dessert Archives - Graceful Order

I think this is one of the most beautiful and elegant desserts I know of. It is perfect for Valentine’s Day, if you make it in the heart mold, in the holidays because of its vibrant red color, or simply when friends are coming over for a casual dinner. I first saw this recipe when Ina Garten made it on her show (that woman has skills!). After we visited France 2 years ago, I started making all sorts of french food which surprisingly is pretty simple to make – at least the dishes I attempt to make are. I wanted to come up with a good Coeur a la creme (heart with cream) recipe that included orange flavors and of course a delicious topping of raspberry sauce. Most recipes are made with cream cheese but I decided to also add mascarpone to make it even more flavorful and creamy.

Ingredients:

4 oz creme cheese

8 oz mascarpone

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/4 sour cream or creme fraiche

2 teaspoons of grated orange zest

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For sauce:

1 Cup of fresh strawberries (plus more for serving)

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Cup of raspberry jam (or strawberry jam)

2 tablespoons of cointreau

Note: This dessert needs to drain overnight in the refrigerator. The cream cheese and mascarpone should be room temperature before using in the recipe.

For this recipe you will need either an actual coeur a la creme dish (that I just added to my Amazon shop) or a sieve lined with cheesecloth will do.

First let’s go ahead and prep our mold – whether the dish or the sieve. Place the dish on top of a plate so that it can drain overnight and collect the liquid. If using a sieve, place it on a bowl that keeps it leveled so that it can drain into the bowl overnight. Line the dish or the sieve with a few sheets of cheese cloth. There will be excess cloth on the outside of the mold and that’s perfect. Later you will fill with the mixture and fold excess cloth over the top.

First we are going to make the actual coeur a la creme. To a mixer, add the mascarpone cheese and the cream cheese and blend on medium-low. Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and beat for a few minutes until incorporated. Then add the heavy cream, sour cream, orange zest and vanilla and beat until it has soft peaks.

Place the cream mixture into the lined mold (you may have leftover) and press a little on the sides so that it takes the shape of the heart. Now fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the mold and cover the mixture. Allow to rest overnight in the refrigerator.

While the coeur is in the fridge, let’s work on the sauce. The sauce is almost exactly as Ina makes it, except I added cointreu to accentuate the orange flavor inside the creme filling. I also strain my sauce to get rid of the raspberry seeds.

Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water inside a pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes. The raspberries will quickly soften and create a beautiful sauce. Turn off the heat and add the jam and the cointreau to the sauce. Allow to cool slightly and place inside a food processor and mix until smooth.

I take it a step further and strain the sauce, so that I don’t have any of the raspberry seeds in the sauce. Of course, this part is optional. Place the sauce inside the refrigerator.

The next morning you can un-mold the coeur onto a plate and discard the liquid that drained over the night.

Pour the sauce around the plate and drizzle some on top, along with fresh raspberries.

Isn’t it a beautiful dessert? I hope that you try it soon. Feel free to pin the below image so that you can easily find it when you are ready. It will be perfect for the holidays or you can wait to try it for Valentine’s Day. I wouldn’t/couldn’t wait though.

What is your favorite dessert to make when you have dinner guests?

~ This posts contains links, one is a affiliate link. Affiliate links don’t affect what you pay for the item, so you don’t pay more by purchasing through the link. As always, thank you for your support of Graceful Order!

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Sara Lee®, and Breyers® but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #EasySimpleSweet http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

Hello friends! Summer is almost coming to a close and while the kids have been home from school, all the meals and desserts that I have prepared have one thing in common – they are all easy peasy. The summer is not a time where you will find me cooking coq au vin (did I even spell that right? Even my spelling ability takes a dip in the summer).

Kids and adults alike have a sweet tooth and I can’t think of an easier dessert than a bowl of ice cream. Scoop and serve – voila (why do I keep inserting french words that I am not sure how to spell?). Of course the trifle in the above picture isn’t quite as easy as serving ice cream but with only a few steps you can make this fancy dessert for friends or even just for your kids.

I love how easy and versatile trifles are. If you are serving for friends or a nice dinner you can certainly place it in a trifle bowl, but you can make these in simple clear glass cups as well to serve them individually. The vessel doesn’t affect the taste and anything garnished with fresh fruit looks beautiful anyway!

Here are the ingredients that I used for the trifle. There are a few steps and shortcuts that I took (the ready-made Sara Lee® pound cake) but you can take even more short cuts if you want. For example, if you don’t want to cook down berries to make the berry sauce, you can just use jarred preserves. If you don’t want to whip the cream, use ready-made whipped topping. This recipe is already easy but you can simplify it even more with a few tweaks.

Ingredients:

1 Butter Pound Cake

16 oz package of Strawberries

12 oz Raspberries

6 oz Blueberries

1 juiced Lemon

2 cups of Heavy Cream for the filling PLUS 1 Cup of heavy cream for the topping

8 oz Mascarpone Cheese (room temperature)

1 1/4 cup of Sugar plus 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon of cornstarch

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

The first step is slicing the pound cake and then wash the berries. Remove the tops of the strawberries and slice them.

For the berry sauce:

Place almost all the strawberries (reserve a couple for the topping) and the raspberries (reserve a few for the topping) in a pot over low heat. Add the juice of one lemon, the cornstarch and the two tablespoons of sugar allow the berries to start breaking down for a few minutes. Set aside and allow to cool and thicken.

For the whipped filling:

In a mixer whip 2 cups of heavy cream with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract to soft peaks. Then fold in the mascarpone cheese. Set mixture aside in a separate bowl because you will need the mixer again.

Mix the remaining one cup of heavy cream with a 1/4 cup of sugar until you get soft peaks. Set this aside for the topping.

Now you are ready to assemble your trifle! You have the pound cake, the strawberries and the whipped filling with the mascarpone and the plain whipped topping.

Place a small layer of whipped topping on the bottom of a trifle dish or clear vessel, then top with a layer of the pound cake. Follow with a layer of the berry sauce and top with whipped filling. Again pound cake, berry sauce, whipped filling. As you build the trifle look at the outside of the bowl to make sure that all the layers are somewhat showing. That’s what makes a trifle so pretty after all. You can also start to sprinkle in some of the fresh blueberries within the layers, always reserving some for the final topping.

The final topping will be the plain (not the one with the mascarpone) whipped topping with the fresh berries. And there she is!

So easy, so elegant!

Of course you can serve the trifle on it’s own or with a side of Breyers® ice cream. Or you can save a few slices of the pound cake and add a few scoops. That way you have options for your guests, especially picky little ones.

But when it comes to ice cream, I am a purist. Breyers® ice cream has a lot of variety and they are made with fresh cream, sugar and milk but my go-to is always the Natural Vanilla. You know that I live right on the edge of life and food choices.

If I am feeling especially daring, I add some fudge. It’s as crazy as I get when it comes to ice cream. Of course my kids love different toppings – they take after their dad.

So whether it’s the trifle, the ice cream or both – keep it sweet and simple!

By the way, I purchased both the Breyers ice cream and the Sara Lee pound cake at Publix and you can take advantage of $3.00 off any ONE (1) Sara Lee® Frozen Dessert 9.6-30 oz. and Breyers® Ice Cream 48 oz. (combined purchase required) now through 8/28/15 at your local Publix while supplies last.

What are your favorite ice cream flavors and toppings? Have a great week everyone!

Coeur a la Creme with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:

Easy Berry Trifle