Coeur a la Crème--Barefoot Bloggers Bonus Recipe

In addition to posting two of Ina Garten's recipes a month, on the second and fourth Thursdays, Barefoot Bloggers creator Tara from Smells Like Home, gave us a bonus "challenge." Each month, the BB whose site "refers" the most hits to the Barefoot Blogger's site (which is here--hint, hint!) gets to pick a bonus recipe that members have the option of making and posting on the last Thursday of the month. The first challenge winner was Becke of Columbus Foodie, who had over 200 hits from her site to the BB site. (Congrats Becke!) Becke chose an intriguing recipe, Coeur a la Crème, from Ina's Barefoot in Paris book (page 189) or on the Food Network site (here).

My favorite food resource, Food Lover's Companion defines Coeur a la Crème as: "[kewr ah la krehm] French for "heart with cream," this classic dessert is made in a special heart-shaped wicker basket or mold with holes in it. Cream cheese is mixed with sour cream or whipping cream (and sometimes sugar) and placed into the cheesecloth-lined mold or basket. The dessert is then refrigerated overnight, during which time the whey (liquid) drains out through the basket or perforated mold. To serve, the dessert is unmolded and garnished with fresh berries or other fruit"). I had heard of and even tried Coeur a la Crème but I had never tried making one (Partly because I had thought that you needed a heart-shaped mold and I did not need another gadget in my kitchen and partly because I assumed it would be "fussy" to make) so I was very interested in trying this recipe.

Ina suggests using a sieve with cheesecloth if you don't have a mold so after deciding to halve the recipe, I chose to put it in my small strainer. I also found I did not have any Grand Marnier and didn't want to purchase any, so I decided to use some nice Framboise (raspberry liquor) that I happened to have in the sauce instead, figuring the extra raspberry couldn't hurt. I thought I was being original but when I looked up the sauce recipe in the book, Ina uses framboise in that one too. That Ina is always one step ahead!

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Coeur a la Crème with Raspberries and Grand Marnier Sauce

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce, recipe follows

2 half-pints fresh raspberries

Place the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the beater and bowl with a rubber spatula and change the beater for the whisk attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the heavy cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and vanilla bean seeds and beat on high speed until the mixture is very thick, like whipped cream.

Line a 7-inch sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels so the ends drape over the sides and suspend it over a bowl, making sure that there is space between the bottom of the sieve and the bottom of the bowl for the liquid to drain. Pour the cream mixture into the cheesecloth, fold the ends over the top, and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, discard the liquid, Unmold the cream onto a plate, Drizzle Raspberry Sauce around the base. Serve with fresh raspberries and extra sauce.
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Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce


1 half-pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup seedless raspberry jam
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)


Place raspberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and orange liqueur into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Chill. Yield: 2 cups

Results: Very good! I had used a double layer of cheesecloth and the sieve is a fine mesh, so I don't know if I was able to extract all the liquid I could have during the draining process. There was only about a tablespoon of liquid in the bottom of the bowl I put the sieve over after about 20 hours in the refrigerator but it did not seem to effect the texture much. My Coeur a la Crème turned out creamy and delicious and was so simple to make. I don't know what the Grand Mariner did to the flavor of the sauce but I really liked the added raspberry flavor of the framboise. This was an easy, low effort dessert that has a big "wow factor" even if it is not heart-shaped. I would definitely make it again.


Thanks Becke for a great recipe choice! You can check out the list with the other Barefoot Blogger's and see who did the bonus recipe here.