Strawberry Whipped Cream (Two Ways!)

I love topping cakes and cupcakes with a light whipped cream frosting, and strawberry is one of my favorite flavor variations. BUT, there’s an issue when making strawberry whipped cream with fresh strawberries. Either,

• The flavor is too weak, OR
• The flavor is strong, but the whipped cream doesn’t whip properly (too runny), or will split really easily.

You can use freeze dried powder, but then,

• It can be hard to find freeze dried powder, OR
• The strawberry whipped cream will still deflate and weep after a few hours.

This recipe addresses all of these issues!

Fresh strawberry puree vs freeze dried powder

Using fresh fruit puree

• Needs to be cooked down to a thick puree to remove as much moisture as possible.
• The flavor will be similar to a less sweet strawberry jam, rather than fresh strawberries.
• More accessible and cheaper.
• Must make the puree a day before to let it completely chill.
• Uses less heavy cream so that there’s still a good balance of flavor, but enough to create the whipped cream texture.

Using freeze dried powder

• More expensive than using fresh fruits.
• Much more concentrated in flavor, and you can add more to get a stronger strawberry flavor.
• Since the freeze dried powder absorbs some moisture as it dissolves, it can also help to stabilize the strawberry whipped cream along with the gelatin.
• Has a more fresh strawberry flavor (I know, kinda ironical!).

With fresh strawberries

• Fresh strawberries
• Sugar
• Heavy cream (35 % fat or more)
• Water
• Gelatin

With freeze dried powder

• Freeze dried strawberries (powder is preferred, but you can grind slices / whole pieces too).
• Sugar
• Heavy cream (35 % fat or more)
• Water
• Gelatin (or instant clearjel)

You can use frozen or fresh strawberries for this, but I use frozen because it’s going to be cooked anyway.

Place the strawberries in the pot with the sugar (image 1). Heat over medium heat, stirring the fruits every few minutes until the fruits soften (image 2). Frozen strawberries will take longer to soften than fresh.

When the fruits soften and come to a boil, adjust the heat to simmer the mixture. Simmer the strawberry mixture for about 30 – 45 minutes, with frequent stirring. The mixture will initially be liquid-y, and only slightly thickened (image 3). With time, it should become thick and reduce in volume by at least half (image 4).

The sugars in the mixture can catch at the bottom of the pot and burn, so it’s important to stir regularly.

OPTIONAL – Blend the strawberry puree to make a smooth mixture, so that it helps to create a smoother whipped cream later on.

Once the mixture cooks down into a thick puree, place it in a separate container, and let it chill in the fridge overnight.

Bloom the gelatin by adding room temperature water to a bowl with gelatin powder. Then stir to combine and let the gelatin absorb the water and hydrate for 10 – 15 minutes (images 5 – 6).

This recipe uses more gelatin than my regular stabilized whipped cream recipe, because we’re adding gelatin to stabilize the strawberry puree as well as the heavy cream.

Melt the bloomed gelatin in 10 second intervals in the microwave (image 7). Avoid boiling the gelatin, as prolonged boiling can make the gelatin weaker.

Once the gelatin is melted, let the mixture cool down.

Place the heavy cream in the mixer bowl and add the strawberry puree (image 8).

Start whisking the mixture and gradually increase the speed to medium high. Stream in the slightly cooled but still liquid gelatin mixture (image 9). Increase the speed to high for about 1 minute, and lower the speed to medium afterwards (image 10).

OPTIONAL – If you want to add MORE strawberry flavor, you can add some freeze dried powder to the mixture as well. The freeze dried powder will add a different layer of flavor, as it will add “uncooked” or fresh strawberry flavor on top of the cooked strawberry flavor from the puree.

Step 4 – Whisk the cream

Continue to whisk the mixture until it reaches mid peaks. Then whisk on low to medium speed until the mixture reaches between mid – stiff peaks (what I call stiff-ish peaks).

I prefer to stir the mixture with a whisk after reaching mid peaks (image 11), so that I can avoid overwhipping and getting a grainy mixture.

