Bavarois My Queen

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-liter metal bavarois mould or smooth metal bowl
• •Large bowl for an ice-water bath
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •Small saucepan
• •Chilled serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Macerate the berries

   Place the 8 filling strawberries and 12 border strawberries in separate shallow dishes. Sprinkle each group with its tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of kirsch, turning the berries gently until every surface is glossed. Cover and chill for 4 hours, turning them once halfway through. This waiting is part of the dish: minutes perfume only the surface, while hours carry the kirsch into the whole fruit.

   Keep the two groups separate. The filling berries will be drained firmly before they enter the bavarois, while the border berries should remain unmarked and keep their syrup for serving.
2. 2

   Prepare mould and gelatin

   Chill a clean 1-liter metal bavarois mould for 15 minutes. Put the 3 g shell gelatin over 15 ml cold water in one small bowl and the 8 g strawberry gelatin over 30 ml cold water in another, sprinkling each evenly rather than dropping it in a heap. Leave both for 5 to 10 minutes, until every grain is swollen and no dry powder remains.

3. 3

   Chemiser the mould

   Warm ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the shell cream with its sugar just until the sugar dissolves; it must not boil. Remove it from the heat, add the bloomed 3 g gelatin, and stir until perfectly clear, then mix in the remaining cold shell cream. Strain and set the bowl over ice water, stirring until the cream begins to coat the spoon. Following Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916), pour it into the chilled mould and rotate the mould steadily over the ice bath until a thin, even cream chemise clings to the bottom and sides. Chill for 20 minutes. If the cream pools before gripping, return the mould to the ice for 20 seconds and rotate again; if it sets in the bowl, warm it gently over lukewarm water until fluid. Ça se rattrape.

   Turn the mould continuously while the coating sets. A neglected mould makes a thick white floor and bare sides, while steady movement gives the thin shell the source intends.
4. 4

   Build the strawberry base

   Purée the 300 g strawberries with the 50 g sugar, then press the purée through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Warm ⅓ cup (80 ml / about 85 g) of the purée until merely warm, remove it from the heat, and dissolve the bloomed 8 g gelatin in it completely. Stir this back into the remaining purée. Set the bowl over ice water and stir until the mixture is cool and has the body of pouring cream. If you see gelatin threads or grains, the purée was too cold when they met; warm the whole bowl gently until smooth, then cool it again. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Fold the bavarois

   Whip the 240 ml cold cream to soft peaks, stopping when the whisk leaves folds that relax slowly into the bowl. Fold one-third into the strawberry base to lighten it, then fold in the rest with broad strokes until no white streaks remain. The strawberry base must be cool and slightly thickened before this meeting: too warm and the cream collapses, too cold and the gelatin sets in flecks.

6. 6

   Fill and chill

   Drain the 8 filling strawberries thoroughly, reserving their kirsch syrup. Spoon one-third of the bavarois into the clothed mould, then nestle in half the whole berries without letting them touch the cream shell. Add another third of the bavarois, the remaining berries, and the final bavarois, smoothing the top gently. Tap the mould once against a folded towel to release hidden air pockets. If the mixture begins setting in the bowl before the mould is filled, stand it over lukewarm water for a few seconds and fold once until supple. Chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

7. 7

   Unmould and surround

   Drain the border strawberries and reserve their syrup. Dip the mould to just below its rim in warm water for 6 to 8 seconds, dry it, set a chilled serving platter over the top, and invert both together. If the bavarois refuses to release, don't pull at the edges; return the mould to the warm water for 2 seconds and try again. Arrange the border berries closely around the base and spoon over a little of their kirsch syrup, leaving the pale cream shell visible. Serve cold. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This dish truly needs ripe fresh strawberries because whole berries form both its center and its border. Frozen fruit can supply a purée for another bavarois, but it cannot stand in for the whole fruit here; if the berries have no perfume, change the evening's dessert rather than the standard.
• •Weigh the gelatin. Teaspoon measures are included for convenience, but powders vary in density, and 3 g for the shell plus 8 g for the filling gives a tender set that can still leave the mould cleanly.
• •Kirsch is a dry, clear cherry eau-de-vie, not a sweet red cherry liqueur. A sugary liqueur makes the fruit cloying and obscures the strawberry, while proper kirsch gives fragrance and a clean finish.
• •Macerate for at least 4 hours but no longer than overnight. Left too long, the berries surrender their juices, soften, and weaken the bavarois wherever they touch it.
• •For clean portions, dip a thin knife in hot water, wipe it dry, and cut straight down. Serve the slice with a few border berries and their syrup, nothing more. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin the berries 4 to 8 hours before assembling the dessert. Their long maceration is essential, and the filling and border berries should remain in separate dishes.
• •Assemble the bavarois one day before serving and leave it in its mould overnight. The longer cold rest gives the gelatin an even set and makes unmoulding calmer.
• •Turn it out no more than 30 minutes before serving, then return it to the refrigerator. Arrange the border berries at the last moment so their syrup does not stain the ivory shell.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)