This is a traditional French dessert, a simple cheesecake made by draining a mixture of sweetened cream cheese and creme fraiche of excess moisture in a special heart-shaped ceramic mold with holes in the bottom. These molds can be found in cookware shops and online. As with baked cheesecakes, the best way to ensure that you have a smooth dessert is to bring the cream cheese to room temperature and beat it well before mixing it with the other ingredients. When finished, the coeur is a pure white heart, ready to decorate ina variety of ways. At the White House, I changed its presentation for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and many other occasions, using a variety of fresh fruits in season to brighten and enhance it, and even decorating it with finely piped chocolate when I was feeling artistic.

Serves 6 to 8

For the Coeur A la Creme
14 ounces Philadelphia brand cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1 1/3 cups creme fraiche

For the Honey Vanilla Sauce
1/2 cup honey
5 large egg yokes
2 cups half-and-half
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Fresh Fruit
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into thin slices
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
2 ripe kiwis, peeled and thinly sliced
Raspberry sauce, if desired

Method
1. Wet a 15x15 inch piece of cheesecloth with cold water and wring out so it is damp but not dripping. Place the cheesecloth inside a 9-inch coeur a la creme mold, with the edges overhanging the rim of the mold.

Place the mold on a rimmed baking sheet.

2 Place the cream cheese, sugar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until fluffy. In another bowl, whip the creme fraiche with the whisk attachment until
it just holds stiff peaks. Gently fold the creme fraiche into the cream cheese mixture.

3. Scrape the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined mold and smooth it with a spatula. Fold the overhanging cheesecloth on top of the mixture, smoothing out the wrinkles where possible, so that its surface is completely covered. Gently pat it down. Refrigerate the mold, still on the baking sheet, overnight to allow the excess moisture to drain.

4. Peel away the cheesecloth that covers the top, and invert the mold onto a serving platter. Lift off the mold and carefully peel away and discard the cheesecloth. Spoon the sauce around the cake, and let it stand for 30 minutes.

5. Make the Honey Vanilla Sauce: Whisk the honey and egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Combine the half-and-half and the vanilla bean in a heavy saucepan, and bring to boil.

6. Slowly dribble 1/4 cup of the hot half-and-half into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Dribble another 1/4 cup of the half-and- half into the egg yolk mixture, again whisking constantly. Then whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the remaining half-and-half and return the pan to the heat. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, until the mixture shows the first sign of coming to a boil. Quickly strain the sauce into a bowl, and refrigerate until cold.

7. Peel away the cheesecloth that covers the top of the Coeur a la Creme and invert the mold onto a large serving platter. Lift off the mold and carefully peel away and discard the cheesecloth.

8. Arrange the mango slices and raspberries around the cake. Drizzle the Honey Vanilla Sauce, and then the Raspberry Sauce, around the fruit so that strands of the drizzled sauces artfully intertwine.

Arrange the kiwi slices around the perimeter of the platter. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

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