Name: Coeur à la crème
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 700 gm mixed berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and youngberries; 20 ml Cointreau or other orange liqueur; Coeurs à la crème; 250 gm each of cream cheese and ricotta; 110 gm pure icing sugar (½ cup); 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (pod reserved for another use, if desired); 200 ml double cream (48% milk fat); Raspberry sauce; 300 gm raspberries (2 punnets); 75 gm pure icing sugar (1/3 cup); 60 ml Cointreau (¼ cup)

At the time of year when thoughts turn to romance (albeit prompted by the marketing exercise that is Valentine’s Day) it seems timely to roll out the French classic coeur à la crème. If ever there was a dessert designed to win the heart of one’s valentine, this would have to be it. Long a part of the classical French repertoire, it debunks the myth that French desserts are, without exception, complex and difficult. Far from haute cuisine, this dish is perfectly simple. It’s traditionally made from unsweetened soft white cheese curds set into porcelain heart-shaped moulds with perforated bases for the whey to drain overnight. They are then unmoulded and served with cream poured over, covered with sugar. The traditional porcelain coeur moulds are available from specialty kitchenware stores, but don’t be put off making this uncomplicated dessert if you can’t get hold of them (or if you don’t want yet more paraphernalia cluttering your kitchen cupboards). Do as we have and simply wrap the cheese in muslin, making them a more free-form affair (and, if the truth be known, more closely resembling a real heart than the moulded variety).

Recipes vary greatly, using cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta, mascarpone, crème fraîche and/or yoghurt, in myriad combinations. We’ve used cream cheese and ricotta for a creamy, smooth result and, although it’s not strictly traditional, we’ve added a touch of sugar.

The further beauty of this French classic is that it’s the perfect foil to almost any seasonal fruit. InFrench Provincial Cooking, Elizabeth David describes a stay in farmhouse accommodation in Bourg-en-Bresse and being served “a wonderfully fresh and innocent looking cream cheese dish… served covered in rich cream” accompanied by a beautiful bowl of fresh wild strawberries. A menu dating from Berowra Waters’ original incarnation (11 October 1981, to be precise) lists the dish accompanied by rhubarb compote, and Sydney’s Sean Moran likes to serve his with spiced cherries. Make the most of summer’s berry bounty and try a combination of them served with raspberry sauce.

For a decadent dessert, this simple French treat of cream cheese and sweet berries will melt hearts.

Ingredients

700 gm mixed berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and youngberries

20 ml Cointreau or other orange liqueur

Coeurs à la crème

250 gm each of cream cheese and ricotta

110 gm pure icing sugar (½ cup)

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (pod reserved for another use, if desired)

200 ml double cream (48% milk fat)

Raspberry sauce

300 gm raspberries (2 punnets)

75 gm pure icing sugar (1/3 cup)

60 ml Cointreau (¼ cup)

Method

Main

1.For coeurs à la crème, pulse combined cream cheese and ricotta, icing sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a food processor until smooth, scraping down sides. Add cream and pulse until just combined. Cut six 20cm squares of muslin, rinse well and wring out. Place on a work surface and divide cream mixture (about ½ cup each) between muslin squares. Bring corners of muslin together, twist tightly and tie securely with kitchen twine. Hang cheeses in refrigerator by tying on a rack and place a tray underneath to catch whey. Stand overnight.

2. For raspberry sauce, process raspberries, icing sugar and Cointreau in a food processor until smooth, then push through a fine sieve, discarding seeds. Makes about 300ml.

3.Combine berries and Cointreau in a bowl and stand for 5 minutes to macerate. Divide berries between bowls and drizzle with raspberry sauce. Using scissors cut tops of coeurs à la crème, invert onto berries, carefully peel away muslin and serve.

Styling by Adelaide Lucas

Styling by Vanessa Austin

Ingredients

Method

Main

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