French Cream
Whipped French Cream on an almond butter brownie with strawberries. This was made for Kyla's birthday.
My new favorite thing in the world is French cream a.k.a creme fraiche. It makes cakes, muffins, fresh fruit, etc. extra-special. It is fairly easy to make. Since it is so similar to making yogurt, I make them both at the same time.
French Cream
1 qt. heaving whipping cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
In a saucepan, heat the whipping cream to 180 degrees while stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool to 110 degrees. In a bowl, add the yogurt to one cup of the cooled cream. Stir well. Then add the entire bunch to the rest of the cooled whipping cream and stir. Pour the mixture into clean glass jars and/or a yogurt maker. Keep between 100-110 degrees for 24 hours. Cool in a refrigerator for 6 hours before using.
Once it is ready, it can be used like sour cream in dishes. It can be added to frozen yogurt or smoothies to make them more creamy. The only way I have been using it is for whipped toppings on fruit and cake.
Whipped Topping
2 cups French cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp honey (sweeten to your liking)
Put the above ingredients in a large bowl. With a hand-held mixer, blend the cream until it makes stiff peaks. Cover and keep refrigerated. Spoon on your favorite fruit or cake.
We love to eat almond butter brownies plain. Adding sliced strawberries and the above SCD-legal whipped topping transforms the dessert into an out of this world experience. In fact, almost everyone in my family has requested this combination for his/her birthday cake this year.
Whether you are on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or not, French cream is a nice addition to your cooking repertoire. We love it! You should try it. If you are already a fan, please share how you like to use it in your home.
Laura,
If we’re using raw milk, do we have to heat it to 180? Doesn’t that kill any good bacteria in the raw milk?
Karen
Karen,
Yes, when using raw milk, heating to 180 degrees kills the good bacteria. I have a post about Raw Milk Yogurt, which does not heat the yogurt except to a low heat in order to add the starter. It does well; however, this recipe is for French Cream, which uses half and half or whipping cream. It is not for raw milk. Thanks for your great question.
Lara