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The Whipped Cream Hack For An Instagram-Worthy Hot Chocolate

Whether you're melting high-quality chocolate pieces in steamed milk or whisking the best store-bought hot chocolate mix into piping hot water, having a cup of hot cocoa at home is always an event worth celebrating. By adding a surprising ingredient (like Nutella, tahini, or peppermint), a dash of boozy cheer, or a gloriously puffed marshmallow, it's easy to elevate your hot cocoa experience. In fact, hot chocolate is a brilliant blank canvas for inspiration, experimentation, and decoration. But one of the best ways to play on the classic preparation is with photo-worthy dollops of frozen whipped cream.

Frozen whipped cream is the ultimate cocoa (or coffee) topping. By freezing the fluffy stuff, you can create and preserve perfect swirls of cream that will melt slowly into your hot chocolate. Plus, there are a few different fun ways to freeze whipped cream into traditional, themed, or elaborate shapes. Whipped cream can be frozen in dollops or perfectly piped spirals on a parchment-lined baking sheet. It can also be frozen in an even layer on a pan and then cut out like sugar cookies into star, snowflake, or heart shapes. But for even more picturesque results, we'd recommend the muffin-mold hack.

First, you'll need to unearth your silicone muffin molds (or secure some, like Trudeau's silicone muffin pan) or cupcake liners. Then, you can pipe or dollop homemade whipped cream into them, or spray a few layers of swirls from a can. Once partly frozen, you can also add any decorations that pique your interest, like chocolate shavings, sprinkles, or a dusting of cocoa powder. You're free to dream big — the molds will keep your whipped cream in shape until you're ready for a show-stopping reveal.

More tips for freezing festive whipped cream

Once you've dolloped your whipped cream comprehensively into as many muffin molds as you'll have servings of hot chocolate, place the tray in the freezer for at least five minutes before adding any special touches. A slightly firm though not-yet-frozen consistency will be precisely tacky enough for decorations. Once you've placed them to your exact specifications, return the tray of molds to the freezer for at least three hours. Whipped cream melts quickly, so it will need plenty of time in the freezer to firm up. Wait to remove your frozen whipped cream from the freezer until you're ready to serve up your impressive mugs of hot cocoa, then pop the shapes out of the molds and drop them on top of the warm cocoa cup by cup. Of course, if you happen to eat one as is, we wouldn't judge — whipped cream is delicious all on its own.

Since silicone muffin molds give your frozen whipped cream enough structure for elaborate decorations, consider theming your hot cocoa creations to the season. A whipped cream snowman with a fluffy marshmallow head will melt convincingly into your hot cocoa in the winter. Or a white rabbit with white chocolate wafers for ears will disappear into your springtime cocoa concoction. And in the fall, ghoulish whipped cream ghosts are perfect for warming up post-trick-or-treating. With muffin molds or a baking sheet, frozen whipped cream can truly transform any mug of hot chocolate into a beverage worth celebrating, no matter the season.

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