Mexican strawberries and cream (fresas con crema) – super quick traditional Mexican dessert featuring fresh strawberries and Mexican crema or sour cream .Easy to make, but hard to shake after trying a spoonful.
Despite its elegance Fresas con crema comes together in no time as in ten minutes. You’ll be craving it even on a cold day!
“Fresas con Crema” (Strawberries with Cream) is one of the easiest Mexican desserts to make but don’t let that fool you because….Fresas con Crema is by far one of the most delicious desserts you will ever make.
This is not your ordinary strawberries and cream, that I promise you!
In less than ten minutes you will have a heavenly, sweet, hyper-delicious dessert or snack.
With just four ingredients to make this amazing and elegant dessert it makes it a winner for any day.
Fresas con crema Inspiration
I’ve been known to hit a Mexican flea market or two on occasion. I go strictly for the desserts. One of my favorites that I can always find on hand is the fresas con crema or strawberries and cream as I call it given my very limited Spanish. I will say “strawberries and cream” doesn’t do this dish justice and the fact that I’m always on the hunt for it should tell you all you need to know about the dessert as well about my habits. Whether its the flea markets or Fiesta Market I get my fix.
You can find frozen single-serve cups of Fresas con Crema in many Mexican grocery stores like Fiesta, but I actually discovered it at a food stand at a Mexican Flea Market off the highway from Austin in route to Houston. It was a hot July day, so my son and I walked the flea market and sampled Mexican desserts the entire day. I was struck by how refreshing it was, but also how simple I imagined it was to make. It’s basically strawberries, Crema, and a sweetener.
My kids find the fact that I have multiple alias names related to my culinary interests and style. There is the Lorenzo Wang as I’m known at the Asian market I frequent, Denzel Rao for the Indian Spice Market, and Jamal Fernandez as I make my rounds at Fiesta Market where you can find frozen single-serve cups of fresas con crema. If I were a rapper I’d be Ghostface Killah given his plethora of nicknames and the many styles he flexes from song to song and record to record. Given the Mexican influence in my home state, I’m more often than not in Jamal Fernandez mode which is the impetus behind this Mexican Strawberries and Cream recipe.
I had a bunch of strawberries from my weekly Farmers’ Market haul, but they don’t last long in my house. Given the typical kids’ run on strawberries, I put some aside for a dinner dessert. That sweet and creamy Fresas Con Crema flavor is perfect on a hot summer day or night if you’re in Texas where temps hover around 90 degrees well into the evening.
What is fresas con cream?
It’s a simple dessert as common in Mexico towns as apple pie in America. It’s basically a three ingredient sweetened strawberries and cream that is rich, creamy, and refreshing.
Ingredients Needed For Fresas Con Crema
- Fresh strawberries
- Mexican crema
- Sweetened condensed milk
What is sweetened condensed milk
It is a thick, super sweet concentrated milk. Imagine regular cow’s milk with the water removed and sugar added. I don’t recommend drinking it however. The sugar is added to make it more shelf-stable.
We don’t have many shelf-stable products in the house, but it’s not uncommon to find sweetened condensed milk. It’s one of those habits from my childhood I haven’t been able to shake. My grandmother kept that stuff in the pantry and used it for everything from soul food pies and cakes to coffee. My brother and I would fight over who got the lid or leftover can as we licked them clean for that thick, sticky goodness. The loser would always holler lovely brotherly insults. So as I went Jamal Fernandez mode, sweetened condensed milk was the sweetener of choice for this version of strawberries and cream.
Sweetened Condensed Milk vs. Evaporated Milk
I remember the first time my grandmother sent me to the store for sweetened condensed milk I returned with Evaporated Milk. They look the same and are even packaged similarly. This was before the days of cell phones so it wasn’t like I could call home. So of course I guess, and guessed wrong which netted me a few choice words from my dear Granny. I learned that granny was extremely tolerant except for when it came to her sweet potato pie sweeteners.
At the end of the day, both are forms of concentrated milk. The key difference is you guessed it, one has sugar added and the other doesn’t. The Kitchn has a more detailed breakdown of the differences between the two concentrated milks if you’re interested in learning more.
I had a bunch of strawberries from my weekly Farmers’ Market haul, but they don’t last long in my house. Given the typical kids’ run on strawberries, I put some aside for a dinner dessert. That sweet and creamy Fresas Con Crema flavor is perfect on a hot summer day or night if you’re in Texas where temps hover around 90 degrees well into the evening.
Tips for cooking fresas con crema
- Fresh ripe strawberries are the key to to making high quality fresas con crema. Go for the ones that are red all around showing little to no whites near the base.
- Stick to fresh, frozen strawberries are a hassle. When they defrost they add a lot of liquid to the cream.
- Thinly slice the strawberries, but be ready to eat immediately after cutting, because the countdown for the sweetness to dissipate starts as soon as you slice them.
- Definitely go with Mexican crema, which you should be able to find in most grocery stores. It will be refrigerated but not in the expected dairy aisle. I find it most often near chorizo and Mexican queso.
- Use heavy whipping cream as a substitute vs. regular sour cream. Most sour creams will add too much tanginess and in some cases salt
- Taste and adjust for sweetness with either more sweetened condensed milk, sugar, or honey.
Making Fresas Con cream
If you make this quick and easy Mexican Strawberries and Cream recipe please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. Definitely take a photo of the dish and be sure to tag #foodfidelity so that I can see them.
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Dope beats, fresh eats, best life. Enjoy this simple, easy and refreshing Mexican Strawberries and Cream Dessert for a quick dessert on a hot day.
For other Mexican inspired dishes try this Mexican Cabbage Stir Fry or Mexican Candied Sweet Potatoes.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of strawberries rinsed and sliced
- 1 cup Mexican cream
- 4 tablespoons condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Fresh mint for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the cream, sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon. Taste for sweetness. Add more condensed milk if needed
- Divide the cream mixture into 4 serving cups and add the strawberries mixing well. Garnish with more strawberries and fresh mint or basil.
Notes
Nutrition
moopbrown says
November 14, 2018 at 9:49 pmdelicious
Kari says
November 14, 2018 at 10:37 pmlooks very good!
Prentice Frye says
November 15, 2018 at 6:40 amAmazing! I’m going to try this recipe.