Vanilla Cream Cups with Red Berries

Although there are countless recipes for different creams, with very tasty results, I assure you that the flavor of this vanilla cream with red fruits is so soft and delicate it will captivate you. A single teaspoon of these little glasses is enough to surrender completely to it and make it THE VANILLA CREAM, in capital letters, par excellence.

This delight is a custard with all the aroma, flavor and elegance of vanilla. It is also very easy to prepare, but for it to deserve such praise, a few preliminary requirements must be considered. A small toll to pay compared to the great result obtained. Nothing that can’t be done at home, with a bit of patience and planning.

Considerations to keep in mind

• It may seem obvious, but it’s worth stressing that in recipes like this, with few ingredients, it’s very important that they are of the highest quality. In the case of the eggs and vanilla, as fresh as possible. And, of course, a good cream.
• We will use fresh, aromatic vanilla pods and let them macerate in the cream all day the day before. We know a pod is fresh if it is flexible (you can even roll it around your finger easily) and its appearance is glossy. To extract all the aroma, we will open them from top to bottom with a very fine knife and scrape out the interior to get the seeds (make a longitudinal cut without cutting completely through). We will put seeds and pods with the cream in an airtight jar and leave it in the fridge so the fat particles in the cream absorb and fix the vanilla aromas.
• From the eggs we will only use the yolks, which we will need to lighten with the sugar. To do this you must beat both ingredients for several minutes, until the mixture has foamed and doubled in volume. This step is very important so the cream ends up with a better texture, much more homogeneous, smooth and without lumps.
• It is necessary to carefully control the temperature. Being a custard, it has a very smooth and light texture, with less body than pastry cream. You must heat it, without stopping stirring so it doesn’t stick to the bottom or form lumps, with a spatula, until the cream begins to thicken and coats the spatula (see "Notes"). In any case it must not exceed 85 °C, because if it does it would thicken too much.
• Once the cream is ready, let it cool to room temperature in a bowl or tray. When you transfer it to that container, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any possible residue or lump that may have remained, and cover it directly on the surface with cling film, to prevent a skin from forming.

This cream could be eaten on its own perfectly, barely noticing. But I suggest you accompany it with the red fruits you like most. Presented in glasses, ramekins or mini cocottes, and crowned with a few raspberries or wild strawberries, you will have an exceptional dessert.

You’ll see the recipe is very easy to make and, with the tips given, the result is luxe. Let’s go!

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 330 g heavy cream (35% fat)
• 2 vanilla pods
• 110 g egg yolk (about 5 or 6 yolks, depending on the egg)
• 55 g sugar
• Raspberries, wild strawberries or some chopped large strawberries
• Strawberry syrup or coulis to decorate (optional)

Preparation

1. The day before, cut the vanilla pods lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Put pods and seeds with the cream in an airtight container and let it macerate in the fridge.
2. Heat the cream macerated with the seeds and vanilla pods in a saucepan over low heat. Leave the pods in the cream while it heats.
3. Put the yolks and sugar in a bowl and lighten them for a few minutes, until they double in volume. You can do this by beating in the KitchenAid with the whisk attachment, or by hand with a balloon whisk.
4. When the cream begins to boil and rise, remove the pan from the heat and pour about half the contents over the lightened yolks without stopping stirring. Stir gently until well combined.
5. Now pour the mixture of cream, yolks and sugar into the pan with the rest of the cream and return it to the heat. Heat it over low power and without stopping stirring.
6. When you see the cream coat the spatula or check with a kitchen thermometer that it has reached 85 °C, remove the pan from the heat.
7. Strain the cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a container, cover it directly on the surface with cling film and let it cool to room temperature. Wash the vanilla pods and let them dry (in NOTES I explain how you can reuse them).
8. When the cream has cooled, remove the film and squeeze it out with your fingers, so as not to lose the cream that may have stuck. Store the cream in the fridge until serving time, so it cools and firms up a bit in an airtight jar.
9. Lightly whisk the cream when taking it out of the fridge and divide it into ramekins or into glasses, filling them halfway. Add some raspberries or the chosen red fruits, a little coulis or syrup and cover with cream, without filling the glass. Place some raspberries or red fruits on top and garnish with a little strawberry syrup or coulis. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

• To check that the cream has the thickness we’re looking for, it must coat the spatula. To check this, simply run a finger over the spatula covered in cream and if the edges appear clearly separated, it will be ready.
• To lighten the yolks with the sugar we can use an electric whisk, a stand mixer or beat them by hand with a balloon whisk. I encourage you to do it this way at least once, because it’s very curious to see how the consistency of the mixture changes during the process.
• Besides as a dessert on its own or with red fruits as in the recipe, this vanilla cream is exceptional to accompany any chocolate preparation. Try it with a coulant, with the lava cake we have on the blog, served with a piece of brownie, with truffles or with exquisite French-style fried milk bread. The combination of flavors is delicious.
• You can use it as a base for other preparations, such as ice creams or mousses. And, of course, it is the perfect cream to prepare a very French dessert, floating island.
• Once clean and dry, put the vanilla pods inside the jar of the sugar you use regularly. You will easily obtain a delicious homemade vanilla sugar.
• The egg whites not used in this recipe can be frozen for when you want to use them. Leave them inside a jar in the freezer for when you want to make meringues or you can add them to your omelettes.