Strawberry Bavarian Cream

After using nearly every bowl and utensil in my kitchen, the resulting Bavarian cream was delicious and close in flavor but the texture was nothing like the absolutely smooth and creamy original dessert I enjoyed at the Ambassador's house.

Julia's version is not quite as sweet as that original one was. But, it unmolded beautifully and we enjoyed the light and almost bubbly texture of this one, even if it didn't match my memory.

Would I make it again? Not on a bet! It was good but the pleasure-to-work ratio was skewed too hard in the work direction. I'm glad I tried it but I'm happy now just to remember fondly that original dessert, formally served on a silver platter at the Ambassador's shining mahogany table.

How I Got Creamed by a Bavarian

Long ago, when I was a young student, faculty members used to actually invite students to their houses for dinner. Almost unimaginable today, but it taught us important social skills while humanizing the profs. One spring evening, I was invited with several others to dinner at the Dean's house; he was a former Ambassador to Vietnam and his two Vietnamese cooks made a heavenly dessert, one that I have never forgotten.

It was made with fresh strawberries and cream, a molded dessert that tasted of the simple essence of the ripe, sweet berries. It was spectacular, but I've never again had a dessert even remotely like it. So, when I read the recipe for a Bavarian Cream made with strawberries in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I thought perhaps I had finally found a recipe that sounded like that marvelous, long-ago dessert.

It took four - yes, four - hours to make and I used:

4 spatulas
1 wooden spoon
2 sets of measuring spoons
1 blender
3 strainers
1 paring knife
4 bowls of various sizes
4 measuring cups
1 decorative mold
1 electric mixer, washed 3 times
2 whisks
and
1 pot

all to make one seemingly simple dessert. Not to mention the sieving, the whipping, the folding and the chilling. Whew! I felt like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards by the time that puppy was safely in the fridge for the final (yes, there was more than one) cooling!

Sometimes, it's better to leave memories alone and just savor them over the years. This may have been one of those times.