Bavarian Cream: Gelatin and Whipped Cream Architecture

Ingredients

• For the crème anglaise
• 6 egg yolks
• 150 g caster sugar
• 500 ml whole milk, or a blend of milk and cream
• For setting
• 10 g leaf or powdered gelatin, sufficient for a firm, unmould-able set at ~2% of total mixture weight
• For lightening
• 250 ml whipping cream, cold; whipped to medium peak
• For the mould
• 1 tsp neutral oil, to lightly grease the mould

Method

1. 1
   Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is pale and falls in a thick ribbon from the whisk. Heat the milk (or milk and cream) in a heavy saucepan until it just reaches a simmer. Pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Return the combined mixture to the saucepan over low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula, reaching into the corners of the pan, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and a finger drawn across the spoon leaves a clean, stable line.
2. 2
   Soften the gelatin in cold water (if leaf) or bloom it in a small quantity of cold water (if powdered). Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the drained, softened gelatin until completely dissolved — no granules or fragments remain visible.
3. 3
   Pass the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl set over an ice bath. Stir gently and continuously until the custard cools to 20–25 °C. At this temperature it remains fluid and pourable but is no longer warm to the inside of the wrist.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Whip the cold cream to medium peak — it holds a soft, drooping peak on the whisk and is not yet stiff or grainy. Working quickly, stir one-third of the whipped cream into the custard aggressively to loosen and temper the mixture. Fold the remaining two-thirds in gently, in two additions, using a large spatula with wide, deliberate strokes from the bottom of the bowl upward. The finished mixture is uniformly pale, aerated, and flows slowly from the spatula. If the custard has begun to set at the edges and folds in unevenly, the window has passed.
5. 5
   Pour the mixture immediately into a lightly oiled mould. Smooth the surface, cover with cling film pressed directly against the surface, and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours. The set is complete when the cream no longer trembles at the centre when the mould is gently shaken.
6. 6
   To unmould, briefly warm the outside of the mould with a hot damp cloth, invert onto a chilled serving plate, and lift away the mould. The bavarois stands cleanly, retains its moulded shape, and yields to a spoon without resistance.