Unlike last week's simple and delicious Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs with Caramel and Crème Anglaise, today's recipe is a bit more involved, with five components—meaning a pile of dishes to clean afterward!
Let’s start with the ladyfingers. They’re quite straightforward this time, especially since I followed the instructions carefully and sprinkled the confectioner's sugar on top of the piped fingers, instead of mixing it into the batter like I did last time. To make them, whip the egg whites, fold in the yolks, and then incorporate the flour. Pipe the batter, sprinkle with icing sugar, and bake at 350°F until golden.
Now, onto the pears. Why do the French have such a love for pears? I’ve never been a huge fan, finding them a bit mealy. However, poaching really brings out their sweetness and improves the texture. To prepare them, halve the pears and poach them in water, sugar, and vanilla until soft. Once they’ve cooled, purée half of the pears and dice the other half.
The star of this dessert, for me, is the Crème Anglaise. Some people can eat raw cookie dough (which I personally can't), but I could easily devour a whole saucepan of Crème Anglaise. That said, adding the softened gelatin and water mixture to the custard doesn’t do it any favors in my opinion—jelly and custard just don’t mix well.
Afterward, whip the cream (I usually add a bit of liqueur, but I opted to leave it out this time) and gently fold it into the Bavarian cream, which is a mixture of Crème Anglaise and gelatin.
To finish, purée the raspberries, strain out the seeds if desired, and whisk in the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice.
Now, the hardest part: patience. After all that work, you’ll need to wait 4-5 hours for the Bavarian cream to set!
Bavarois is a classic French dessert that combines gelatin to thicken the mixture and whipped cream to lighten it, creating a rich yet airy treat perfect for any special occasion.
Recipe: Charlotte aux Poires, Coulis de Framboise (Pear Charlotte with Raspberry Coulis)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Ladyfingers
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup cake flour
Confectioner's sugar, sifted
Unsalted butter, softened for the baking sheet
Pear Bavarian Cream
1 pound pears
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 ounce powdered gelatin (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons cold water
Crème Anglaise
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Whipped Cream
1/4 cup Poire William or domestic pear brandy (I ended up leaving this out)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Raspberry Coulis
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
Instructions:
1. Make the Ladyfingers:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer or by hand until soft peaks form. Gradually add the confectioner's sugar, whipping until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and sift the flour.
- Gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites until fully combined. Be careful not to deflate the batter.
- Pipe the batter into long, finger-shaped lines on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with a light dusting of icing sugar.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
2. Poach the Pears:
- Peel, core, and halve the pears.
- In a medium saucepan, add water, sugar, and vanilla (split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the water, or use vanilla extract). Bring to a simmer.
- Add the pear halves to the simmering liquid. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until pears are tender but not mushy.
- Remove the pears from the liquid and let them cool. Once cool, purée half the pears and dice the other half for garnish. Set aside.
3. Prepare the Crème Anglaise:
- In a saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla over medium heat until it comes to a simmer (do not let it boil).
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together until smooth.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture, tempering the yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes).
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove any lumps. Allow to cool completely.
4. Make the Bavarois:
- Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water and let it sit for 5 minutes to bloom.
- Warm the gelatin mixture in the microwave for about 10 seconds until it dissolves completely. Add it to the cooled Crème Anglaise.
- In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the Crème Anglaise mixture, making sure everything is evenly combined.
- Pour the Bavarois mixture into serving dishes or a mold and refrigerate for 4-5 hours, or until set.
5. Prepare the Raspberry Sauce:
- In a blender or food processor, purée the raspberries until smooth.
- Strain the purée through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
- Add sugar and lemon juice to the raspberry purée. Adjust sweetness to taste.
- Refrigerate the raspberry sauce until ready to serve.
6. Assemble the Dessert:
- Once the Bavarois has set, spoon a layer of the diced poached pears over the top of the Bavarois.
- Drizzle the raspberry sauce over the pears and Bavarois.
- Garnish with the ladyfingers, either whole or cut into pieces.
- Serve chilled and enjoy!
You can find the recipe for Charlotte aux Poires, Coulis de Framboise (Pear Charlotte with Raspberry Coulis) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home (affiliate link).
Tasting Notes
If you like pears, you'll like this recipe. If you like jello, you'll like this recipe. I liked the ladyfingers and the Crème Anglaise so all was not wasted. And you can't go wrong with raspberry coulis, but it's a very strong taste that likes to overpower the subtle taste of pear.
More Charlottes
• Whisk: Charlotte aux Pommes, Crème Anglaise au Rhum (Apple Charlotte with Rum-Flavored Crème Anglaise)
• Whisk: Charlotte Malakoff (Almond Cream Charlotte)
• Whisk: Charlotte aux pommes, crème anglaise au Calvados (Apple Charlotte served with Calvados custard sauce)
• La Cerise: Charlotte and Biscuits à la Cuillère (Ladyfingers)
• Happy Home Baking: Tiramisu Charlotte Cake
More Bavarois
• Whisk: Bavarois à la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise (Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis)
• Whisk: Bavarois à la Fraise (Strawberry Bavarian Cream with Strawberry Coulis)
Next Time
Crème d’amande (Almond cream) in Almond-Filled Basque Cake page 253
::Whisk::
I'm baking my way through a cooking school curriculum using the Le Cordon Bleu at Home (affiliate link) cookbook. The "classes" are based on the Le Cordon Bleu curriculum found online and used as a guideline. Not all the items in the curriculum are in the cookbook, but most are. Where the items are not in the book, I try to find a suitable substitution.
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