Friday, February 7, 2014

Heart Shaped French Coeur a la Crème with Raspberry & Grand Marnier Sauce


Coeur a la crème, a rich and impressive heart shaped French cream dessert served with a red berry & Grand Marnier sauce, is easy to make for Valentine’s Day and can be prepared days in advance. Raspberries or strawberries are the traditional garnishes, but chocolate shavings or molded chocolate roses also make a pretty presentation.

Coeur a la crème is made in white porcelain molds with tiny holes in the bottom to allow the excess liquid in the sweetened cheese to run off as it chills. Molds are available in specialty kitchen stores or from Amazon. They come in two sizes, a seven inch that serves six and individual four inch molds. If you don’t have a mold, Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten suggests you make a round Coeur in a seven inch sieve lined with cheesecloth and suspend it over a bowl to drain in the refrigerator. James Patterson in Glorious French Food makes individual round Coeurs by molding the cheese in cheesecloth lined muffin tins, pulling the cheesecloth up over the tops of each and transferring the wrapped cheese to a cake rack to drain overnight in the refrigerator.


For our Coeur, we followed a recipe from Ina Gartin’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook with raspberry sauce. Ina says the recipe was inspired by friend Anna Pump from her Loaves & Fishes Cookbook. Anna flavored the sauce with Framboise, a French raspberry eau-de-vie, and suggested garnishing the Coeur with either fresh hulled strawberries or strawberries dipped in chocolate.

The Coeur recipe is simple, includes only six ingredients and is quickly combined in the bowl of an electric mixer or a hand-held mixer will work too. The mixture goes into the heart shaped mold that has been lined with cheese cloth so the excess liquid can drain away. It can sit in the refrigerator for a day or so. To serve, unmold the cream on plate, drizzle with the berry sauce and garnish with fresh berries. Or you can ring the Coeur with raspberries and serve the sauce on the side so everyone can help themselves. It makes a nice amount of sauce. Voila, as the French say. It can’t get much easier than that. I suggest sitting close to your valentine and sharing this special dessert with the one you love.


Coeur a la Crème with Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce
The Food Network & Barefoot Contessa in Paris, by Ina Garten 

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 (or use good vanilla extract)
Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce, recipe follows
2 half-pints fresh raspberries (one for garnish)
Mint sprigs for garnish, if desired

Place the cream cheese (at room temperature) and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer) 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 (preferably into a Coeur a la crème mold), 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, remove the top layer of cheesecloth, invert the Coeur onto a plate and remove the mold, then remove the remaining cheesecloth, and drizzle with raspberry and Grand Marnier sauce (recipe below) around the base. Serve with raspberries and extra sauce. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs if desired.

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. Strain to remove seeds if desired. Chill. Yield: 2 cups.



This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes.   
Have a great weekend and happy Valentine’s Day. 

48 comments:

  1. That's a beauty of a dessert, Sam! I've made it too...love Ina. Such striking colors for a holiday...of any kind.
    Been wanting to make her savory Coeur a la Crème, but haven't gotten around to it. I'm such a sketchy contributor to Ina Fridays, perhaps I should try it.

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  2. It is so beautiful! I have always wanted to make one of these (or little individual ones) but never bought the molds and never made it. Yours is perfect and perfect for Valentine's Day!

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  3. Happy Valentines Day Sam, it is the month for love and creme de couer. With my daughter getting married on Tuesday and us leaving tomorrow it is pretty special indeed.

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  4. A fresh, refined and delicious Valentine's Day dessert! So pretty.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. looks delicious Sam - I'll have the one with sauce please.

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  6. I just bought my first 2 small molds Sam..They are so cute..your heart turned out perfectly!

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  7. Sam, this is gorgeous, and I bet it is just delicious, too!

    xo

    Sheila

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  8. Sam, this is one of my very favorite desserts! I have never made it before! This is now on my must-try list! YUMMY and beautiful! What a combo!

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  9. this is beautiful have a great valentines

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  10. That looks beautiful Sam! I have never had this before.

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  11. I was just thinking about what to post for Valentine's Day. Now you have me all intimidated....

    Maybe I'll make one of these for myself and forget the VD posting hoping no one will notice. Beautiful photos and a great choice!

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  12. You got me, Sam, with the easy to make part. I'm having to do valentines early since I'm not going to be here and you have given me the perfect dessert. Thanks!

