Coeur a la Crème
For more than thirty years I have avoided single-purpose tools in the kitchen. When I’ve made the mistake of buying one, I try to face the error quickly, and give it away. I had a special-purpose, Jim Leahy’s-famous-bread pot, for example, and I am not a bread baker. It was a pretty red, though.
Our daughter owns a tiny waffle-maker, but it was a gift, takes up very little space, and I concede that she uses it regularly. Her brother, another home cook, has recently bought a garlic press and a mango slicer. One day I hope to put them quietly in the street sale. (I mean, the free-to-good-home section.) But when I look at his favorite special-use tools, I remember the single-purpose dishes I won’t part with, because they are so pretty.
Coeur a la crème dishes. Small, heart-shaped, perforated ceramic trays, they are as pretty on the shelf as they are full of creamy dessert, and I own six. I wish I owned a dozen.
Let’s order six more! Let’s hunt them down in a Bordeaux flea market!
Never mind the dishes. What is a Heart of Cream? It is the most charming, simple, rustic French dessert. You can make it in the time it takes to open three little pots of delicious dairy. You can make it from the fresh dairy items you happen to have in the fridge. You can make it with cow, sheep, or goat milk, raw or cooked. You can vary the sweetness and toppings.
Coeurs a la crème are also delicious.
Coeur a la crème is something like an unbaked, drained cheesecake. (Unlike panna cotta or vanilla pudding, it requires no thickening agent.) My recipe calls for mascarpone, crème fraiche, and ricotta, but you can also substitute fromage blanc, American cream cheese (try Ben’s), or yogurt (strained or not). One or two tablespoons of heavy cream is a nice addition.
The method is simple. Mix, pour, drain, serve.
If you have Vermont Creamery crème fraiche with vanilla bean in your local shop, lucky you. Use that, and omit the vanilla extract.
Coeur a la Crème
(from The Real Food Cookbook)
8 oz/ ½ c mascarpone or fromage blanc
16 oz/ 1c crème fraiche
16 oz/ 1 c ricotta
2-4 T sugar or maple syrup, or a mix
1 tsp vanilla
Coeur a la crème dishes
Cheese cloth
A large flat baking sheet or dish
A rack to fit in the pan
Whiz all the ingredients in the food processor, or mix well with beaters.
Place the rack on the baking sheet. Place perforated dishes on the rack.
Cut the cheesecloth to cover the dish completely, with spare cloth to hang over on all sides.
Pour the batter (it may be quite thick depending on the dairy used) into the dishes, on top of the cheese cloth. Fill the hearts well or they will be scrawny.
Let the hearts drain in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
To serve, roll back the extra cheese cloth. Place a small plate on the heart and flip the heart upside down on the plate. Gently lift off the dish and pull back cheese cloth.
Top with raspberry sauce, chocolate sauce, honey, or nuts.
Raspberry Sauce
1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries
¼ c sugar
1 vanilla bean
Split and scrape the vanilla bean into the raspberries.
Add sugar, and stir, simmering gently, for about 20 minutes.
Strain.
