When I first read the headlines about this shortage, I thought, "WHAT?!? Did the cows all take a long Christmas vacation? Or did they all have to be slaughtered for health reasons (a la the chickens a year or two ago)?" Turns out, it's merely the canned whipped cream that's "endangered" (the kind as a gradeschooler, I used to put on my Christmas wish list, and spray directly into my mouth with gusto, much to my mother's hilarity).
So, when I proposed to a fellow writer that she simply beat her own from the liquid version, the reply was, "That takes too much effort to beat the liquid kind." Ah, these life-threatening First World problems! (Never mind that she spends ALL her free time---and then some---jetskiing or snowskiing {snort}.)
So, if you're not averse to taking some of your daily workout in the form of beating some cream, *you can easily make stabilised whipped cream that will hold in the fridge for up to 3 days. No drooping, no separation and it's actually just a little stiffer than regular whipped cream, so it's great to pipe into fancy shapes on desserts.
For stabilised whipped cream:
*1 teaspoon unflavoured gelatine
*4 teaspoons cold water
*1 cup double (also called heavy or whipping) cream
*sugar and/or other flavourants to taste
Put cold water into a microwaveable dish and sprinkle the dry gelatine over the top. When the gelatine has completely melted (about 5 minutes), put into the microwave and zap in 10 second bursts until the gelatine melts into a smooth fluid.
Whip cream until it starts to form mounds. Add the sugar and/or flavourants and then start whipping again as you dribble in the melted gelatine. Continue whipping until it forms stiff peaks.
This does not change the flavour of the whipped cream and it can be piped and will hold any shape that a more conventional piped frosting like buttercream will hold. It withstands being left out in a warm room longer than whipped cream does, for instance if you put it on the side table at the beginning of serving the meal.
It will keep in the fridge for at least 3 days.
[*All info from that asterisk on borrowed from a commenter at a whipped cream dearth article online.]
