The Moulding and Dishing of Bavarois

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-quart (1 litre) fluted central-tube metal mould or smooth metal bowl
• •1-quart (1 litre) deep stainless-steel serving bowl or silver timbale, for soft service
• •Digital scale accurate to 1 gram
• •Large bowl wide enough to receive the mould, for the tepid-water bath
• •Piping bag with a ½-inch (12 mm) grooved tip, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Decide the service

   Choose the service before making or portioning the Bavarois. For 720 g of mixture intended to stand alone, use about 7 g of ordinary powdered gelatine; for a deep chilled dish, about 4 g gives a softer and more delicate spoonful. The vessel carries the softer preparation, while an unmoulded Bavarois must carry itself. If using leaf gelatine, match the strength specified by its maker and weigh it rather than counting leaves.

   Gelatine strengths vary. When adapting a companion Bavarois formula, use roughly 55 to 60 percent of its moulding dose for the timbale method.
2. 2

   Prepare the mould

   Choose oil or caramel, never both. For oil, place the sweet almond oil in a clean, dry 1-quart mould, rotate it to cover every hollow, then wipe it almost entirely away with clean paper; the surface should gleam without holding droplets. Alternatively, while the finished caramel prepared according to The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344) is still fluid, pour it into a dry metal mould and rotate quickly to leave a thin, even shell. Hold the mould with dry oven gloves and turn it away from your hands, because hot caramel clings. If the caramel stiffens before the mould is covered, return the remainder to its pan and rewarm it just until fluid. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Fill without deflating

   Pour the cool, fluid Bavarois slowly down one side of the prepared mould, stopping about ½ inch below the rim. Tap the mould once against a folded towel to release any large trapped pocket, but don't keep knocking it about; the air folded into the cream is part of its delicacy. Prick visible surface bubbles with the point of a skewer, then cover the opening. A lid or reusable wrap replaces the original round sheet of white paper.

4. 4

   Chill to the centre

   Set the mould level on a steady refrigerator shelf and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight. The broken-ice bed of the grand kitchen was cold management, not ceremony that must be copied; the refrigerator performs the same work without meltwater creeping into the cream. The Bavarois is ready when its edge feels firm and the centre moves in one small, unified wobble. If it remains too loose, don't freeze it and hope for the best. Chill it longer, and if it still won't support itself, spoon it into chilled dishes and serve it softly set. Ça se rattrape.

   Freezing makes ice crystals and leaves the cream grainy when it thaws. More cold time is useful; the freezer is not.
5. 5

   Unmould with confidence

   Chill the serving platter first. Fill a bowl with tepid water, warm to the hand but never hot, and dip the mould only to just below its rim for 2 to 4 seconds. Wipe the outside completely dry, set the platter over the mould, and invert both in one confident movement. Pause, then lift the mould straight up. If the Bavarois clings, keep it inverted and wrap the mould briefly with a cloth dipped in tepid water, or repeat the bath for 1 second. Don't run a knife down the sides; it scars the surface. A caramel-lined Bavarois usually needs the shorter dip. The folded napkin of formal service can stay in the drawer, because a cold bare platter is steadier and shows the clean release.

6. 6

   Choose the timbale

   For the more delicate dish-set version, omit the oil and caramel. Pour the lower-gelatine Bavarois into a chilled deep silver timbale, stainless-steel bowl, or glass serving dish, cover it, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Shortly before serving, nest the dish in broken ice, keeping the ice safely below its rim. Silver was the classical service vessel; a chilled stainless-steel bowl is its honest home equivalent, conducting the cold just as well and asking no polishing brigade.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   If using Chantilly cream, pipe it onto the moulded Bavarois immediately before serving with a grooved tip, keeping the decoration generous and simple. With the timbale version, offer stewed fruit or the Macédoine alongside rather than burying the cream beneath it; the source is right to treat fruit as an accompaniment, not the identity of the dish. Bring the Bavarois to the table cold, cut or spoon it generously, and let its texture make the argument. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This entry begins with a prepared Bavarois mixture because its subject is moulding and dishing, not the custard or flavouring beneath them. Use the companion Bavarois formula you intend to serve; no extra flavour has been invented here.
• •Weigh the gelatine. Seven grams in 720 g of finished mixture gives an unmoulded Bavarois enough strength to stand without turning rubbery, while about four grams suits the supported timbale version. C'est la même grammaire: less structural work means less gelatine.
• •Use only food-grade sweet almond oil, and wipe almost all of it out. For a nut allergy, refined grapeseed oil is the honest equivalent; it releases the cream without adding flavour.
• •Caramel gives the most handsome release, leaving an amber sheen and a faint bittersweet edge as it softens against the cream. Oil gives the palest, cleanest surface and is easier for a first mould.
• •A Macédoine is permitted beside the softly set version, but Bavarois needs no basket of fruit arranged upon it. Chantilly or a little caramel is enough. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •If your mould has severe undercuts or very fine ornament, leave it in the cupboard. A simple fluted ring or smooth metal bowl releases more reliably and still comes to the table with presence.

Advance Preparation

• •The moulded Bavarois can be prepared and chilled up to 24 hours before serving. Leave it covered in its mould and turn it out shortly before the table so the surface remains sharp.
• •The timbale version can also be made a day ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then nest the dish in broken ice only when it goes to the table.
• •Prepare the Chantilly cream up to 4 hours ahead and keep it cold, but pipe it only after the Bavarois is unmoulded.
• •Do not freeze either version. A finished Bavarois keeps for about 2 days under refrigeration, though its texture is finest during the first day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)