I found about this cheese by chance after watching Ina Garten at the Food Network make raspberry sauce and drizzle it on top fruits and fromage blanc (another French cheese). I wasn’t able to find the latter in the grocery store–even in the fancy cheese section they have–and was told to use creme fraiche instead.

While I did buy it the first time, I found out that it can be easily made at home. It’s very simple but requires 24 hours for the cheese to ferment. It has a tart-bitter flavor. I love the tartness but added a small dollop of maple syrup right before serving to counter the bitterness. I served it with fresh cut up fruit and chopped fresh mint.

Delicious! But let me remind you that it’s mostly cream, so go easy on the portions.

Ingredients:

To make the cheese:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tbsp buttermilk (I had low fat buttermilk and it was ok)

Mix both ingredients in a jar. Close the lid, and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Refrigerate for 6 hour before serving.

Optional: before refrigeration, you can add vanilla or almond extract.

To serve:

To sweeten, add a little bit of sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Don’t add too much sweetener or else the tartness of the cheese will disappear. Mix with chopped fresh mint. Pour a little bit in a serving plate/bowl, top with fresh fruit, then garnish again with some mint.