I made some oreo cupcakes earlier (well still in the process of it for the second batch). The frosting is made with almost 2 cups of whipping cream, and about 4 TBSP of powdered sugar and vanilla, how long can these cupcakes sit on the counter before they need to be refrigerated? TIA!

A *TOTAL* time out of the frig of 4 hours from the time you make the whipped cream to the time they are consummed.

So if I whipped it and say it took 15 minutes and then I put it in the fridge, would that 15 minutes be part of the 4 hours?

Because the split second that 4th hour hits, the cream breaks down, the heavens fall, and the earth splits open. Relax. 15 minutes + or - is not going to kill anyone.

I wasn't meaning 15 minutes per say, it was just a random number. I meant more along the lines of if I had it sitting out for a bit, then fridge, then out again, does all that count towards the 4 hours, or is it 4 consecutive hours?

All combined 4 hours.