Cold Puddings

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Large bowl and ice-water bath
• •Six 120 ml dariole molds or ramekins

Instructions

1. 1

   Bloom the gelatin

   Put the 3 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle the powdered gelatin evenly over its surface. Leave it untouched for 5 to 10 minutes, until every grain has absorbed water and the mixture resembles a firm, translucent sponge. Dry patches become stubborn lumps later, so sprinkle broadly rather than tipping the gelatin into one heap.

2. 2

   Infuse the vanilla

   Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape its seeds into the milk. Add the pod, bring the milk just to the edge of a simmer, then remove the pan from the heat, cover, and infuse for 10 minutes. Lift out the pod and return the milk to gentle heat until it is hot but not boiling.

   Rinse and dry the spent vanilla pod, then bury it in a jar of sugar. It has more work left in it.
3. 3

   Cook the crème anglaise

   Whisk the yolks with the custard sugar and salt until smooth and slightly pale, without beating in a great foam. Pour in one-third of the hot vanilla milk while whisking, then whisk this tempered mixture back into the remaining milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and reaching into every corner, until the crème anglaise reaches 82 to 84°C (180 to 183°F) and cooks à la nappe, coating the back of a spoon so a drawn finger leaves a clean path. Do not let it boil. If the first fine curds appear, pull the pan from the heat, whisk in 1 tablespoon of the measured cold cream, and pass the custard immediately through a fine sieve. Ça se rattrape, provided you act before the eggs become scrambled. Stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved, then strain the custard into a clean bowl.

4. 4

   Find the folding point

   Set the custard bowl over ice water and stir gently until it cools to about 22°C (72°F), loses its warmth, and begins to thicken to the consistency of light cream. While it cools, whip the remaining cold heavy cream to soft peaks that bend when the whisk is lifted. Fold one-third of the cream into the custard to lighten it, then fold in the rest with broad strokes. If the custard starts setting around the bowl before the cream goes in, stand it briefly over lukewarm water and stir just until smooth again. If it still feels warm, keep cooling it. Warm custard melts the cream, while set custard leaves rubbery flecks.

5. 5

   Mold and chill

   Rinse six 120 ml molds with cold water and shake out the excess without drying them; the faint film helps at unmolding. Divide the bavarois mixture among the molds, tap each lightly to release large air pockets, and smooth the tops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, until the centers feel softly firm. Do not freeze them to hurry matters. Freezing coarsens the cream and makes the puddings shed water as they thaw.

6. 6

   Stew the raspberries

   Combine the raspberry sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Add half the raspberries and simmer gently for 2 minutes, crushing only two or three berries to color the syrup. Fold in the remaining berries and cook for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Cool and refrigerate. If the syrup remains watery, lift out the fruit and reduce the liquid alone until it lightly coats a spoon, then cool it before returning the berries. If it tightens too far, loosen it with a teaspoon of cold water.

7. 7

   Unmold and sauce

   Dip each mold into warm water for 4 to 5 seconds, run a thin knife only around the top edge, and invert onto a chilled plate. If a pudding refuses to release, give the mold another 2 seconds in the water. Too much heat melts the outside before the center moves. Spoon the cold framboises compotées and their ruby syrup around each pudding, allowing the sauce to pool against the base. The fruit and sauce complete the definition of the dish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Weigh the gelatin if you can. Spoon measures vary, while 7 grams gives this quantity a tender set that unmolds cleanly without becoming bouncy.
• •Fresh raspberries preserve the prettiest whole fruit, but frozen berries picked ripe make an honest compotée outside the season. Add them from frozen and reduce the finished syrup separately if they release extra juice.
• •Whip the cream only to soft peaks. Stiff cream is difficult to fold evenly and leaves the bavarois heavy rather than silken.
• •The fruit is not an optional flourish. Without sauce or garnish, you have made a bavarois. With the compotée pooling around it, you have made pouding froid. The word carries the technique.

Advance Preparation

• •Make and mold the puddings the day before serving. Once set, keep them covered so the cream does not absorb refrigerator odors.
• •The raspberry compotée can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated separately. Stir it gently before serving so the whole berries remain intact.
• •Unmold only when the plates are ready. The puddings hold their cleanest shape when they move directly from the cold mold to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 175g)