Strawberry Bavarian Cream

When I was a kid, I remember every hotel we stayed in, had those Bavarian Cream at breakfast or dinner times that would get me fancy! They were very fluffy, light and the taste was in-cre-dible. At that time, I didn't know what it was called! But as I grew up, and so did my curiosity, I wanted to try this dessert myself. This is my first attempt at it and Im pretty satisfied!

Please read all the steps and note at the bottom before attempting this recipe.

Happy Baking!

Ingredients:

For The Bavarian Cream:

• 350 g of strawberries
• 70g of sugar
• 4 envelopes of gelatin
• 30 cl of whipping cream
• Juice of 3/4 lemon

For the Strawberry Coulis:

• 150g of strawberries
• Juice of 1/4 lemon
• 20g of sugar
• 2 envelopes of gelatin

For the Sponge Cake:

• 50g of cake flour
• 20g of pistachios powder
• 2 eggs
• 40g of sugar

Preheat your oven to 180˚.

Since, pistachios and strawberries taste well together, I decided to make a pistachio sponge cake as the base of my Bavarian Cream.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and start mixing with a stand mixer or with a whisk if you want to do some biceps work! The mixture should double in volume. Beat the egg whites until fluffy. 

To egg yolks, add the pistachios powder. Blend well. Then add the sifted flour, add little by little, because you could be using less depending on your egg yolk volume. Then add, the beaten egg whites gradually, and you do not want to mix with a spoon but rather fold with a spatula. (To keep the mixture from deflating)

Line a springform pan with baking paper, if it has a base, and pour the batter. Gently tap either sides to distribute the batter evenly. Let bake for about 10mins or until the sponge cake turns brown.

Let the envelopes of gelatin, soften in cold water for about 5-10 minutes.

To make the Bavarian Cream, cut the strawberries in half, or smaller if you want. I am using a hand blender in this recipe, so I cut the strawberries in chunks to avoid spillage. Add the juice a 3/4 lemon to the 350g of strawberries, then add half of the sugar and blend together. When the strawberries are almost liquid, add the rest of the sugar and blend again for a min or 2.

Simmer (do not boil) the liquid strawberry mixture. Gently press the gelatin envelopes to remove the excess water and add to the strawberry coulis. Mix well with a whisk until the gelatin envelopes dissolve completely. Turn down the heat and set aside for cooling. Refrigerate for half an hour.

Meanwhile, whip the cold whipping cream and once you are done, add the strawberry coulis to it. Fold gently and until the coulis incorporates well. Refrigerate this mixture for atleast 3-4 hours.

Soften the gelatin envelopes in cold water for about 5-10 minutes/

Prepare your strawberry coulis by adding the juice of 1/4 lemon to the strawberries, add the sugar and blend. 

Once blended, heat the coulis and add the gelatin envelopes (excess water removed) and mix well. Add the coulis to the Bavarian Cream once cooled down.

Happy Eating!

Note:

• If you want a more strong flavour of the pistachio, do not hesitate to increase the amount but you will have to decrease the amount of flour though. You can also make a biscuit base.
• If you do not have a spring form pan, line a regular pan with baking paper, allowing the ends to come out and beyond the edges, in that way you can lift the cake when cooled. And if you have a springform pan does not have a base, you could pour down (from above) the batter in a tray, it will make the round shape by itself and the diameter falls short give the tray a forward and across push.
• The bowl used for whipping the cream should be placed in the refrigerator atleast 30 minutes before. I put mine when I started with sponge cake itself. 
• You can filter the strawberry coulis to obtain a clear mixture but I prefer not to because of the texture and that would be a futile wastage.
• For easy and clean turning out of the cake, line the sides with baking paper.