Vanilla Bavarois (or Bavarian Creams)

The Vanilla Bavarois is the perfect light dessert – smooth, creamy and topped with fruit, what’s not to love? This is the perfect go-to if you’re putting on a celebratory meal.

First of all, you’ll need to let your gelatine ‘bloom’. You can do this by grabbing a small ball and letting the gelatine soak in 60ml water for around 5 minutes. This will ensure the texture is completely smooth. Then scrape out your vanilla pod and use a whisk to combine this with sugar, egg whites, salt, hot milk and corn starch.

Gently whisk your cream into peaks before adding it into the yolk mixture you’ve just prepared, stirring constantly to prevent any lumps.

On a medium heat, cook your mixture while stirring constantly. It should come to the boil and start to thicken up. You’ll know it’s ready when the custard coats the back of your spoon.

When you’re happy with your custard’s consistency, take it off the heat and add in the gelatine from earlier – keep stirring this until it’s all dissolved.

Strain the custard into a fresh bowl and cover with cling film. It’s important to make sure none of the film touches the custard, as it will create a layer of skin on the custard. Set this aside on your worktop to chill at room temperature.

In the bowl, whip the remaining whipping / heavy cream to soft peaks, and then gently fold it into the cooled pastry cream.

Grease your individual serving cup and pour in the mixture. Then place it in the fridge to chill overnight. If you don’t have that amount of time, you need to give it at least 4 hours.

Now, all that’s left to do is make the sauce. In a food processor, mix the raspberries (making sure to leave some for the toppings) and icing sugar. Then, pass the sauce through a sieve to remove any bits. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

To serve, turn the bavarois out of their containers, top with the raspberry sauce and decorate with icing sugar and raspberries.

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