No. 3132

Bavarois in Surprise

Bavarois en Surprise

Coat a jelly mold incrusted in pounded ice with maraschino jelly (No. 3186), and decorate the bottom and sides with white split almonds, then coat the mold once more with a thick layer of chocolate bavarois preparation (No. 3131); as soon as this is set fill the hollow center with a vanilla bavarois, into which has been mixed a few spoonfuls of freshly peeled and cut up pistachios. Lay a round of paper over and cover with a deep lid filled with chopped ice; leave the bavarois to get thoroughly cold for an hour and a half. Just when ready to serve dip it speedily into hot water and turn it over on a cold dish. Surround the base with small Genoese cakes (No.3307) iced with strawberry fondant (No.3652) flavored with kirsch, and decorate with a rosette of halved pistachios.

← No. 3131 Chocolate Bavarois Cold Entremets — Creams, Jellies & Charlottes No. 3133 Bavarois with Meringues →

For the Modern Kitchen

This is an assembly recipe: three set preparations built in layers inside one mold, each borrowed from elsewhere in Ranhofer's numbering. The hinge is temperature discipline — every layer must be fully set and cold before the next goes in, or the colors bleed and the whole thing slumps when turned out.

The cross-references are the recipeNos. 3131, 3186, 3307 and 3652 carry the actual quantities: a chocolate bavarois (custard, gelatin, whipped cream), a maraschino-flavored jelly, small genoise cakes, and strawberry fondant. Without them this page is only a plan of construction; look them up before starting or substitute a standard bavarois and a clear liqueur jelly.
"Incrusted in pounded ice"The mold is buried in crushed ice so its walls stay well below room temperature while you swirl in each coating. A modern equivalent is a bowl of ice and water, or simply chilling the mold hard in the freezer between layers and working fast.
Lining the moldCoating means pouring in a little liquid jelly, then rolling and tilting the cold mold so it sets in a thin even film on the walls. The almonds and any decoration are set into this first layer while it is tacky, which is why they end up on the outside of the finished dome.
An hour and a half is optimisticThat timing assumes a mold packed in ice on all sides, top included. In an ordinary refrigerator expect to allow considerably longer, several hours or overnight, before attempting to unmold.
Split and peeled nuts"White split almonds" are blanched almonds, skins slipped off, halved lengthwise. "Freshly peeled" pistachios means blanched in boiling water for a minute and rubbed in a towel — the point is the bright green, which dulls within a day.
UnmoldingDip to the rim in hot water for three to five seconds, no more, then invert onto a chilled plate. Longer and the jelly lining liquefies and the decoration slides off; if it will not release, dip again briefly rather than once for longer.
The garnishGenoise is a whole-egg sponge; the small cakes are cut rounds glazed with fondant thinned and flavored with kirsch. Any firm plain sponge, cut with a small round cutter and glazed, does the same job of hiding the join between dessert and dish.
YieldRanhofer gives none; the number served depends entirely on the size of mold chosen.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty-odd years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and this entry shows the house style at its most architectural — a dessert defined less by flavor than by the order in which its layers are laid down. Bavarois, or bavarian cream, is a cooked custard set with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream; the name is generally traced to French chefs of the early nineteenth century, and its association with Bavaria is decorative rather than documented. En surprise is the operative phrase: the diner sees a chocolate dome studded with almonds and learns only at the spoon that the center is pale vanilla shot with green pistachio. That reveal is the whole point, and it belonged to an era when a formal dinner ended with a molded sweet carried whole to the table and cut in view of the room.