Elegant and easy, this delicious Russian cream dessert can be made ahead of time and chilled. Delicious plain, it is beautiful and yummy with fresh berries!

You know you’ve been blogging a long time when you make a dessert (after rave reviews from a friend who basically says if you don’t make it, your life will be sad, lonely and incomplete), love it, and declare it the best thing you’ve eaten in your whole life only to start a post about it and realize through a boring chain of investigative events that you actually posted pretty much an identical recipe seven years ago…and apparently loved it equally as much back then although you literally have no memory of the event.

Glasses of cream topped with pomegranate seeds and raspberries.

Which leaves me wondering:
Who am I and am I actually in a real, life episode of the X-files?
Or has my sleep-deprived and totally overworked and underpaid brain finally bailed on me? Left me hanging and looking half-crazy?
Actually, don’t answer the crazy part.
How have I managed to live a worthwhile life the last half-decade having totally forgotten about a life-changing dessert I once told you about?
Seriously. I don’t know what to believe anymore.
I should be fired from blogging. And life. But not cream. Not Russian cream. Or Berries and Cream. Or cream, cream, cream. I will never again forget about rich and creamy desserts if it’s the last thing I do (and it may be).

A spoon taking a bite of cream and berries out of a glass cup.

So. In summary, this dessert is pretty as can be and ridiculously delicious. And so easy, you’ll wonder where all the extra steps are (I promise, I didn’t forget to include them – they just don’t exist).

A bit softer, sweeter and slightly creamier than fancy-pants panna cotta (which usually doesn’t include sour cream), this Russian Cream is luscious and so very yummy.

And if you’ve been making the Berries and Cream and loving every bite and taste these last seven years, then I’m genuinely very happy for you.

For the rest of us, let us come together over Russian Cream and pretend we haven’t been missing out.

Top view of a glass cup full of cream topped with berries.

One Year Ago: Recipes the World Forgot {Part 10}
Two Years Ago: Family Candlelight Dinner: Tips, How-To’s and Menus {Our Favorite Valentine’s Day Tradition}
Three Years Ago: Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

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Russian Cream with Berries

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
4.51 stars (53 ratings)
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Ingredients

  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 ⅓ cups (283 g) granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon gelatin (see note)
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 ½ cups (340 g) sour cream (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the cream, sugar and salt over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring constantly, about 4-5 minutes. If it starts boiling, turn the heat down and simmer gently (I find the sugar usually dissolves before it starts to simmer). Remove from the heat and set aside.
  • Dissolve the gelatin completely in the boiling water and whisk it into the warm cream mixture.
  • Cool completely (you can speed this up by using an ice water bath or putting the mixture in the refrigerator, stirring every 15-30 minutes). Whisk the sour cream and vanilla into the cooled cream mixture until smooth.
  • Spoon into individual serving cups (about a cup per serving – you can use ramekins or small bowls or glass cups or just leave it to chill in one large bowl), cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
  • Top with fresh berries and/or pomegranate arils and serve chilled.

Notes

Gelatin: if you are using the individual packets of gelatin, you’ll need a full packet plus a little bit of a second packet. You can get by using just one packet but the finished dessert won’t be quite as set up as it is if you use the full tablespoon (learned from experience).
Sour Cream: also, since you are splurging on a creamy dessert anyway, I’ll tell you, this is much thicker and richer (and more delicious) with regular sour cream – not light and definitely not fat-free.
Author: Mel
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Method: Stovetop
Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 528kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 42g, Saturated Fat: 26g, Cholesterol: 145mg, Sodium: 71mg, Sugar: 35g

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Recipe Source: sent to me by my sweet friend, Nicole, who devoured and loved it at our friend Hollie’s house who made it for quite a large crowd of people serving it in small plastic cups with fresh raspberries and pomegranate arils (I believe the recipe was originally included in one of those church cookbooks from the Eagle, ID, area attributed to Sheri B.) – the dessert is shockingly similar to a recipe I posted seven years ago (this one is slightly easier in preparation with a few minor differences in ingredients) 

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