Monday 13 June 2011

coeur à la crème

Coeur à la Crème reminds me of my mother, not because she made it often but because she never, ever made it.

It must have been the 80s, or even the 70s, when she bought the six little heart ramekins with drainage holes in the base. I remember being quite small when I asked her what these intriguing dishes were for.

“They’re for making coeur à la crème”, she answered matter-of-factly and pulled a French cookbook from the shelf, flicking to the photo.

Pretty white hearts of cream floated in a puddle of bright red fruit sauce and looked wonderful. I couldn’t wait to taste them.

But she never made them.

Years went by and, despite moving houses many times, she never made the dessert nor threw away or sold the ramekins. They sat at the back of cupboard, a quiet reminder of all the things you never get around to doing.

When my mother passed away, I inherited the ramekins. They have sat in my cupboard for ten years and I haven’t made coeur à la crème either. Jonas has begged me to get rid of them, but for some reason these little dishes hold a special place in my heart and I put them on my 2011 Food Challenge list.

So today, on the tenth anniversary of her death, I decided to finally cook and eat coeur à la crème.

Today is also my birthday, which makes it even sadder when I realise that I’ve lived one third of my life without her now. She never knew me as an adult, which I know was something she was so sad she would miss out on.

The raw pain of losing her is as intense now as it was ten years ago.

A friend of mine, Nicki, who lost her own mother before me, told me “It never stops hurting, you just get better at coping with the sadness.”

That’s the truth.


I thought today would be spent sobbing, but then something spooky and quite wonderful happened this morning to take away some of the loneliness.

Before my mother died she swore that if there was life after death, and if she was able to get word out, she’d try to make contact with me. We giggled about it, two atheists making plans like POWs escaping from a prison camp.

This morning Jonas and I woke to find a cold, grey winter day and no electricity for our heater, oven or fridge. There was a power outage.

I told Jonas that at 9:20am, the time I was born, the power would come back on, as a little 'happy birthday' from my mother. I turned on the powerless bedside lamp, and at 9:20am I thought of my mother and said aloud with sheer confidence, “Ok, it’s my birthday now. Turn on the lights Mummy.”

And with that, they flickered on.

As an atheist, I’m sure it’s coincidental but, as a daughter, I’d like to think it was my mother telling me she loved me.

~ ~ ~

This French dessert is usually made from fromage frais (fresh cheese) which is a creamy, soft curd cheese. I couldn’t find any fromage frais, or even quark, so I decided to use a combination of cream cheese and mascarpone.

It worked.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday, and my mother’s memory.


Coeur à la Crème

Based on a recipe by Australian Gourmet Traveller. Serves 6

Ingredients:
250g cream cheese
250g mascarpone
110g (½ cup) pure icing sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
200ml double cream
300g (2 punnets) raspberries
75g (⅓ cup) pure icing sugar
60ml (¼ cup) Cointreau

Method:

1. Start the day before by combining cream cheese, mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a food processor until smooth, scraping down sides.

2. Add cream and pulse until just combined. Cut six 20cm squares of muslin, rinse well and wring out.

3. Either line specialised coeur à la crème ramekins with muslin, wrap over the top and place on a plate so whey can drip through drainage holes. Refrigerate overnight.
or
Make free form by placing muslin on a work surface and divide cream mixture (about ½ cup each) between muslin squares. Bring corners of muslin together, twist tightly and tie securely with kitchen twine. Tie to hang on a rack and place a tray underneath to catch whey. Refrigerate overnight.

4. For raspberry coulis, process raspberries, icing sugar and Cointreau in a food processor until smooth, then push through a fine sieve, discarding seeds. Makes about 300ml.

5. Remove coeurs à la crème from muslin, invert onto coulis, carefully peel away muslin and serve.

Note: instead of mascarpone use fromage frais, quark, ricotta or cottage cheese.


13 comments:

  1. Anna - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It looks like a wonderful birthday dessert and a wonderful way to remember your mum! x

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  2. Such a beautiful, beautiful piece. Happy birthday. Nb, The Hungry One's mum had said a similar thing to him before she passed a few years ago. She hasn't yet made her presence felt, - but this gives me good hope.

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  3. Anna, thanks for sharing your recipe, your birthday and your mum today. I occassionalky get a lovely sense of my grandmother...but as a fellow atheist I feel I have to dismiss it... But who knows? Enjoy the rest of your day. X

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  4. Looks as tasty as everything you make big sis. Thinking of you today, and your mum - incredible ladies that you both are. So lucky to be in your life. Love you so much! :) xo
    p.s. made your chickpea and chorizo soup for shamu and co tonight - delicious!

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  5. Hi Anna, I can remember your mum being pregant with you and I also remember when you were born! This is such a beautiful story of the ramekins and I love the photo of your mum too! It brings back a lot of memories. Your mum will always be with you and your family. Happy birthday. I know your mum is so proud of you. Love Janine

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  6. Love your last post. lovely healthy mix with cream cheese and mascarpone

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  7. That was a beautiful piece of writing. So sad to hear about your mother passing away before you grew into your adulthood.

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  8. What a beautiful post, I believe your mother is always watching you, there is more to life then what the eye can see. And the dessert is magnificent, happy birthday Anna.

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  9. What a lovely story... even as an atheist, I can only imagine that that was comforting. And a beautiful photo as well! Happy birthday, Anna!

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  10. tori - just wait, i'm sure she'll say hello soon :)

    davina - it's so calming when you feel it, isn't it

    stinky - glad you and shamu loved the soup. because i love you two!

    janine - it's nice to know people who have known us so long. thanks for saying hi.

    german - vielen dank!

    na - thanks, sad but bitter sweet i suppose.

    muppy - ah muppy, my blogging friend! thanks for always being on the other end of cyberspace :)

    emiglia - it was comforting. thanks for saying hi.

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  11. Happy Birthday for Monday Anna! As a couple of others have said that was a beautiful story and unexpectedly drew tears - which is why I really should resist reading your blog at work! I've just spent the past 5 minutes mopping the mascara off my cheeks and I'm sure everyone thinks I'm losing it! Your mother sounds like she was a wonderful person. I'm sorry you haven't had her around in your adult life. Makes me all the more grateful to still have mine! Thanks for sharing. Lisa (and love the recipe too by the way)

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  12. What a beautiful post, thanks for sharing.

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Thanks for saying hello. It's great to know there are people out there in cyberspace!

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