There is obvious pleasure in plain ol’ whipped cream, be it dolloped over a mousse or pie, smothered with hot fudge and sprinkles, or squirted from a Reddi-Wip tube straight into a gaping mouth.

Whipped cream is a delight when done right, but how do you avoid it becoming flat and runny? Turns out that this simple ingredient is all you need.

Okay, okay: I acknowledge that the mere idea that there is such a thing as a “whipped cream emergency” is more than a little absurd—a First World Problem par excellence, about as silly as an “unripe ...