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Sunday, April 21, 2013

The Perfect Spring Dessert: Berries and Cream


When spring time hits and the strawberries go on sale at the grocery store, who could resist a little berries and cream for dessert?

I really liked this recipe. It was very simple. The addition of the buttermilk to the whipped cream added a nice tangy taste. The use of gelatin helped the whipped cream hold its shape longer than if it had been simple whipped cream and gave it a wonderful, thick, custard-like texture.

The recipe instructs you to dip each ramekin briefly in steaming hot water and invert it onto serving plates before topping it with strawberries. However, I felt that the dessert was just as pretty served in the ramekin itself. Plus, it was a lot less work and fewer dishes!

Oh, and I know I shared these links before, but you just have to watch them when you are thinking about or eating berries and cream. So, watch this, or maybe this version (since it has 10 million views). Oh, and this. Don't forget this one! Seriously, why didn't this commercial run longer? It always made me laugh. Who couldn't love the berries and cream little lad...as well as his little lad dance?


Buttermilk Creams with Strawberries

Whipped cream gives these no-bake eggless custards a delicate texture. Don't worry if the mixture forms clumps at first--it will come together with gentle folding.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4 ounce envelope)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over 3 tablespoons cold water. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Heat over low, stirring, until gelatin has dissolved, about 30 seconds.

In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup sugar with buttermilk until dissolved. Whisking constantly, add gelatin mixture in a very thin stream. In another large bowl, beat cream and 1/4 cup sugar until soft peaks form.

With a rubber spatula, gently stir half of whipped cream into buttermilk mixture: fold in remaining whipped cream. Divide among eight 6-ounce ramekins. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours (or up to 1 day, covered with plastic wrap).

When ready to serve, toss strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water. Let stand until juicy, about 5 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge of each ramekin and dip each briefly in steaming hot water. Invert buttermilk creams onto serving plates and top with strawberries.


Above: Before adding the strawberries.

Source: Everyday Food, May 2009. You can find it here.

Notes: As I mentioned above, I didn't worry about unmolding these. I didn't have the time, I didn't want to do extra dishes, and they looked absolutely gorgeous already served in the ramekins.

 

Above: Just look at this great blank canvas! You could top this with fresh raspberries, blackberries, chopped mango, chopped peaches...any kind of fruit that you like with cream. Yum!

1 comment:

  1. Do they still make Berries & Cream Starburst? And, yes, I remember that you did love that commercial.

    ReplyDelete