Bavarian Cream: the classic dessert recipe from Germany

This beautiful set dessert is a classic that comes from Bavaria, Germany. It can be piped into doughnuts or other pastries, and is often served with a fruit sauce or by itself.

It’s made of a thick egg custard flavored with vanilla, and lightened with whipped cream before being chilled. It will set while in the fridge, and you can set and serve it in little glass dishes with some fruit compote on the side.

Instructions

Split 1 vanilla bean and place it in 1 1/4 cups (295.7 ml) heavy/double cream. Pour it into a saucepan and slowly bring it to a boil over low heat. When it boils, turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 hour.

Extract the bean from the cream. Scrape the seeds from the bean pod and then add them to the cream. Discard the pod.

If you are using vanilla extract, place 1 tsp. (4.9 ml) vanilla extract in the cream instead of splitting the vanilla bean.

Add 1 tbsp. (13.8 g) of powdered gelatin to 3 tbsp. (44.4 ml) milk in a small bowl. Set aside.

Whisk 1/4 cup (48 g) of granulated sugar and 5 egg yolks together in a bowl.

Warm the cream mixture back up on the stovetop. Once it is warm, whisk it slowly into the egg mixture.

Place the cream and egg mixture in a bowl over simmering water.

Stir until the mixture thickens. When it coats the back of a wooden spoon, remove it from the boiling water and add the gelatin/milk mixture.

Stir. This is your custard.

Place the bowl in an ice bath and stir as it cools. Stop when it is at room temperature.

Whip 1 1/4 cups (295.7 ml) of whipping cream with a hand or countertop mixer until it is thick and fluffy.

Fold the whipped cream into the cooling bowl of Bavarian cream.

Pour mixture into ramekins or other small bowls. As the Bavarian cream cools and sets, it will form into the shape of your bowl.

Refrigerate until the mixture has set, (4 to 5 hours). Gently remove from the small bowls onto a plate if you wish, or leave in the ramekins and serve with a fruit compote.

Notes

Use ice for the bath to cool the mixture down – cold water just won’t work for this.