Bavarois Rubanné

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart (1.9-liter) ring or fluted mold
• •2-quart (1.9-liter) heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Three medium mixing bowls
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •Flexible spatula
• •Kitchen scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the mold

   Brush a 2-quart (1.9-liter) ring or fluted mold with the neutral oil, then blot it thoroughly with a clean cloth until no visible droplets remain. The film should be almost imperceptible; too much oil leaves a slick surface. Chill the mold while you prepare the three bavarois mixtures.

2. 2

   Bloom the gelatin

   Sprinkle the powdered gelatin evenly over the cold water and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. Every granule must absorb water before it meets the custard, or dry grains can survive as rubbery specks. The bloomed gelatin should look swollen and uniformly translucent.

3. 3

   Cook the crème anglaise

   Warm the milk in a saucepan until bubbles gather around the edge. Whisk the yolks, sugar, and salt in a bowl just until smooth, then pour in the milk gradually while whisking. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly with a flexible spatula, until the crème anglaise coats the spatula and reaches 180 to 183°F (82 to 84°C). Do not let it boil. Remove it from the heat, add the bloomed gelatin, and stir until completely dissolved, then pass the custard through a fine sieve. If the yolks begin to form tiny curds, take the pan off the heat, blend briefly, and strain at once. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Make three flavors

   Divide the warm custard equally among three bowls, using a scale if you have one. Stir the vanilla extract into the first. Gradually stir the melted chocolate into the second, beginning with a spoonful of custard to bring the two together. Mix the raspberry purée and lemon juice into the third. Let all three cool to about 77°F (25°C), fluid but no longer warm. If the chocolate forms small firm flecks, set its bowl over barely warm water and fold gently until smooth.

5. 5

   Fold in the cream

   Whip the chilled cream to soft peaks that bend at the tip; stiff cream makes a coarse, heavy bavarois. Weigh or divide it into three equal portions, about 158 g each, and fold one portion into each flavored custard. Begin with a third of the cream to loosen the base, then fold in the rest with broad strokes until no white streaks remain. Keep the bowls at cool room temperature. If one mixture begins setting before its turn, stand it briefly over lukewarm water and fold only until fluid again.

6. 6

   Build the ribbons

   Pour half the raspberry bavarois into the chilled mold and refrigerate for 25 to 35 minutes, or place it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the surface no longer comes away on a fingertip but remains faintly tacky. Hold a large spoon close above the surface and pour half the vanilla bavarois over its back so the new mixture spreads without striking through. Set it the same way, then add half the chocolate. Repeat with the remaining raspberry, vanilla, and chocolate mixtures to make six bands. If a new layer breaks into the one below, stop pouring immediately, chill the mold until firm enough, and resume over the spoon. A small ripple will disappear into the pattern when sliced.

7. 7

   Chill until firm

   Cover the mold only after the final surface has set, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. This rest sets the gelatin throughout and lets the three flavors settle into one another without losing their clean bands. Do not freeze the finished bavarois; freezing damages the cream's fine texture.

8. 8

   Unmold and serve

   Dip the mold in warm water for 5 to 8 seconds, keeping the water below the rim, then dry the outside. Loosen the upper edge delicately with a fingertip, place a chilled serving plate over the mold, and invert decisively. If it refuses to release, wrap the mold in a warm damp towel for a few seconds rather than dipping it repeatedly. Chill the unmolded bavarois for 15 minutes if its surface has softened, then cut with a thin knife dipped in warm water and wiped dry between slices. Add the fresh raspberries, if using. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The layer is ready for its neighbor when a light fingertip leaves no cream behind but the surface still feels slightly tacky. Fully hard layers may slide apart when cut; liquid layers mingle. This small judgment is the whole dish.
• •Use dark chocolate between 64 and 70 percent cocoa. Milk chocolate makes the band too sweet and too soft, while very bitter chocolate overwhelms the vanilla and raspberry.
• •Frozen raspberries picked ripe make an excellent purée. Thaw them, blend thoroughly, and press them through a fine sieve; an honest preserved berry is better than a pale fresh one without perfume.
• •Powdered gelatin varies slightly by brand. Twelve grams gives a bavarois firm enough to unmold while keeping its creaminess. The same weight of gelatin sheets may be soaked in abundant cold water, squeezed dry, and dissolved in the hot crème anglaise.
• •Serve the bavarois cold but not icy. Ten minutes out of the refrigerator softens the cream just enough for the flavors to open while the ribbons remain clean.

Advance Preparation

• •Assemble the bavarois the day before serving and leave it covered in its mold overnight. It unmolds more cleanly and the flavor becomes rounder after the full rest.
• •The raspberry purée and chopped chocolate may be prepared a day ahead. Refrigerate the purée, then bring it to room temperature before mixing so it does not set the gelatin on contact.
• •The finished bavarois keeps for up to two days in the refrigerator. Unmold it shortly before the celebration and keep it chilled until ten minutes before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)