Q&A for How to Decorate a Cake with Whipped Cream Icing

Give your whipped cream a good stir; it will combine everything perfectly and return it to its original state.

Yes. Agar agar will set your mixture. I would suggest adding a small bit more agar agar, maybe a quarter teaspoon, to ensure that it sets properly.

Yes, it can, if you fortify it with instant pudding mix prior to whipping. Ditto for refrigeration, but I wouldn't go past a few hours, which is just enough time to cool and solidify the whipped cream. The problem is that whipped cream will pick up on any nasty odors that might be lurking in your refrigerator.

Yes, you can use anything to decorate a cake. Let your imagination go wild and don't be afraid to experiment.

Yes! Keep in mind that unless a stabilizer is used (instant pudding being the easiest and the best), the whipped cream can break down over time.

It'd just be easiest to toss it and start over. Consider using a stabilizer.

You can store it in an airtight container, but it goes downhill fairly quickly. Make a fruit salad or a milkshake or a banana split or just eat it straight as soon as possible. Otherwise, you might find a puddle in your container.

Always cover any pastry or cake. These products love to soak in all sorts of nasty smells that might be lurking in your refrigerator. You'll only be disappointed if not.

The only way to make dried powdered milk to whip up is to use a high-powered immersion blender, and not all of them will make a product as tasty as whipped cream. My very first Braun made a wonderful whipped topping with dried milk, but most of my other immersions never could.

Yes, you can! But use a recipe that specifically calls for cream cheese. Philadelphia cream cheese has a wonderful recipe on their website without gelatin in it. Gelatin as a stabilizer can be difficult to use.

I've never had to, but it doesn't look as professional if there isn't one. (I'm thinking about the heavier whipped cream frostings that utilize cream cheese.)

No! This frosting doesn't hold flowers well at all. You would want to use buttercream instead.

You can use food coloring to color whipped cream. How much you use depends on how intense you want the colour.

Yes, you can, and it tastes amazing. Make sure to have similar or even amounts of each.

No. After you let the gelatin sit, add it to the mixture as is. You want to add it to your mixture already set. Do not change its composition.

Yes, but it will take a lot longer to form and the peaks will not stiffen as much.

Yes, you can, but do not add too much or it will make your icing slimy. Also, either way around if you do use pineapple, you should not let it sit for very long.

Yes, you can. You could use French vanilla instant pudding, but any instant pudding will do. Just be care how much additional added sugar/sweetener is used. I usually don't because it will be sweet enough, although you may like extra Mexican vanilla.

The purpose of gelatin in this recipe is to thicken the icing and stiffen it up.

Lemon zest is added for flavor. The zest gives it a nice faint lemon taste, but unlike lemon juice, it won't water down your icing/whipped cream or make it too sour.

It should, depending on how small you want to pipe the stars and rosettes. If the problem is that the icing is too loose, it should fix the problem for the most part. The gelatin is used for thickening the icing (like how you thicken a pudding), so it should firm up.

If you wanted to, you could. Just make sure that you apply the whipped cream right before the cake is eaten, or it'll get all soggy and lumpy in the fridge. You also want to have a steady hand, and the whipped cream with come out of the can very fast and you need to keep up with it, unless you want the whipped cream to be in squiggly shapes.

Yes, you can do that. Whipped cream freezes and thaws well. If you want special designs, try piping them on parchment paper first and freezing. Then add them to the cake at serving time.

It will melt in less than 15 minutes in that heat. If kept away from direct heat, it could last up to an hour. You could keep it in a cooler to make sure it stays cold and not able to melt.

It would last up to a few days to 5 days if stored correctly. You have to make sure to store it in the refrigerator for it not to melt at room temperature.

The icing shouldn't deflate, and your cake will not become soggy unless the icing is watery.

Yes, you can. That’s a great way to make your cake a bit more colorful; use food coloring. Just don’t add too much because it could make your whipped cream a bit too thin.

You can switch to agar agar powder or piping gel will work as well. Or you can skip this too and just make it with cold whisked whipped milk.

Whipped cream is cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a colloid. It is often sweetened and sometimes flavored with vanilla. So, you'll find the liquid form is best.

Yes, it will work very nicely. Just make sure that skimmed milk is cold enough, as that it will help to whisk it into stiff peaks.