Desserts topped with whipped cream can be a beautiful thing. However, they can be frustrating as well! Once you whip the cream and beat the air into it there is a finite life to the heavenly cloud-like mass.
Over several hours whipped cream will begin to go back to its original state (a liquid) and lose the air bubbles that kept it thick and lovely. I have 2 tips for you to prevent this from happening.
First, you can use a bit of unflavored gelatin to stabilize the whipped cream. It is quite simple to do actually. After you beat the cream to stiff peaks you can fold in about 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin that has been dissolved in a little cold water to soften it, and then heated gently to bring it back to a liquid state. Make sure the melted gelatin is not hot, but only slightly warm. If it is too hot when you add it to your whipped cream the cream will fizzle and go right back to a liquid. Trust me on this. I have had it happen to me.
I have even heard of chefs melting a few marshmallows and folding THEM into the whipped cream. The reason this works is that marshmallows have– you guessed it, GELATIN in them! Who knew that marshmallows were not just for S’mores?
The second tip is to fold some thick Greek-style yogurt, which has had the liquid strained out of it, into the whipped cream. Put the yogurt into a sieve in which you have placed a coffee filter or several layers of paper towels and set it over a bowl. Leave it in the fridge for a few hours to drain. The yogurt will be very thick.
Folding the yogurt into the whipped cream keeps it thick for several days, and the tanginess from the yogurt mixed in with the ceam is very complementary to any dessert.
Happy Baking!
Chef Gail