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Bavarian Cream
1/2 box or 2 tablespoons gelatine 5 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 pint milk Yolks of 7 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup rich cream 1 teaspoon vanilla Dissolve the gelatine in the pint of milk and stir over the fire until thoroughly hot; then remove from the fire. Beat the yolks of the eggs until light; add the sugar and more milk; stir well; add the hot milk and gelatine. When thoroughly mixed stir in the cream; flavor and add more sugar if desired. Return to the fire; stir until the custard thickens a little; pour into a wet mold and when cool stand on the ice until serving time.
A gelatine-set custard rather than the whipped-cream Bavarian most cooks know today. The whole thing hinges on the second cooking: the mixture must thicken without ever approaching a simmer, or the eggs curdle and the gelatine sets around the curds.
- The gelatine measureBoxes of granulated gelatine of this period were commonly divided into four envelopes of about 1/4 oz each, so "1/2 box" is roughly 1/2 oz or 14 g, though 2 tablespoons is a slightly generous measure for that. Spread through the roughly 4 cups of liquid here, that gives a moderate set that should still unmold; use a little less if you want it frankly spoonable.
- Soften before heatingModern granulated gelatine should be sprinkled over a few tablespoons of the cold milk and left five minutes to swell before the rest is heated. Stirring dry gelatine straight into hot milk leaves rubbery threads.
- "Powdered sugar"In books of this period powdered sugar usually means finely ground granulated sugar, not the cornstarch-laced confectioners' sugar sold now. Plain granulated or caster sugar is the right substitute.
- "Rich cream"Heavy or whipping cream, roughly 36 percent fat. Note that it goes in liquid and unwhipped, which is why this sets dense and custardy rather than mousse-like.
- The critical temperatureCook the returned custard over low heat or a water bath to about 175-180F, when it coats the spoon. Above 185F it will scramble, and gelatine loses setting power if held at a hard boil.
- "Stand on the ice"An icebox instruction. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight, for a clean unmolding.
- Wetting the moldRinsing the mold with cold water and leaving it damp is what lets the cream slide out. To unmold, dip the base in warm water for a few seconds and invert onto a chilled plate.
- YieldAbout 4 1/2 cups of mixture, which fills a 1 1/2-quart mold and serves six to eight.
Bavarian cream is the English name for the French cr\a custard lightened and then set with gelatine or, in earlier versions, isinglass; the name is traditionally traced to French chefs working for the Wittelsbach court in Bavaria, though the connection is asserted more often than it is documented. What made the dish a fixture of American household books rather than professional kitchens was commercial granulated gelatine, which spread in cheap boxes by the 1890s and removed the long business of boiling down calves' feet. Recipes of this generation, Mrs. Fryer's included, still count in fractions of a box, a unit that only makes sense if you know the box. The heavy hand with egg yolks here, seven for a single quart of dessert, marks it as the older custard-based style, before folded whipped cream became the defining step.