Coeur à la Crème with Blackberry Sauce

Doesn’t the name of this dessert “Coeur à la Crème” just make you want to swoon? It just sounds rich and luxurious, and that’s probably because this dessert is.

Coeur à la Crème

Literally translated to cream heart, coeur à la crème is a French dessert that’s typically made in a heart-shaped mold with holes in it for draining. While the mold isn’t mandatory, it sure makes this dessert a pretty sight to see, especially for a holiday like Valentine’s Day.

I’ve made coeur à la crème during the height of strawberry season, peach season, and for a variety of occasions where I needed an easy dessert to make in a flash.

Creamy Goodness

The texture of coeur à la crème is very similar to a no-bake cheesecake. It’s light and fluffy, yet it’s got more density and tang than whipped cream because of the cream cheese that’s used to make it.

A lot of the coeur à la crème recipes you’ll see floating around are made with some kind of strawberry sauce or raspberry sauce. My personal favorite is actually a blackberry sauce that I make, which also has strawberry preserves in it. The sauce is basically a blackberry-strawberry mix.

I love the dark red color that you get when you incorporate the blackberries. That said, you can also use any kind of fruit that will soften up/purée well.

Like I mentioned, this dessert is incredibly rich. A little goes a long way. That’s why I typically make my coeur à la crème in smaller 4-inch molds, rather than the typical large one. Even then, I can’t finish an individual one all by myself.

Pure Love

I’ve found that the molds aren’t mandatory for this recipe since I never get any real liquid drainage, so technically they can be put in any kind of mold or container. However, the heart molds just make the dessert appear true to its name.

More than having a beautiful appearance, the taste of this dessert is absolutely wonderful. And the texture? A dream! Paired with the blackberry sauce, this coeur a la creme is sure to win over some hearts.

Coeur à la Crème with Blackberry Sauce

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A delicate and airy, cream cheese dessert made with a blackberry-strawberry sauce. 

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Ingredients

• 6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp lemon zest

for the blackberry sauce

• 1/2 a pint size pkg of blackberries, rinsed
• 1/4 cup strawberry preserves/jam
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp water

Instructions

To create the coeur a la creme

1. Beat (with the paddle attachment) the cream cheese and powdered sugar on high speed until whipped and smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into another bowl; temporarily set aside.
2. Pour the heavy cream into your mixer's bowl, and whisk (with the whisk attachment) on high speed until it's softly whipped with slight peaks. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest, then whisk again on high speed until it's stiff like frosting.
3. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the bowl of whipped cream. Whisk on medium speed until the two are completely blended. Line the molds with cheesecloth or a paper towel. Distribute the batter among the 4 molds, folding the cloth or paper towel over the top to envelope.
4. Refrigerate the coeur à la crème for at least a couple of hours, allowing it to chill thoroughly and firm up a bit.

To create the sauce

1. Add all of the blackberry sauce ingredients into a small pot over medium heat. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring the sauce every now and then. Once the blackberries have softened up, pour the sauce into a glass bowl or measuring cup and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cool, or allow it to cool at room temperature.

To serve

1. Unwrap the cheese cloth or paper towel from the top of the molds and flip the molds over onto your serving plates. Lift the mold up, then peel the cloth or paper towel off the coeur a la creme. If you want, you can use an offset spatula or butter knife to clean up your heart shape and make it look even more distinct.
2. Spoon the blackberry sauce around the coeur a la creme, and pour some over it too if you like.

Notes

This would be great served with graham crackers or shortbread biscuits on the side too.

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 598