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Vanilla Cream
Soak an ounce of gelatine in cold water for half an hour. Break a pod of vanilla into small pieces, and soak these in a pint of boiling milk till the latter is pleasantly and rather strongly flavoured. Add six ounces of powdered sugar and the well-beaten yolks of four or six eggs. Put this custard into a jug, set it in a saucepan of water, and stir the custard until it begins to thicken, but it must not boil. Drain and add the gelatine, stirring the custard off the fire; the heat of the custard will dissolve it Pour the cream into an oiled mould, and set it in a cool place till stiff. If liked, this cream may be enriched by the addition of a pint of whipped cream, which should be stirred lightly in when the custard and gelatine are cool. When this addition is made, two additional eggs and another half ounce of gelatine will be required. The essence, instead of the pod of vanilla, may be used to flavour the cream. Time, about ten minutes to thicken the custard. Probable cost, if made without cream, 1s. 10d. Sufficient for nearly a quart of cream. (See also CREAM, VANILLA.)
A moulded Bavarian-style cream: vanilla-infused custard set with gelatine, optionally lightened with whipped cream. Two things decide the result — the custard must never boil, and the gelatine quantity needs rethinking for modern products.
- The custard is the hingeStirred in a jug set in simmering water, the mixture should thicken to coat the back of a spoon at around 175-180F. Above that the yolks curdle and no amount of straining will restore the texture.
- Gelatine strength has changedVictorian gelatine was probably weaker and less consistent than today's leaf or powdered gelatine, though strengths varied by maker. An ounce of modern gelatine to a pint of milk is likely to give a bouncy, rubbery set; about half an ounce (roughly 7 leaf sheets, or 4 level teaspoons of powder) per pint is closer to the delicate wobble intended.
- Pints are imperialA pint here is 20 fl oz, not 16. Scale the milk and the optional cream accordingly, or the set will be firmer than intended.
- "Powdered sugar"In books of this period this generally means finely ground white sugar — modern caster or superfine — not cornflour-laced confectioners' sugar. Six ounces is a little under a cup by volume; it is a sweet cream by current tastes and can be cut to four ounces.
- Dissolving off the heatResidual custard heat will melt bloomed gelatine only if the custard is still hot. Add it immediately after removing from the water bath, stir until no threads remain, then strain out the vanilla pod pieces.
- Vanilla pod versus essenceOne pod split and scraped, infused in the hot milk for 20-30 minutes covered, gives more than "a pod broken into pieces" left to steep. If substituting extract, about 2 teaspoons, added after the custard cools slightly so the aroma is not driven off.
- The enriched versionFolding in whipped cream means folding at the point where the custard has cooled to the consistency of unbeaten egg white — too warm and the cream deflates, too cold and it sets in lumps. Note that the recipe's additions are not strictly proportional: only another half ounce of gelatine for a whole extra pint of cream, plus two more eggs. Scale them by the same ratio you used for the base.
- Oiled mould and turning outA neutral oil, wiped almost dry, is still the best release. Chill at least 4 hours; dip the mould briefly in warm water to unmould.
- YieldNearly a quart, so 6 to 8 servings; the version with whipped cream stretches to 10 or 12.
Moulded gelatine creams like this one are the English form of the French crème bavaroise, or Bavarian cream — a custard set with isinglass or gelatine and often lightened with whipped cream, generally traced to early nineteenth-century French professional kitchens, and presumably reaching Britain by much the same routes as other French professional cookery, though the transmission is not documented. What made it a household dish rather than a confectioner's showpiece was commercial sheet and powdered gelatine, which by the 1870s and 80s was increasingly used alongside the more tedious business of boiling down calves' feet or isinglass at home. Cassell's costing of 1s 10d for nearly a quart, and its casual offer of vanilla essence "instead of the pod," both point to the same shift: vanilla was moving from a luxury spice to a bottled flavouring, and elaborate moulded sweets were within reach of a cook with a water bath, a copper mould and a cool larder.