still soft and smooth.
Is the stabilized whipped cream still useable after a few hours?
Is it still smooth or does the texture change?
After storing the whipped cream for about 12 hours in the fridge, I took them out and spread a thin layer of each on a parchment paper.
I wanted to check which of the whipped cream samples could be made ahead of time without compromising the texture.
All the samples showed that the whipped cream does form big bubbles in the foam once stored for a long time.
Scooping it out of the container resulted in whipped cream with larger, uneven bubbles. However, gently re-mixing the whipped cream helps “reset” the texture. Then this was spread on the parchment paper to compare.
These were the results – from worst to best,
- Control – The whipped cream had a grainy, uneven texture. Indicative of overwhisking.
- Milk powder – Similar to the control. Grainy, uneven texture.
- Cream cheese – Uneven texture. Slightly grainy. I was surprised, as I expected the cream cheese to be better than cornstarch.
- Cornstarch – Uneven texture, slightly grainy, but smoother than cream cheese.
- Cooked cornstarch – Hard to get a smooth texture (slight uneven textures), but not too grainy. Better than cornstarch alone.
- Instant vanilla pudding – Silky, soft consistency, and smooth texture when spread. However, the color is a little more yellow compared to the others.
- Instant clearjel – Same smooth, silky consistency as with vanilla pudding, but maintains the white color.
- Gelatin – Slightly firmer consistency, but still very silky! Using less gelatin could make it less firm. Spreads very smoothly.
The winners
- Gelatin, instant clearjel, and vanilla pudding mix were the clear winners! Their consistencies (between gelatin and the other two) are slightly different, but they all achieved the same thing.
- Whipped cream made with either of these three stabilizers can be made ahead AND re-used while keeping the same texture!
- This also shows that whipped cream with these stabilizers is harder to overwhip , because they don’t change the texture so easily, compared to the control.
- Plus, they can handle warmer room temperatures without weeping.
- Can they hold up between cake layers at high temperatures? Probably not, but whipped cream frosted cakes and cupcakes, or desserts are not going to get soggy or end up with a pool of water on top.
Final thoughts
The main question I had was – Is cornstarch really a good way to stabilize whipped cream?
The answer is no . Cornstarch will only thicken liquid when it’s heated, so it cannot be used the same way to “thicken” whipped cream because we never cook the cornstarch.
The cooked cornstarch did a better job of stabilizing whipped cream than raw cornstarch, which proves my theory that cornstarch needs to be cooked / boiled for it to act as a stabilizer.
Gelatin is still my favorite way to stabilize whipped cream , but instant clearjel or instant vanilla pudding will be easier to use.
So, I’ll continue to use gelatin (or instant clearjel) to stabilize my whipped cream!