When the whipped cream is at the right consistency, you can use it immediately. The gelatin will make the whipped cream set with time, but you can re-mix the whipped cream and it should be pipeable and spreadable again.

If you’re using strawberry slices or pieces, then you have to crush these into a powder before adding it to the cream. I prefer to pulverize the pieces in a spice grinder until it becomes a fine powder.

You can also place the fruits in a Ziploc bag and then crush them with a rolling pin. This might not get you very fine powder, so you will have to crush more than you need to get enough “fine powder”.

Whether you crushed whole pieces or have freeze dried powder ready to go, make sure to pass it through a fine sieve. This prevents any larger pieces from getting into the cream, as they will not dissolve as readily as the fine powder.

Once the powder is passed through a sieve, then measure the powder to make sure you have the right amount for the recipe (or more, if needed) (image 12).

Step 2 – Prepare the gelatin

Hydrate the gelatin and melt it in 10 second bursts in the microwave. Then let the gelatin cool down slightly, but it should remain a liquid.

Step 3 – Start mixing ingredients

Once the strawberry powder is sifted, place it in the mixing bowl.

You can add all the heavy cream and start whisking, but I like to add just a little cream and whisk it with the fruit powder to help dissolve it better and to avoid clumps. Especially because the liquids are cold, the freeze dried powder won’t melt as easily.

Then add the remaining chilled cream and the sugar (image 13).

OPTIONAL – If you prefer to use instant clearjel or instant vanilla pudding mix as the stabilizer INSTEAD OF gelatin, you can do so with the freeze dried powder! Mix the sugar and instant clearjel in a separate bowl and add it with the freeze dried powder. Then add about 1/2 cup of cream and whisk everything together until it looks smooth. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before continuing to add the remaining cream.

Step 4 – Start whisking

Start whisking the heavy cream mixture and gradually increase the speed to medium high (image 14). Stream in the gelatin (make sure it’s still a liquid), and increase the speed to high for about 1 minute. Then lower the speed back to medium or medium high. I prefer to go slow to have more control over the consistency of the whipped cream.

Whip the heavy cream until you reach stiff-ish peaks (image 15).

Use immediately.

Storage tips

The strawberry whipped cream will last in the fridge for about 4 days. Make sure to keep it in an airtight container, and to use clean spoons to mix it.

I don’t recommend freezing the whipped cream and thawing it out again. The thawing might weaken the stability and cause the whipped cream to weep.

However, you can freeze and eat it frozen as a quick and easy frozen sweet snack. Highly recommend!

What are my options to stabilize this strawberry whipped cream?

Gelatin is the best option for the fresh strawberry whipped cream (as I explain in my best way to stabilize whipped cream article).

I haven’t tried using instant clearjel or instant pudding mix with fresh strawberry whipped cream, but it is possible. Be mindful of adding to much of these, as their flavor can overpower the flavor of the strawberries.

However, you can use any of these stabilizers for strawberry whipped cream made with freeze dried powder.

Ideas for using strawberry whipped cream

• Perfect as a filling for choux pastry and cream puffs. You could even pair this with chocolate cream puffs for a lovely, Valentine’s day worthy classic chocolate – strawberry combo!
• Speaking of, this is also IDEAL for making double strawberry cream puffs! I made these strawberry cream puffs with a strawberry whipped cream that’s lighter in flavor than this recipe, because there’s fresh macerated strawberries in those pastries as well. However, you can substitute that filling with this stronger flavored strawberry whipped cream instead if you like.
• Use it as a strawberry whipped cream frosting for cupcakes and light sponge cakes! This will be too weak to be a filling on its own, but you can use it as a cake filling with a buttercream dam for stability.
• Instead of easy vanilla chantilly cream or stabilized whipped cream, use this strawberry whipped cream on top of desserts.
• Dollop this whipped cream over yeasted waffles, sheet pan pancakes, crepes, French toast, brioche French toast, and other delicious breakfast options!
• Use this in desserts such as parfaits, or trifles, or as a topping for pavlova too.