French Fridays: Fromage frais à la fraise (Creamy Strawberry Yoghurt Pots)

Happy French Friday!

Today’s recipe is not only a tongue twister (try saying “fromage frais à la fraise” three times fast!) but also a dessert I’m SO pleased with – it is reminiscent of a product that came out when I was in my teens in Australia – called frûche:

frûche is a soft, spoon hugging traditional European style fromage frais

wait, what? What’s fromage frais?

According to cheese.com,

Fromage Frais is a soft, fresh, creamy fresh cheese made out of whole or skimmed milk and cream. A French speciality, traditionally, this cheese is made with cream. Many times, the term Fromage Frais is used interchangeably with Fromage Blanc, but according to the French legislation – “The denomination fromage frais is reserved for unripened cheese that underwent a mostly lactic fermentation. Fermented white cheese marketed under the terms fresh or fresh cheese must contain live flora at the time of sale to the consumer.” In simple language, Fromage Frais must contain live cultures when sold.

Ok, so this recipe does not contain “live cultures” but it SO reminds me of the frûche product I used to enjoy in Australia and later, the fromage blanc I still enjoy in France. I worked hard on a recipe that would taste like my memories for In the French kitchen with kids and this is a variation on it containing a little less sugar but strawberry sauce (cooked like a jam to boost the flavour). I developed this recipe as a component of another recipe but it’s too good not to share on its own 🙂

Yield: 4-6

Fromage frais à la fraise (Creamy Strawberry Yoghurt Pots)

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Creamy yoghurt pots flavoured with a strawberry coulis. Perfect for breakfast, snacks or dessert!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Chill Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the “fromage frais”:

• 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy (35%) cream
• 1/2 cup smooth mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons (20g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the strawberry sauce:

• 1lb (454g) strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Make the strawberry sauce

1. Place the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot and stir.
2. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to the boil.
3. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the strawberries are very soft.
4. Remove pot from the heat and allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes (you can transfer the mixture to a clean bowl to speed up the cooling process).
5. Use an immersion blender or a mini food processor to blend the strawberry mixture to smooth.
6. Refrigerate until needed.

Make the "fromage frais"

1. Using a hand-held electric beater, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks (2 minutes on high).
2. In a separate bowl, using the same electric beater (no need to rinse the attachments), beat the mascarpone, yoghurt, icing sugar and vanilla together until smooth.
3. Add the whipped cream, 1/3 of the amount at a time to the cream cheese mixture. Fold gently until thoroughly combined.

To serve

1. You can either fold the strawberry sauce into the “fromage frais” or serve them together and let people add as much of the sauce as they like to their dish. OR, you can make your own “fruit at the bottom” pots!
2. Chill for 2 hours to overnight.

Notes

You can use a stand mixer but unless you have multiple bowls, you’ll find yourself having to scoop the ingredient you've just worked with into another bowl while you use the mixer for the next ingredient. If you are using a stand mixer, you’ll need the whisk attachment for the cream and the paddle attachment for the mascarpone mixture.

Recommended Products

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did you make this recipe?

please leave a comment or review on the blog or share a photo and tag me on Instagram @eatlivtravwrite !

Stay tuned for ANOTHER iteration of this recipe – coming soon in the Twelve Days of Holiday Treats!

Happy (French) Friday!

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Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter  (after school snacks) and le dîner (dinner) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!

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