Hi everone! Those of you who use heavy cream in their frosting recipes, do the frosting need to be refrigerated once on the cake or cupcake? I never have used heavy cream in my recipes and I would like to try something new. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi bubba01... I just bake for family and friends. When I make a frosting with milk or cream, I always refrigerate it to be safe. (Especially with the warmer weather, too.) Let's see what others suggest...

No.. they don't have to be refridgerated.. you are talking buttercream right? Powdered sugar, butter/crisco, vanilla, and heavy cream??

The sugar in the icing preserves it. The amount of heavy cream you use is not very much at all. Of course if you are talking a LOT of heavy cream that would change things.. like if you were to fold whipped heavy cream into your icing or something that would need to be refridgerated since there is a lot of cream, but the 1/4 cup or less you add to thin out buttercream is nothing to worry about.

I use heavy cream instead of milk in my frosting because i like the way it taste and I always refridgerate my cakes and cupcakes. Most of the time i just frost the cupcakes right before they are going to be picked up so i dont have to put them all in my fridge

I agree with Jeanne

Ultimately it would depend on how much cream is used. Much like why an icing with butter and sugar doesn't need to be refrigerated, the addition of milk or cream is still often OK. The low water/high sugar-to-fat ratio is what inhibits bacterial growth. I'd check the recipe for storage instructions and be sure to measure carefully to keep the ratio in the "safe zone."

Another example of safe STF ratio: ganache icing. All it is is 50% chocolate and 50% heavy cream. Wow that's a lot of cream, yet it's room-temperature safe for 3 days. (Presuming of course that your room temp isn't 85degrees!)

I have used heavy cream in my icing also. I really like the way the icing comes out when I use it. To me it cuts down the sweetness, but that is just my opinion. I have not refrigerated mine...but like Jeanne says...I only use about 1/4-1/3 of a cup.

Ceshell, I don't want to sound stupid, but if I was to use chocolate, cream and butter only then it would be ok to sit out unrefrigerated for a couple of days?

No questions are stupid at CC! The answer is yes, no, maybe It all depends on your recipe. If you are talking about a ganache recipe 6oz. chocolate 6oz. boiled heavy cream +about 1tbsp butter, it doesn't have to be refrigerated (btw I believe it's TWO days, not three ) But this is contingent upon your measurements being accurate. I don't know how far off they can be and still be safe. Also I have no idea if there is any alteration with regard to food safety/storage for milk chocolate ganache; I always make dark chocolate.

Of course you CAN refrigerate it, it'll last longer and then if you have leftovers you don't have to wonder if they've "expired".

What about cream cheese in frosting recipes?

Cream cheese=refrigerate! Although some people swear you can leave it out, it's rare that I've seen a cc recipe that's specifically allowed to remain at room temp. (the one on earlenescakes.com comes to mind.)

Mind you a cc icing can sit out for a few hours just fine (like, for a wedding or party) but I wouldn't keep it unrefrigerated other than to display and serve. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I believe it's the standard recommendation from food safety experts (which I am not, but I read a lot!)

Thanks Ceshell an everyone for your help.