Your Whipped Cream Will Never Be The Same With Just One Instant Ingredient

If there is one pitfall with homemade whipped cream, it's that it doesn't last long. We're not referring to eating it up with a spoon before the bowl makes it to the table (although that's tempting), but the fact that the airy topping tends to lose its volume quickly, making it a temperamental recipe to make ahead of time.

Traditionally, whipped cream is made with heavy cream, sugar, and a touch of vanilla. Pastry chefs will often add various ingredients to help whipped cream hold its shape longer — like our stabilized whipped cream recipe, which calls for cornstarch to be added to the mix to keep it from deflating. This can be helpful when frosting a cake, filling a cream puff, or even topping a scoop of ice cream.

But there's another common pantry item you can use to keep your whipped cream stable that also compliments its sweet flavor: instant vanilla pudding mix.

The emulsifiers in commercial pudding mix that are responsible for the dessert firming up as it cools act as a stabilizer when added to whipped cream, helping your topping stay fluffy. And this tip couldn't be much easier to follow: Start with cold heavy cream and add instant vanilla pudding mix, vanilla extract, and confectioners sugar to a large bowl, keeping in mind that pudding mix has sweeteners in it, so you may not need as much as you usually use. We recommend holding back initially and adjusting the sweetness as you whip the cream to suit your tastes. Whip the mixture with an electric mixer for a few minutes on high until stiff peaks form or the whipped cream holds its shape when the beater is inverted. The stabilized whipped cream should be kept in the refrigerator and can maintain its shape for several days before deflating.

Not only will the instant pudding keep your whipped cream as stable as other emulsifiers would, it also allows you to get creative with the flavor. By using other types of instant pudding mix – like chocolate, butterscotch, banana, or even cookies and cream — you can take your desserts to a whole new level.