This white chocolate bavarois is a silk, smooth and creamy texture that brings a hint of sweetness and rich white chocolate flavor.

Total Cooking Time: 1 hour

I made a white chocolate bavarois as two of my many layers for the showstopper challenge of my Great British Bake-Off Challenge: Week 5. This ended up being the third and the fifth layer of the trifle terrine. Luckily, I only had to make one batch of the white chocolate bavarois which then split into the two layers. This layer was relatively sweet from the white chocolate and sugar that was put in it. It adds a creamy layer to the terrine and makes the whole dessert come together wonderfully.

Ingredients

The ingredients needed to make a bavarois is very similar to a custard. For the base, instead of a heavy whipping cream, I used a whole milk. The thickening for the custard is done by the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sugar. The white chocolate brings a bit of thickener to the custard as well. I also needed heavy whipping cream for this recipe to make whipped cream.

Process

01

Prepping the Ingredients

During the “prepping” period for this recipe, I found myself doing three different things. The first, was soaking the gelatin in a minimal amount of water to allow for the gelatin to bloom. The water should be just enough to wet all of the powder but not enough to overwhelm the gelatin.

The second is warming the milk over a low heat. I wanted the milk to become hot but not boiling. Boiling will cause the milk to carry a nutty, almost burnt taste which should be avoided.

The third is whisking the eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar together until it becomes pale and fluffy. This helps set the eggs and creates the base for the custard to firm up and set. And I’m effectively making a custard before I turn it into a bavarois. I did this step by hand and my arm was not happy with me.

02

Combining Everything

After all the ingredients have been prepped, it’s time to combine things. But there is an order to follow! First, I whisked the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. I poured the hot milk into the egg mixture slowly and whisked constantly. This was done to avoid the eggs cooking to quickly and curdling. I put the mixture back on the heat once everything was combined. The heat allows for the custard to thicken.

After removing the custard mixture from the heat, I poured it over the white chocolate. The heat from the custard helped the white chocolate melt. I also whisked everything together to make sure all of the ingredients combine properly. There is so much whisking involved in these processes. I was so tired after making all this. I think it was the best sleep I had in a long time.

After the chocolate was melted. I then added the bloomed gelatin into the mixture after taking it off the heat. The gelatin should fully dissolve. With this, I made the custard! But there was still one more step needed before it could be become a bavarois.

03

Folding in Whipped Cream

Whipped cream is an essential ingredient in a bavarois. And making whipped cream is so easy! All I had to do was take heavy whipping cream and whip it. It becomes so light and fluffy! But folding it into the custard mixture can be a hassle. It takes time to fold everything in consistently. I don’t like seeing any of the whites from the whipped cream remaining in my mixture. Yet another step that makes my arm super sore.

But once everything is folded in, the white chocolate bavarois is done! All that’s left to do it let it set. I had to occasionally stir the bavarois that I wasn’t using immediately. This will help prevent the bavarois from setting. It allowed me to split the bavarois into two separate layers that needed to set at two separate times.

Reflections

I found this process to be especially easy. Even more so since I made a custard right before this and this project is just one extra step. I like the sweetness that the white chocolate brings to the bavarois, but it is cut in intensity by the whipped cream. Every layer of a trifle terrine is so irresistible that, as a whole, I think it’s become my favorite dessert.

Lessons

What is a bavarois?

A bavarois is a step up in the custard game. It is effectively thickened milk that is folded together with whipped cream. The whipped cream is key in this part of the dessert! Unlike custard, bavarois is often thickened or set with gelatin. Bavarois is often served in dishes that look like cakes, so they are generally used to free standing. Or, at least, this is what I could tell from what I saw on the internet.