Russian Cream is a rich, creamy, chilled, and unbelievably easy dessert for Valentine’s Day, as well as all of the spring and summer months we have ahead of us. It’s easy to customize too! The basic recipe just uses vanilla, but you could easily add orange, lemon, lime, or coconut extract to mix things up. It’s simple to make, easy to serve, and great for entertaining as it can be made and chilled ahead of time.
Ingredients Needed
- sugar
- gelatin
- cold water
- sour cream – light is fine
- vanilla extract
- heavy whipping cream
- berries
How to Make Russian Cream
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Bloom the gelatin with sugar and water, then set aside briefly.
- Whisk vanilla into the sour cream and set aside.
- Heat the gelatin mixture until dissolved, then stir in cream and the sour cream mixture.
- Pour into ramekins and chill until set.
- Serve cold, topped with berries.
Storage & Other Tips
- Make Ahead of Time & Chill: This recipe stays good for a couple of days in the fridge and needs 4 hours minimum of chill time, so you can make it the night before beautifully. Cover the ramekins tightly with plastic wrap. Add the berries right before serving so they stay fresh.
- Bring to Serving Temperature: take the ramekins out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before serving so the cream isn’t too hard, and the flavor comes through more clearly.
- More Garnish Ideas: In addition to berries, you can also add a few mint leaves, a dusting of powdered sugar, or a chocolate curl.
Frequently Asked Questions
The key difference is the addition of sour cream. Sometimes people will make Russian Cream with crème fraîche or buttermilk too. It gives it a slight tartness and a lighter, melt-in-your-mouth texture compared to the firmer, sweeter, more traditional cream-and-gelatin base of panna cotta.
Instead of berries, you could use freshly sliced fruit (just note that the juicy fruit could release liquid, so do it immediately before serving). You could easily add orange, lemon, lime, or coconut extract to mix things up, and do corresponding garnishes to complement those flavors. (For coconut extract, you could try a lime wedge, chocolate curls, and flaked sweetened coconut. If you add a citrus extract, you could go with pomegranate arils, a rosemary sprig, and a drizzle of honey…you get the idea!) This recipe is basically a blank slate, which makes it really fun and easy to customize.
Common issues include not blooming the gelatin long enough, not bringing it to a proper boil, or adding cold ingredients too quickly. Make sure the gelatin fully dissolves before adding the sour cream mixture slowly.
Yes, this is perfect to make ahead of time. The set cream can be made and chilled up to a day early. Take out the ramekins from the fridge 10-15 minutes before serving and let them come up to temperature a bit, then add the berries or other garnishes of your choice.
Russian Cream
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin
- ½ cup cold water
- 12 ounces sour cream light is fine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract* see notes
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- berries, fresh
Instructions
- Whisk together the sugar and gelatin in a small saucepan and whisk in the cold water. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
- While the mixture is standing, whisk the vanilla into the sour cream and set aside.
- When the gelatin mixture has sat for 5 minutes, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When boiling, remove from heat and whisk in cream. Very slowly whisk in the sour cream mixture, then distribute evenly among 6-8 ramekins.
- Chill for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, top with berries.
Notes
- *If you’d like to mix up the flavors a little, try reducing the vanilla to 1/2 teaspoon and then adding a teaspoon of your favorite extract–lemon, orange, coconut, and lime are all great choices!
Questions & Reviews
My darling grandmother from Germany made this dessert for Sunday lunch. Absolutely stunning in wine glasses with berries, at least 30 years ago to my young eyes. She said she wouldn’t cook on Sunday, the biggest spread I have ever seen but not cooked that day. If she could see the popularity of a charcuterie board now she would laugh the most spectacular cackle! Definitely recommend making this.
I have a neighbor that has been impressing people in the neighborhood with what I assume is this recipe, although she calls it Bavarian Cream. She refuses to share the recipe so I’m excited to have this recipe because we have tried finding a recipe by searching BArvarian, but nothing has come close. Also she sprinkles brown sugar on top with the berries…game changer!!!
Could you use this cream in a trifle recipe?
The gelatin might make it a little stiff–you might want to cut down on that. 🙂 But just personal preference.
Perfect dessert! I made this for Valentine’s Day and everyone in the family loved it! It was easy to make and the perfect not-too-heavy end to a dinner. I think it will be my new go-to dessert for company.
I’m so tickled you posted this! Sometimes I panic when I can’t find what I copied from my mom’s 70’s “Sunset Magazine Family Favorites”. This has been a staple for Easter Sunday ever since mom first tried it way back then. For any who are curious, yes you can make this with fat free half and half, splenda and even fat free sour cream. That is my standard way since there are always diabetics at my table. I make it as they suggested back then in a bundt-shaped jello mold and always mound up strawberries and peaches in the center. Love that you did individual servings!
Hi, I want to make this in a mold for our crafts Christmas party… I’ve had it this way and like the presentation with fruit on it. Do you have to coat the mold or what is your technique to invert it onto a serving platter and have it look perfect? Thanks for your help!
can you substitute greek yogart for the sour cream?
I’m almost positive you could, I’ve just never tried it. 🙂
Can you use splenda in place of the sugar?
You can always try it! I can’t say for sure, though, especially since you’re cooking it.
Sounds delicious! On a side note, when I go to print your recipes the print button gives me a preview with the picture but then the print button from there opens my print program and I lose the image…any suggestions other than copy/paste it all to Word?…which I’ve done many times to attach an image to it but its annoying.
I’m not sure why that’s happening, but you’re not the first person that has mentioned that–we’ll look into it for sure! 🙂
Could you substitute plain greek yogurt in place of the sour cream?
I bet you could, but I haven’t tried it! 🙂
Is this like panna cotta? I love panna cotta!
Very panna cotta-esque! 🙂