For some unknown reason, I am always amazed at how easy Ina's recipes are. Perhaps I am intimidated by the lovely photography? Anyway, that was once again the case here.
Cœur à la Crème
12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1¼ cups confectioners' sugar
2½ cups cold heavy cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp grated lemon zest
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
Raspberry Sauce
½ pint fresh raspberries
Mix cream cheese with confectioners sugar on high speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape mixture off beater and sides of bowl and change to whisk attachment. With mixer running on low, slowly pour in the cream. Add vanilla, lemon zest, vanilla seeds and mix on high until mixture gets very thick.
Line a cœur à la crème mold with cheesecloth leaving extra to drape over the sides. (I live in a small space and do not have room for single use kitchen items, so I used a colander. Not as pretty, but it works.) Pour the crème mixture into the mold and set the mold over a dish to drain. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight.
When ready to serve, pour off the liquid and unmold the crème onto a serving dish. Pour sauce around the base of the crème and serve with fresh raspberries.
Ina served hers with a raspberry sauce but my supermarket was out of fresh raspberries and I had a brain fart and didn't think to check the frozen! I did have some strawberries in the fridge, so I mascerated them with a little honey and Grand Marinier and I had a fine sauce.
Now, having dished this up I can say I was disappointed. I know that we feast with our eyes as well as with our mouths. I think the true impact of this dish is the heart shaped Coeur a la Creme mold and without the mold it is visually lacking. I didn't take a picture of full mold because it was such a let down.
My mouth, on the other hand, had a party! I may actually buy the mold so that I can serve this to my friends some day. The question remains...where to put it?
12 comments:
Well, it is the taste that counts anyway!! Just wanted to say thanks for your comment on my hummingbird cake - you were my first ever comment! Even more fun for me because you are on the opposite side of the globe.
I like your addition of the strawberries. As yummy as this dessert is, taste is what counts!
Haha! I'm glad you liked it. I had the same problem with the one I made that was heart shaped. It was like a train wreck. I topped it with the sauce, and it looked like it was bleeding... then I dusted it with cocoa powder and MY GOODNESS it was fugly! I actually had to replate one this morning because it was truly awful.
~The Cat's Pajamas
I agree, taste it what counts! I think your little bowl of coeur a la creme looks quite delicious, the strawberries are a nice addition!
I agree with you about being intimidated by Ina's recipes, but then they seem pretty simple. I think that is the beauty of this dish. I think it looks lovely!
i'm always impressed by how easy most of ina's recipes are because they always taste really good. this was no exception. i just used heart shaped cookie cutters to mold mine, if you had those you wouldn't have to figure out how to stuff one more dish in the kitchen cabinets. :)
I am also amazed at how well Ina's recipes are adapted for entertaining. This Coeur is wonderful and your dessert looks like it tastes delicious. =D
Like the strawberries--it looks yummy. I love the fact Ina's recipes are easy but when you look at the food you think they couldn't be--makes my friends all the more impressed! ;-)
I think you're right about Ina's recipes- they always turn out great and look so beautiful in the books!
I'm going to try making it with the right dish, but I agree it tasted amazing anyway you ate it! :)
I completely agree with you about Ina's recipe sseeming complicated, I was intimidated by this recipe until I actually read through it. But it really was easy, and delicious!
Mmmmm, the strawberry sauce sounds delicious. I couldn't justify the dish, either. If only it did something else ... ;)
I completely agree--Ina's recipes are generally really easy, but at the same time so tasty and usually pretty. Makes cooking them a lot of fun.
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