Loved it! I will have to try making some.

Oh, how long does a jar last in the fridge?

That was hysterical! I've only used creme fraiche in one recipe. Pretty sure I wouldn't bother making it (too much work) if I couldn't buy it.

That said, dh loves these! I'm not a fan of lemon curd (although I do make my own), so I'm rarely tempted to eat one.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/frozen-lemon-cream-sandwiches

Frozen Lemon Cream Sandwiches

7-oz container creme fraiche
1/4 cup lemon curd
finely grated zest of one lemon
12 crisp butter waffle cookies
1/4 cup chopped unsalted pistachios (optional)

In a chilled bowl, beat the creme fraiche with the lemon curd and zest until firm peaks form.

Arrange half of the cookies on the baking sheet and spoon the lemon cream onto the centers, letting it ooze gently to the edges. Top w/the remaining cookies, pressing down very gently. Freeze the sandwiches until firm, at least 4 hrs.

Spread the nuts on a plate and roll the edges of the sandwiches in them. (optional)

I skip the pistachios, but really should add them at least once. Maybe next time.

Sigh. I dare not. Blue Apron has sent us some in a couple of their recipes. Saw Gordon Ramsey make scrambled eggs and he said Creme Fraiche was the ONLY way to make them.

Love your post 2ManyDiversions.

I like it better than sour cream or yogurt.

A restaurant in Toronto served me a dessert once, that had a number of things on the plate, like a small wedge of chocolate pate, and an assortment of fresh fruits with Whipped Cream with Creme fraiche folded into it. Lightly sweetened.

I stole the idea and have used it often.

It makes a simple dessert of just fresh berries a little decadent.

I tried to buy buttermilk on the weekend, but the grocery store only had the lower fat Buttermilk. I need to pick up the 3.5% buttermilk when I go into town this week.

2many, that was quite a read! Thanks for all the myth busting too, a lot of people say you "can't" and then I do whatever it is and it turns out fine, so I'm happy I have permission to break all those rules! And that you tried it out for me, so I don't have to. (grin)

CindyMac, I love lemon curd, so thanks for reminding me of that recipe. I did make it once and it was very good, and then I just forgot about it.

Annie

You can just put a lid on the jar and it will be fine.

Funny as it's just, well, everywhere here!

But, the French don't have wonderful sweet cream that we have in Britain. Or clotted cream from the west country.....now I can get excited about that. The grass is always greener lol

Thank you Olychick

CA Kate, I’ve ‘read’ online homemade crème fraiche lasts anywhere from 1 – 4 weeks, however I’ve never had any beyond 2 weeks to know. Mine tasted and looked the same at 2 weeks.

CindyMac – you gave me a chuckle! You’d not bother making crème fraiche because it’s “too much work”, but you do make homemade lemon custard! Now that just doesn’t make sense ; ) Thank you for sharing your recipe, those sound refreshing and I’d imagine they are perfect on a hot summer day : )

ingeorgia, I did whisk a little into scrambled eggs prior to cooking (without dolloping it on top as well) and they were amazingly creamy and good.

ann_t… What? I read your post but for some reason the only thing I remember is chocolate pate… and what a lovely plate of berries!

annie1992, most of my you cannot’s do not turn out well, but on rare occasion... : )

Islay, another myth busted – it doesn’t have to breathe! Did you say clotted cream? Oh just kill me now!

I sometimes make a version that I sweeten (for use with desserts) before culturing the cream. But yes, it's a wonderful thing and it amazes me that my parents and grandparents didn't do this.

You’d not bother making crème fraiche because it’s “too much work”, but you do make homemade lemon custard! Now that just doesn’t make sense

No comparison. Lemon curd takes less than 15 minutes to make; even less if you use the microwave method.

Lemon Curd

7 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamed. Slowly add the eggs and yolks, one at a time. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan (I use anodized) cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly (with wooden spoon and silicone spatula to get in corners) until the mixture thickens, about 12-15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon and will read 170 degrees on a thermometer. Don’t let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly it will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks and in the freezer for 6 months.

~adapted from Fine Cooking

Thank you so much for your Lemon Curd recipe CindyMac!

Ok, I'm going to cheerfully and politely disagree with you... one jar and one tbs. is dirtied to make creme fraiche - you just shake and wait : ) You're counting the time it takes to thicken, and that's just not fair! Ha ha!

To be fair, I imagine our grandparents probably relied on clabbered cream, which is practically the same thing, isn't it?

I've made creme fraiche in the past, using Martha Stewart's simple instructions. Good stuff, but certainly no friend to one's waistline = D

Well my parents and grandparents never did clabbered cream :(

Mine on my mother's side were in WI. They have a heavenly substance called clotted cream there....

We usually didn't make clotted cream, we just skimmed the cream straight off the milk and used that on things like cobbler.

I also make lemon curd, but I use Colleen's recipe, you can make it in the microwave and it's so simple that The Monkey Princess made it when she was only 7 or 8. She still makes it, but we eat it with a spoon, like pudding...

Annie

Good read!

Bookmarked.

Simpler lemon curd.

Mix juice and zest of 4 lemons with 200g or 7oz caster sugar, 100g or 3.5 oz butter and 3 eggs plus a yolk in a pan. Whisk until thickened.

It really is more reliable if you use cream that's not ultrapasteurized.

Ahhhh, but that's ^^ what discouraged me a few years ago cloudy_christine... that mine would not - or might not - thicken, if it was "ultra" - the most commonly found heavy cream. I was so concerned this time after having read comments about Ultra Pasteurized, I splurged and purchased my usual generic brand, as well as a rather costly 'organic' Ultra Pasteurized heavy cream (along with full fat buttermilk). My splurge was needless, they both thickened equally.

