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How can I adjust a whipped cream recipe so that it holds together longer? I envision a cross between whipped cream and a light airy frosting. The whipped cream will also have different flavorings added.
These need to hold together at room temp for several hours.
I'm thinking by going heavy on the powdered sugar I can get a thicker consistency.
I would like to pipe this onto the top of miniature gingerbreads with a large pastry bag.
Your best bet is probably gelatin stabilized whipped cream. This recipe from Wilton gives you an example of how to proceed. You can google many other results.
Depending on your tastes, to compliment gingerbread, you may also consider some alternate frostings which will hold up better at room temperature and taste great:
And I have to mention, in a completely different direction, a lemon glaze could be spectacular on gingerbread, although very different (sample recipe from Martha Stewart).
Plain whipped cream is somewhat problematic as an icing. It doesn't hold shapes well, and it begins to deflate and weep after just a few hours, even in the refrigerator.
There are a number of ways to make stabilized whipped cream, which is more durable and pipes better. Here is a recipe from Wilton. It uses gelatin to stabilize the whipped cream. The recipe is very simple: just bloom the gelatin in water, add to the cream, and whip.
If for some reason you don't want to use gelatin (e.g. kosher or some kinds of vegetarian) you can use corn starch, or a commercial stabilizer like Dr. Oetker. Rose Levy Berenbaum recommends cornstarch; here is her recipe. I've also seen dry milk powder, carageenan, and even cream cheese.
More sugar should make it stiffer.
However, if you're piping it, you may wish to get closer to this wedding cake frosting which doesn't use eggs. They hold longer than some marriages.
here is also a list of different types of icing.
Stabilizing the whipped cream should give you a great result. It's so easy to do.
Before whipping the cream, bloom the gelatin in water. After blooming, microwave it long enough to liquefy (about 10 seconds). Make the whipped cream as you normally would. Just drizzle in the gelatin as it starts to thicken. It will last for at least 24 hours. I haven't had any around long than that. :) If you need more details, here's a post on my blog with pictures. Stabilized whipped cream is definitely worth the extra step.
