Coffee Bavarian Cream

Bavarian cream or Bavarois (bah varh WAH) is made of three basic elements: creme anglais, gelatin, and whipped cream.

I was feeling creative the other day, so I decided to make a version of Opera cake that combined the traditional flavors but different textures. A traditional Opera cake consists of a joconde sponge cake layered with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache. My version consisted of a genoise sponge cake, coffee Bavarian cream, and a dark chocolate mousse.

My Opera cake was good but I made a crucial error while making the Bavarian cream. I weighed my gelatin wrong. I added WAY too much and turned the cream into jello. It is not the texture you want to mix with cake. Needless to say, make sure you properly weigh your gelatin. Make sure your scale can read smaller amounts.

pro tips for Bavarian Cream

• use clean, sanitized equipment. Egg mixtures are good breeding grounds for bacteria that cause food poisoning.
• set a stainless steel bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Place a strainer in the stainless steel bowl.
• mise en place.
• when combining the egg yolks and sugar, whip the mixture as soon as the sugar is added. Allowing the sugar and eggs to stand without mixing creates lumps that cannot be beaten out.
• heat the milk to scalding, just before simmering before combining with the yolks. This will shorten the final cook. You can heat the milk over a boiling water bath or over direct heat, whichever you feel more comfortable with.
• temper the milk in the egg yolks to raise the temperature of the eggs gradually and prevent curdling.
• stir constantly to prevent curdling
• measure the gelatin accurately. Too little and the cream won’t hold it shape, too much and it will be rubbery.

equipment and supplies

• stainless steel mixing bowls-various sizes
• stand mixer
• medium saucepan
• strainer
• rubber spatula
• whisk
• scale

ingredient notes

• instant coffee: you can adjust the amount of instant coffee you use to your flavor profile
• gelatin: use non-flavored gelatin powder

recipe instructions

Creme Anglaise

step one: Prepare an ice bath. Set aside. Soften the gelatin in the cold water, set aside.

step two: Combine the egg yolks and sugar, and whisk until light in color and thick.

step three: Scald the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. While waiting, constantly whisk the egg and sugar.

step four: Temper the egg mixture with the hot milk gradually and return the mixture to the saucepan. You do not need to add all of the milk to the eggs, just enough to bring the egg temperature up.

step five: Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the creme anglaise reaches 180°F.

step six: Immediately remove the creme anglaise from the heat and strain into a stainless steel bowl.

Bavarian Cream

Stir in the softened gelatin, vanilla, and instant coffee.

step seven: Place the bowl in the ice bath and stir to thicken the cream. Do not let it set. Once it is thickened but not set, remove it from the water bath and set aside.

step eight: Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks.

step nine: Add a large scoop of the whipped cream to the Bavarian cream and stir with the whisk to incorporate; I use a silicone whisk because it’s more flexible. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream.

step ten: Pour the Bavarian cream into your mold. I used a cake ring with acetate to keep the shape of the cream. Chill to set.

cake ring with acetate –>

Variations for Bavarian Cream

• vanilla: omit the instant coffee
• chocolate: add 190 g chopped dark chocolate to the hot custard. Stir until completely melted and blended in.
• white chocolate: add 250 g chopped white chocolate to the hot custard. Stir until completely melted and blended in.
• strawberry: reduce the milk to 250 mL and the sugar to 90 g. Mash 250 g of strawberries with 90 g of sugar. Stir the puree into the cream before adding the whipped cream. Use these weights for other berries such as raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries.
• liqueur: flavor to taste
• praline: mix 95 g of praline paste with the hot custard.
• citrus: omit the vanilla and reduce the milk to 250 mL. Flavor the custard sauce with grated zest of 1 citrus fruit (orange, lemon, grapefruit). Before adding the whipped cream, stir 250 mL juice into the cold custard mixture.