Gooseberries, Goosebumps, Creme Fraiche

Why didn't anyone tell me about creme fraiche sooner? What about pie made with blackberries and gooseberries?

I'm thrilled to report a couple of exciting discoveries. Remember my Layoff Pie? It just got better! Ever had a gooseberry? For a gorgeous photo see my post on leaf lard in the other blog. The second pie of the season was blackberry and gooseberry. I served it with a dollop of crème fraiche. I whipped the crème fraiche with some freshly grated lemon zest and a few teaspoons of confectioners sugar. Just when you thought pie couldn't get better...

The most thrilling pie report of all? One of my readers tried my pie recipe and had great success. This could not be more exciting!

Goosebumps!

Creme fraiche, I've learned is French (mais, bien sur) but can easily and cheaply be made at home. It's luscious and can be used in place of heavy cream or sour cream when you need to heat something (it doesn't curdle) and keeps longer.

The proportions I see most often are as follows: 2 C heavy cream and 2 Tbsp of buttermilk. Heated just to body temp, or left in warm spot for the cultures to do their work. Homemade Creme Fraiche can also be lightened by starting with half and half, which I'm going to have to try if I keep baking pies!