Baked Pumpkin, Cranberry and Raspberry Oatmeal With Vanilla Creme Fraîche

The days are getting shorter and colder, and as the temperature outside drops I find it harder and harder to leave my warm bed each morning. I just want to stay there with the dogs and the cat, and sustain myself on my own fluffy, pillow-filled island. But alas, that is not a very realistic dream, so I’ve been trying different ways to motivate myself to get started on the day, and so far the most successful one has been food, particularly this oatmeal. You can make it the day before and have it for breakfast the next few mornings, you just need to add a little bit of creme fraiche or milk each time to keep it from getting too thick when you reheat it.

For those of you who haven’t heard of creme fraiche outside of the South Park episode, it is cultured heavy cream that has a very mildly tart flavor, much like mild yogurt. The texture is like velvet in dairy-form, so airy and thick at the same time and so wonderfully, delightfully rich. I used Vermont Creamery’s Vanilla Creme Fraiche because it tastes good on pretty much every type of fruit, sweet, or baked good you can imagine. It’s basically creme fraiche but with vanilla beans pureed into it. Real good stuff. I stirred it into the oatmeal mixture and the richness of it paired perfectly with the nutty pumpkin and toasted almond flavors, and the cranberries and raspberries provides a wonderfully sweet-tart combination and little bursts of warm fruity juices in each bite. And when you pour even more creme fraiche on top right before serving, you get something especially exquisite.