“Hearts of Cream” a lovely, classic dessert and one that takes very little attention or work.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1/2 pound cream cheese

　　1 cup whole-milk yogurt

　　1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　3/4 cup sugar

　　1 quart strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced

　　

Step 1

Use a fork or blender to cream together the cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla, and half the sugar. (If you use a blender and the mixture is too thick, add a little heavy cream or milk.) The mixture should be quite smooth. Put in a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a clean dishtowel and place over a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

　　

Step 2

About a half hour before serving, toss the strawberries with the remaining sugar and let sit at room temperature. Turn the cream cheese mixture out onto a plate and divide into 4 portions or put some of the mixture in each of 4 bowls. Mix the berries, if you like, with a little more sugar.

　　

Step 3

Serve the coeurs à la crème topped with the berry mixture.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.