Each forkful is heavenly! It’s easy to make Coeur à la Crème in a heart-shaped mold. Photo © copyright Peabody Rudd.

February 2007
Updated February 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Cheese-Butter-Yogurt

Recipe For Romance: Coeur à la Crème

Page 3: You’ll Need A Heart-Shaped Mold

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Recipe: Coeur à la Crème With Raspberry Sauce

Here’s a recipe from Chef Patrick O’Connell’s The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook. If you’re in the greater Washington, D.C. area, we can highly recommend a trip to this magnificent inn and restaurant—one of our Editorial Director’s favorite restaurants in the country. (It’s located about an hour’s drive outside the city, in Washington, Virginia.) This dessert is served at The Inn not just on Valentine’s Day, but all year-round: to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and to take advantage of delicious summer berries. It can be made in less than five minutes and, as Chef O’Connell notes, it never fails to impress—even more so than an elaborate cake that can take two days to create. The following recipe will make one large (16-ounce) or four individual (4-ounce) coeurs, using perforated heart-shaped ceramic molds as we’ve shown above. You can purchase them at gourmet housewares or kitchen supply stores (or, you can buy them online by clicking here). You’ll also need cheesecloth.

From one of the world’s most renowned chefs, everyday ingredients are elevated to new heights through surprising combinations and seductive presentations. This is American Haute Cuisine that can be reproduced at home: careful and detailed instructions assure success. Click here for more information or to purchase.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened*
• 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Chambord or other raspberry liqueur
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
• Fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish

*Chef O’Connell uses mascarpone, Italian cream cheese, instead of a combination of heavy cream and fresh cheese. It makes the preparation easier, since mascarpone is perfectly smooth.

For Raspberry Sauce (strawberries can be substituted)

• 1 pint fresh raspberries
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Cut a piece of cheesecloth into four 6-inch squares. Dampen and wring out lightly. Press one square into each of four perforated heart-shaped ceramic molds and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup of the cream, the vanilla, the 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the Chambord until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate.
3. In a small bowl, whip the remaining 1 cup cream and the confectioner’s sugar until the cream forms stiff peaks. With a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the chilled cheese mixture in three batches. Spoon the finished mixture into the prepared molds and fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the tops. Lightly tap at the bottoms of the molds on the counter to remove and air spaces between the mixture and the molds. Refrigerate on a tray or baking sheet a minimum of 2 to 3 hours.
4. Meanwhile, make raspberry sauce: In a blender or food processor, purée the raspberries, granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Taste the sauce for sweetness and adjust the sugar or lemon juice as needed. Strain and refrigerate.
5. To assemble and serve: Unfold the cheesecloth and drape it over the sides of the molds. Invert each mold onto a serving plate. While pressing down on the corners of the cheesecloth carefully lift off the mold. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon and remove the cheesecloth slowly. Spoon raspberry sauce onto the plate around the heart and garnish with fresh berries and mint leaves.

Serves 4.

Continue To Page 4: Cheese Of The Month ~ Gourmet Cream Cheese

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