This one is close to my heart. I tasted my first Bavarois on my wedding day and it made a perfect day even better. Since then, I have tried, tested and perfected my Bavarois and I am proud to present to you my recipe that makes perfectly creamy, jiggly and the most luxurious bavarois every single time.

Ingredients (serves 6)

For Vanilla Bavarois

• 300 ml double cream
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 300 ml milk
• 80 grams of sugar
• 12 grams of powdered gelatine dissolved in 4 tbsp of water; feel free to use 2 sheets of leaf gelatine as per packet instructions instead
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp flavourless oil to grease ramekins or moulds if using

For Strawberry Coulis

• 300-350 grams of strawberries chopped into uniformly sized pieces.
• 50 grams of sugar; more if needed
• 1 tsp spoon of lemon juice (optional)

Method

• Add vanilla extract to your double cream and whip to ribbon stage (much like emulsion paint) preferring to under whip your cream at this stage because you can whip it more later if needed.
• Set it aside at room temperature and prepare to make your custard.
• Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring it to a scalding point over medium heat.
• Remove from the heat, add in 80 grams of sugar and set aside to cool a little.
• Meanwhile, prepare you powder gelatine by mixing it with about 4 tbsp of water until it dissolves. Feel free to microwave in 10 second bursts until the gelatine dissolves completely. Alternatively, if using leaf gelatine, place them in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soften.
• In a separate bowl, stirring the egg yolks, pour the sweetened milk, stirring steadily, and return the mixture to a clean saucepan.
• Stir the mixture continuously with a spatula over low to medium heat until it thickens enough to evenly coat the back of the spoon.
• Mix in the prepared gelatine and strain the custard discarding any odd bits of cooked egg if any.
• Place the bowl over an ice bath and bring to setting point, stirring continuously until the custard is as thick as the cream.
• Remove the bowl from the ice bath and fold the lightly whipped cream into the mixture.
• Oil 6 moulds if using.
• Pour the bavarois mixture and chill in the fridge for at least five hours or until set.
• To prepare our strawberry coulis, chop the strawberries evenly and place them into a saucepan.
• Cook them over medium heat mixing in the sugar and stirring occasionally until the strawberries soften completely.
• Taste and add in more sugar or lemon juice if needed.
• Pass through a sieve pressing the pulp and scraping the back of the sieve to extract all of the coulis.
• Skim off the froth on top if you prefer and set aside to cool completely.
• Refrigerate covered until ready to use.
• To unmould the bavarois, place the moulds in hot water to the rim for 5- 10 seconds to gently melt the surface of the bavarois.
• Remove and gently release the bavarois on to a plate.
• Serve with some deliciously syrupy coulis and enjoy.