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  13. This is the perfect dessert to share with your love and I haven't made it in years. I know exactly where my mold is. Hmmm!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  14. I heard about Coeur a la crèmes but have never made one myself or had any idea how it was done. Yours looks just wonderful Sam, what a fun Valentine's dessert! Thanks for the education too about Coeur a la crème!

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  15. Sam, What a luscious and luxurious looking cake! I'm not sure that we've ever had a Coeur a la creme cake... Thanks for the recipe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  16. Absolutely beautiful! I learned about this dessert on Ina Garten's show and immediately purchased the dish to make it in. You've done a remarkable job with this lovely dessert!

    xo
    Pat

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  17. Oh, my. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. What a beautiful picture of a Coeur a la Crème – so appetizing. It is very tempting….

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  19. YUM!

    If that were here I'd be eating it right now. Irresistible.

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  20. How beautiful! I could also see this with some shaved chocolate on top. I still haven't attempted making coeur a la creme. I need to find one of those heart-shaped molds - otherwise it just wouldn't be a coeur, would it :)

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  21. OMG, I've always wanted to make this ever since I saw Ina make it! It's so decadent! How was it? Did you love it?

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  22. I made this very recipe, for Valentine's Day, a few years ago. I even bought the porcelein mold. It's such a light dessert, and easy to make. You reminded me to dig out the mold again. Beautiful, Sam.

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  23. Looks like the perfect Valentine's dessert Sam! It's so pretty with the berries:@)

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  24. beautiful presentation for the coming love day. :-)

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  25. What an elegant and delicious dessert! Love the gorgeous colour contrast of white creme and red berries.
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    Angie

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  26. Wow but that sounds just amazing. Have a good weekend. Diane

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  27. Dear Sam, Perfection! A delicious Valentine's Day Dessert!! Blessings, Catherine xo

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  28. Standing ovation for a beautiful Valentines Day dessert Sam! Thanks for sharing.

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  29. I have never splurged on a porcelain mold and love the idea of making this special dessert in a cheesecloth lined sieve. Your presentation is beautiful, Sam.

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  30. I always think I'll make this for Valentines but haven't yet -- mainly because John usually asks for chocolate. But I did make the chorizo chicken and it was great.

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  31. Wow - your Coeur is absolutely stunning! A true romance! The raspberries look just like a ruby necklace. Your Valentine is very lucky!

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  32. Beautiful Sam. Happy Valentine's Day to you two.

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  33. Hi Sam! I'm a new fan here, from Chris at The Cafe Sucre Farine! So happy to have come upon your wonderful site. I have never tried Coeur before, but I love the combination of sweet cheese and berries. Your Coeur turned out beautifully! I'm looking forward to trying this recipe soon! : )

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  34. Holy cow! This is stunning. Love it.

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  35. How beautiful! It sounds so delicious that I would be tempted to eat the whole Couer! :) I like that it is also gluten free so I'd be able to serve it to my gluten free members of the family. I will have to look for a mold on Amazon.

    PS: Thank you for entering the Suave Professionals (TM) sweepstakes on my blog --good luck!

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  36. My french cooking group made this dessert and I missed it.. now you have me wanting to try it. Well, it is truly the perfect dessert for Valentine's Day. Thank you so much for sharing it with us on foodie friday.

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  37. Yum! Not only does it sound delicious, but the photo at the top, and the one at the bottom, could be the cover for Valentines Day cards! So simple and pretty. :-)

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  38. how beautiful and impressive! the pics are gorgeous and you are so sweet to do this. I wish I was going to have it for VDay! Not going to happen though unless I make it for myself! My hubs is good on the grill not in the kitchen! LOL!

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  39. One of my all time favorite French desserts. Haven't made it in years. I remember doing a Peach Drambuie sauce for other times of the year. Your rendition is beautiful Same.

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  40. Hi Sam,
    What an elegant dessert for a special Valentine. You always make the most special recipes, that I look forward to enjoying.

    Hope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  41. I have never tried a Couer before, and cannot wait to try it! My husband and I love trying new recipes, and this looks delicious as well as sophisticated.
    Amber @ www.applestoapplique.com

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  42. I adore Coeur a la creme, and this one is a beauty!

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  43. What a beautiful French dessert! Just looking at it is a wonderful experience alone! Sam, I used to live in a suburb of St. Louis called Creve Coeur. It means 'broken heart' in French and has a love story behind it. The French really know how to live life well!

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  44. Hi Sam,
    This is very Special! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with Full Plate Thursday. Wishing you a Valentine Day filled with Love!
    Miz Helen

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  45. I can not tell you in words how much I like this recipe

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