Coeur à la Crème

I saw this on a cooking show a while ago and have wanted to make it for some time. Mostly because I couldn't imagine what it tasted like (and that rarely happens). It's basically a cream heart that tasted like fortified whipped cream, with the consistency of maybe a baked custard, with just a tiny bit of lemon and lots of lovely vanilla. You must not skimp on the vanilla bean!

I made it with my mom when my parents were visiting. We used this recipe, but had strawberry sauce instead of the raspberry.

You do need some special equipment, namely a heart-shaped mold that acts like a sieve.

The cream has to sit overnight and drain so it kind of packs down and begins to set together. It turns from a thick whipped cream to something you can cut and serve with a spoon (i.e., it holds its shape). I was out of cheesecloth but a thin cotton (no terry cloth) kitchen towel worked just fine.

It's pretty sweet but depending on what kind of sauce you make, you can cut that sweetness with sour.