I'd not wish others to be discouraged and not try this if they want. I'd have missed the best scrambled eggs and best cream-based pasta sauce I'd ever made, too : )

Apart from crème fraîche: ultrapasteurized cream just doesn't taste as good. If cream is the star, as in, big gobs of whipped cream with a dessert, it's very much worth seeking out regular pasteurized cream. Trader Joe's has it, most of the time.

I can buy crème fraîche as easily as I can buy whipping cream, and so I wonder why I would make it.

Can you use reconstituted buttermilk from powder? I always have powdered buttermilk on hand. I buy crème fraîche to put on German apple pancakes that I make fairly frequently.

I had a bit of buttermilk left so am trying the crème fraîche and some more buttermilk. I just covered the jars and hope that by Monday I'll have buttermilk for cornbread. I too wonder about the powdered buttermilk...

cloudy_christine – I truly appreciate your input. I’m sure, like pasteurized vs. regular eggs, the non ‘ultra’ pasteurized cream is better for many things. I feel also crème fraiche one can purchase is also better – at 40% butterfat! The nearest Trader Joe’s is a 4-hour round trip. I realize there are a number of people who, like me, cannot find non ‘ultra pasteurized’ heavy cream and this recipe affords the ability to make one’s own version.

Lars, no reason why you’d wish to make your own if you can readily find it. Those German apple pancakes look fantastic! I looked for a recipe – is this similar to yours?

mabeldingeldine, I can’t say for sure, but I think powdered buttermilk won’t have the proper live cultures to produce crème fraiche at home. I’d read a few posts and seems it is not successful. I do think for success you’ll want full-fat (not low fat) buttermilk. By the way, you can always just use ½ cup heavy cream and 1 Tbs. buttermilk if you think you won’t need as much. Please post back and let us know if yours thickened!

I just made my 6th batch using homemade crème fraiche as a starter with ultra-pasteurized heavy cream, in a cold kitchen (no heat used other than a warm jar from pouring boiling water in to sterilize), and I covered the jar with the lid (as Islay said would work) rather than letting it breath – it thickened in 14 hours, and has a far nuttier taste rather than tangy taste (as I’ve read 40% butterfat French crème fraiche would taste). It’s pretty amazing!

Also, I may have neglected to mention, crème fraiche won’t curdle in high heat as sour cream can. I'm adding a bit (plus flour) to chicken and dumplings today to thicken.

A few other notes: With sour cream, I always smooth the container contents after using so it's level as this prevents that odd liquid from forming - that I drain off. I have not done so with my homemade creme fraiche, and find the liquid that forms is extremely minimal, but I will start leveling it also.

Yes, that recipe for German apple pancakes is very similar to what I use. Here the one from Röckenwagner (now called Four Square) restaurant in Venice, CA:

Pancake Batter

7 large eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder

Apples

2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled if desired, cored and cut into 1/2” wedges
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup crème fraîche
1 cup strawberries, for garnish

Batter

In a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, vanilla, and sugar and blend for about 15 seconds, or until combined. Add the flour and baking powder and mix for 60 seconds more, or until very smooth.

Apples

Preheat the broiler to medium-high heat. Heat a 12” nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Add the apples and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkling them evenly over the apples, and stir for 2 minutes, or until the apples are glazed and slightly translucent at the edges.

Assembly

Distribute the apples evenly in the skillet and pour the batter over them. (You may also make four individual pancakes, using a smaller pan. Just use one-fourth of the apples and one-fourth of the batter for each.) Cook until the bottom seems quite firm, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pan to the broiler and, while watching carefully, cook until the pancake is firm throughout and golden on top. Cut the pancake into 4 wedges and transfer them, apple side up, to serving plates. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, place a dollop of the crème fraîche on top, and garnish with the strawberries.

Yield: 4 servings

Author’s note: We’ve had these apple pancakes at Röckenwagner since we opened, and I think they are fantastic, especially for lunch. One of the things my mom cooked well was apple pancakes. She used to slice the apples into discs so that they had a little hole in the center where the core was. Then she just dipped them in the batter and pan fried them. That’s a little different than the way I like to do it now (mine is more like an upside-down apple pancake), but I have wonderful memories of her apple pancakes.

That sounds better than the one I found... thank you Lars!

Tried one of Ina's recipes last night using creme fraiche and thought of this thread. It was super easy and really good.

Video: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-ina-garten-says-easy-mustard-roasted-fish-perfect-weeknight-meal

Mustard Roasted Fish

4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces creme fraiche

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 teaspoons drained capers

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, both mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it’s barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it’s done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

Cindy, I haven't tried this one from Ina...guess I should. I'm not a big fish fan but my family sure is. Just thinking this could also work with boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Love Ina and have all 10 of her books. A new one's coming out in Oct. :-)

Oh gosh that sounds good! I'll have to try that when I get the kitchen back (or maybe risk it in the old toaster oven if I can't wait! Thanks for sharing Cindy Mac!

BTW, I've still got creme fraiche going in my frigde, usign the original mixture as my starter each time... that's been 2 months ago : )

I baked mine in the toaster oven.

If you smash your finger, smear your affected digit with the concoction. Next, allow your tongue to inadvertently come into contact with your swollen digit.

Repeat as necessary …

Thanks CindyMac... I will look for red snapper this week and use my toaster oven : )

bragu... your comment reminded me of movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and the dad who said he put Windex on everything, even cuts! Except I prefer your medical treatment far more ; )