How to Make Mini Blackberry Bavarois, delicious fruit mousse

These mini blackberry bavarois are the perfect blend of creamy indulgence and bright, fruity flavor. Light yet luxurious, they’re a treat that looks impressive but couldn’t be easier to make—no baking required. With just a handful of simple ingredients and tools, you can create a dessert that feels effortlessly elegant. Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or simply treating yourself, these mini delights are sure to wow every guest at the table.

• What is a Bavarois?
• What you need to make Blackberry Bavarois
• How to make the Blackberry Bavarois
  • The fruit.
  • The gelatine.
  • The custard.
  • The heavy whipping cream.
  • Set and Serve the Blackberry Bavarois
• Blackberry Coulis recipe
• Frequently Asked Questions for Blackberry Bavarois

What is a Bavarois?

A bavarois is a classic French dating all the way back to the 17th and 18th Centuries, its history has stories that include nobility and haute cuisine which is where they believe the name bavarois came from.

The name bavarois it is derived from Bavaria a free state found in southern Germany. So you may wonder doesn’t that make it a German/Bavarian dessert not French. No the name actually came from a visit to to Bavaria by a notable or noble Frenchman, the recipe had already been created by Marie-Antoine Carême at an earlier time.

So what is a bavarois? This a cold dessert made from a cooked egg custard with gelatine added and then a fruit puree and whipped cream folded in. Making it deliciously fruity and light, it is very much like a mousse. This recipe is for a blackberry bavarois but you can use other fruits instead, raspberry is a very popular fruit to use.

Is it the same as panna cotta? While it does appear to have a lot of similarities to bavarios Panna cotta originated in Italy it has a cream base rather than a custard. Usually flavoured with vanilla and coffee rather than fruit puree.

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What you need to make Blackberry Bavarois

Tools

• Mixing bowl
• Electric beater with a whisk or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Small saucepan
• Sieve
• Spatula or wooden spoon
• Measuring Cups and spoons
• Optional, kitchen scale.
• Some sort of ladle or scoop, you can also use a measuring cup.
• Muffin tin lined with plastic wrap (cling wrap)

Ingredients

• Blackberries, fresh or frozen will work for the recipe
• Lemon, you will need the rind as well as the juice
• Gelatine, this recipe calls for powdered gelatin, Knox gelatin was used if that helps in any way.
• Large eggs, yolks only
• Sugar
• Cream, for this recipe you will need a heavy whipping cream, and also a light cream. Light cream also known as single cream, coffee cream or table cream depending on where you are from in the world.

How to make the Blackberry Bavarois

The fruit.

In a small saucepan place the blackberries along with the lemon juice and rind. Over a medium cook the berries down until the become soft and juicy, you can mash them and break up the fruit as they cook using a wooden spoon. Pour the cooked fruit through a sieve, you can use a spoon to push through any of the soft fruit.

Place the fruit to the side while you make the rest of the recipe.

The gelatine.

I will be using Knox gelatine for this recipe, please see my frequently asked questions if you are using something different.

For this gelatine sprinkle to powder over half a cup of cold water then add another half cup of boiling water to this. Stir the mixture until the gelatine has dissolved.

The custard.

In a small saucepan add the light cream and heat over a medium heat. You are not wanting to bring the cream to the boil just get it to the point you see steam starting to rise off it.

While the cream is warming whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until it looks light and creamy. While you are still whisking the sugar and yolks on low slowly pour in the warm cream. This will make the custard base for the blackberry bavarois.

Stir the gelatine into the custard, once that is fully incorporated fold in the fruit puree. Set it aside to cool.

The heavy whipping cream.

This last step is to lightly whip the whipping cream. It should be fluffy but not stiff, it should still have some soft movement.

Once the bavarois has cooled gently fold in the whipping cream. Gently mix this in until there are no lumps of cream remaining. This takes a little bit of time so be patient and slowly incorporate the cream into the mixture.

Set and Serve the Blackberry Bavarois

Take your muffin tins and line with cling wrap this will allow you to remove the blackberry bavarois easily. Pour in the mixture into each cup filling them to the top then place the tin into the fridge to set. This may take any where from four hours to a full day.

Once the blackberry bavarois are set remove them from the fridge. The easiest way to take them out of the tin is to place a cutting board that is a least the same size or a little bigger than the tin over the top of the tin and then quickly flip it over.

Carefully remove the muffin tin and then the plastic wrap. Use a thin spatula to then lift each individual bavarois onto their serving plates or bowls.

There are a number of ways to serve these mini blackberry bavarois these include whipped cream, fresh fruit or a coulis or jam.

Blackberry Coulis recipe

This can also be made earlier in the day or the day before and stored in the fridge.

Take the black berries, sugar and triple sec, Cointreau or Crème de Cassis and place them into a saucepan. Bring it to the boil and cook for around 10 minutes.

Pour the cooked mixture through a sieve using a spoon to push through the soft berries. You should be left with a lovely smooth fruit concentrate.

Either pour this over the top of the blackberry bavarois or add a spoonful the the plate before placing the bavarois over the top, personally I like to do it this way.

Frequently Asked Questions for Blackberry Bavarois

• Can I use fresh fruit? Yes absolutely, frozen fruit is more readily available all year round.
• I have a different brand of gelatine are the measurements the same? I believe if it is powder then yes it should be but what you can do is look at the instructions of the package it should tell you how many grams of gelatine needed to set x amount of liquid. This recipe is based on 4 cups of liquid so I used 2 sachets (30g) of Knox gelatine.
• Do I have to use a muffin tin and cling wrap as molds? No you can use cupcake cases or mini cups as molds. Be aware though with cupcake cases it will have the ridges of the case and the surface wont be as shiny in appearance.