How to Thicken Icing for Cream Horns

Cream horns are a delicate dessert consisting of a pastry shell with a sweetened cream filling. The icing inside the horns is made from either whipped cream or pastry cream. Both of these can be also used as cake icings. If either prepared product is too thin for filling the cream horns, they can be thickened by adding gelatin or draining off excess liquid. Gelatin works best with pastry cream-based icing fillings and draining should be used for whipped cream-based icing fillings. Add this to my Recipe Box.

How to Thicken Pastry Cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cool water and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Warm the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. water in a microwave-safe bowl over low power for 30 seconds to slightly warm it.

Whisk the gelatin and cool water into the warmed water to dissolve the gelatin.

Beat the pastry cream with the dissolved gelatin using a hand or stand mixer until the the two are thoroughly combined and thickened. Adjust the texture of the filling by increasing or decreasing the amount of dissolved gelatin added to the pastry cream.

How to Thicken Whipped Cream Filling

Line a colander with two layers of cheesecloth.

Place the colander into a large bowl.

Pour the whipped cream icing filling into the cheesecloth-lined colander.

Set the bowl with the colander in it inside the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours to drain off excess liquid from the whipped cream. The whipped cream remaining in the colander will thicken as it drains it for filling the cream horns.