Coeur à la Crème is a dessert consisting of cream cheese and whipped cream, topped with a fruit topping traditionally shaped like a heart. I’d compare this dessert to being a French-style cheesecake. Coeur à la Crème, by its name alone, seems as though it would be so hard to make; it turns out to be easier than a traditional cheesecake.

I saw this dessert made by Ina Garten, whom I love, and knew I had to recreate this dish in a style of my own. At the time, I didn’t have the correct mold. Ina Garten made this dessert using a mesh sieve, so that’s what I used as well. Since then, I have bought a traditional Coeur à la Crème mold. Let me show you what one looks like.

Let me walk you through how easy this dessert is to make.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 24 hours
Yields: 8 servings
Equipment: Stand mixer fitted with a whisk and paddle attachments, 1 medium-size mesh sieve, heart-shaped mold, 1 large piece of cheesecloth, 1 large mixing bowl, 1 (3-quart) saucepot, large serving platter

Ingredients for the Coeur à la Crème:
12 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1  tablespoon of lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, seeded
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Blueberry Sauce:
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1/2 cup blueberry jam
1 sprig of fresh mint

Instructions for the Coeur à la Crème:
To start, add the softened cream to an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Let mix on low speed for a couple of minutes. Next, add the powdered sugar and cream together until the sugar is incorporated. A good tip is to have the mixer on very low speed while mixing in the sugar; otherwise, the sugar will spray all over the place.

Next, it’s time to change to the whisk attachment before adding all the flavorings. Add the lemon zest, vanilla bean seeds (tip: add the empty vanilla pod to your sugar container to make vanilla sugar for future recipes), pure vanilla extract, and heavy whipping cream. Again, start the mixer on low speed, then turn it to high. Whisk all the ingredients together until they have the consistency of whipped cream.

Using a mesh sieve or the traditional Coeur à la Crème mold lined with cheesecloth, as seen in the above pictures, transfer the flavored whipped cream to the sieve. Make sure you have a large enough piece of cheesecloth ( you can purchase cheesecloth at your local grocery store) to cover the top of the flavored cream, too.  Place the sieve with the covered flavored cream mixture inside a larger bowl to allow the excess liquid to drain, as seen in the pictures above. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow it to set up for 24 hours. Discard the liquid.

Instructions for the Blueberry Sauce:
Add the blueberries to a saucepot, reserving a good handful back for garnish. Water, sugar, and fresh lemon juice.  On medium heat, stir all the ingredients together, watching until it comes to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst and the juice thickens slightly.   I remove about 1/4 cup of the semi-cooked blueberries, place them into a small bowl covered with plastic wrap, and transfer them to the refrigerator along with the reserved fresh blueberries.

Add the cooked blueberries and blueberry jam to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Place into a plastic container with a lid and chill overnight in the refrigerator. That’s the blueberry sauce. The semi-cooked and fresh blueberries will add a variety of different textures to our sauce.

The next day, remove the flavored cream from the fridge.  Unfold the cheesecloth from the top of the mold. Place a large serving plate over the top and invert the whole dessert onto the plate. Carefully peel off the remaining cheesecloth from the cream. You’ll have a white, silky dome-shaped dessert with little specks of vanilla resting like a soft pillow on your serving plate.

Next, take the blueberry sauce, semi-cooked blueberries, and fresh blueberries out of the fridge. If the sauce is too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of very hot water to thin it out, and stir well. Using a spoon, spoon the sauce over the top of the dome-shaped cream and let it fall all over the sides.

Spoon the semi-cooked blueberries on top of the sauce and let them fall all down the sides as well. Finally, add the fresh blueberries and sprinkle them all around the outside rim of the dessert. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

There you have it, my Coeur à la Crème.

Notes:
1) You could use whatever berries you like for the topping. Raspberries would be delicious.

2) A traditional Coeur à la Crème mold.

3)  Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/