Bavarois is a cold French dessert that is something between jelly and mousse. Bavarois is solidified by gelatin like jelly, and it’s creamy using milk and whipped heavy cream like mousse. Bavarois, although a French sweet, has been a staple homemade dessert in Japan for decades as well as a component of fancy cakes at cake shops. Bavarois is very un-Japanese but a popular basic sweet people often eat there.
Bavarois is said to have been created by a French chef working in Germany in the 1800s, and that he derived the name from “Bavaria.” In the US, Bavarois is usually know as Bavarian Cream. No, not the one made from whipped cream and vanilla Jello! It is a cooked custard with gelatin just like ours. Bavarois is not as hard as jelly, but it is not as soft and airy as mousse. Usually custardy liquid is poured in a ridged pudding mold and chilled in the refrigerator, then unmolded to reveal the signature look. If that’s not what you want, serve in a pretty cup to serve as is.
How to make Bavarois is quite easy. Make custard from milk and eggs, add gelatin, mix in whipped cream and chill. That’s it. The only thing you have to be careful about is when you add the hot milk to the egg yolks. If it’s done too fast, the eggs may curdle. Add hot milk slowly and whisk constantly to temper the mixture. How hard the Bavarois should be is up to you. Adjust the amount of gelatin to adjust the hardness of the Bavarois by 50% either way. However, if you are planning to unmold it, instead of serving in cups, do not go lower than the recipe. It will be very soft and may not be able to hold its shape.
Bavarois has a lot of variations flavored with chocolate, coffee, and various fruits. We made vanilla Bavarois, the most basic kind, served with an easy strawberry sauce. If you like different fruit sauces like raspberry, kiwi, mango, or even chocolate sauce, go for it. You can of course make your own but there are also a lot of nice store bought purees and sauces out there. Bavarois is a very easy dessert to make, but it looks like you put a lot of work into it. Make this for your family and friends to impress effortlessly!
Bavarois with Strawberry Sauce
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Ingredients
- 2 tsp gelatin powder
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 strawberries for garnish
Strawberry Sauce
- 3 cup strawberries fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Wet the molds with water.
- In a small bowl, mix gelatin and water and let bloom.
- Whip heavy cream to medium peaks. Keep cool in the fridge.
- In a large bowl, whisk yolks and sugar to reach a lighter color.
- Heat the milk in a pot until it is very hot, but before boiling. Very slowly add the hot milk to the yolk mixture whisking constantly. Put the liquid back in the pot, and cook at medium heat constantly stirring with a spatula until just before boiling. Remove from heat, and add gelatin. Gelatin will melt in the hot milk mixture. Add vanilla extract. Sieve through a mesh strainer.
- Put the custard in an ice bath until cool to touch. Then mix in prepared whipped cream. Pour into molds, and chill for 3 hours.
- Make strawberry sauce. Cook strawberries and sugar in a pot at low heat. When the fruit releases its juice, turn up to medium heat and cover with a lid. Cook until almost all the strawberries are dissolved. Let cool to room temperature. Puree the strawberry mixture in a food processor. Chill in the fridge.
- Dip the molds in warm water to loosen Bavarois (without getting the water on the Bavarois). Plate up with the strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries.
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