Easy Strawberries and Cream Dessert Recipe

This Strawberries and Cream recipe is elegant simplicity at its finest.  Fresh strawberries are paired with sweet cream in this classic dessert. Such a simple recipe but such an unbeatable combination! 

Strawberries and Cream

Slightly different versions of this creamy dessert can be found all over the world.  Two of the most popular recipes come from England and Mexico.  

If you are a tennis fan you will be familiar with the tradition of serving strawberries and cream at the Wimbledon tennis championship. At Wimbledon heavy cream is simply poured over ripe strawberries.  Thomas Wolsey, who was part of King Henry VIII’s court in the 16th century, started serving this dessert when he hosted tennis matches at his palace.  The tradition was continued at Wimbledon where it has been followed since the first tennis tournament took place in 1877.

The Mexican dessert recipe is known as “fresas con crema”  and pairs fresh berries with a sweetened Mexican crema.  Typically this recipe is made with sour cream, and sweetened condensed milk.   

I like a version that is somewhere between these two classics.  With just a few simple ingredients, I like to make a slightly thickened sweetened cream sauce to pour over strawberry slices.  This easy recipe is the perfect way to satisfy my summertime sweet tooth!

Ingredients you need

• Fresh strawberries: for best results make this dessert when strawberries are in season and ripe.
• Heavy whipping cream
• Pure vanilla extract:  Vanilla extract will darken your heavy cream slightly. If you want to maintain the bright white color of your cream I recommend using clear vanilla extract.
• Powdered sugar

Easy step by step instructions

1. Hull the strawberries.
2. Slice the strawberries into quarters. Mix the strawberries and  a small amount of powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
3. Make the sweetened cream:  Combine the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer or a stand mixer, for 2-3 minutes.  The cream mixture should start to thicken but still be pourable.  
4. Serve your strawberries and cream:  Spoon the sliced strawberries into serving bowls and pour the desired amount of sweetened cream over the top.  

Variations

• Make whipped cream and turn this into a strawberry parfait:  Continue whipping the heavy cream until soft peaks form, then layer the strawberries and whipped cream in a serving dish.
• If you would like to spice things up a bit try adding a little cinnamon to the cream mixture or sprinkle some cinnamon on top of your dessert.
• You can also top this fresh strawberry dessert with crumbled graham crackers for a little crunch.
• No one said that the cream portion of strawberries and cream couldn’t be “ice cream”!  So go ahead and serve this easy strawberry dessert over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
• If you would like to make this dairy free, you can substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream and simply pour it over the strawberries.