Strawberry Bavarian cream is a firm mousse made with fresh strawberries, a light yolk custard, whipped cream and gelatin. A light and refreshing strawberry no-bake dessert that you can eat with a spoon. An unusual summer treat.
I remeber my mom making strawberry Bavarian cream when I was little. Not a regular recipe, but she made it a few times. Absolutey not from sctarch but from a fancy box. It was the ’90s and these things were all the rage back then. Why make a simple pudding if you could buy a box of powdered stuff and turn that into a mousse? Production must have stopped at some point because we couldn’t find it in stores any more. Never finding it again, we stopped eating strawberry Bavarian cream at home. For some reason my mom never ventured into making it from scratch.
How to make strawberry Bavarian cream from scratch
Bavarian cream can be described as a very firm mousse. It is a combination of a light yolk custard with gelatin and whipped cream. It can have several flavours, but I have always known it made with strawberries. Well, or strawberry-flavoured as I really doubt the thing we ate in the ’90s had any real strawberries in that box. But it’s so nice to see the strawberry seeds in the Bavarian cream! Makes it feel healthier.
Strawberry Bavarian cream is a fantastic way to use up strawberries when it’s peak season and you just end up with tons. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t restrain myself from buying more and more. Come June my diet is like 90% strawberries, 10% pasta. I even eat pasta with strawberries, that’s how hopeless it gets. (I’m not joking. Send help.) Strawberry Bavarian cream is a great alternative.
Strawberry Bavarian cream recipe
To make strawberry Bavarian cream you need to start off by making the custard. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and combine the yolks with the sugar. Beat with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes, then stir in some milk. Transfer this mixture to the stove and cook on low heat, always stirring, until the mixture thickens, then remove from heat. It will not get as thick as a regular custard, as there is no starch here, so do not expect the same texture. Soak the gelatin according to package instructions. Stir gelatin in the yolk mixture and let cool.
Then it’s time to take care of the strawberries. Clean and halve the strawberries, add powdered sugar and blend until smooth. When the cream and gelatin mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the strawberry blend.
We’re almost there, we just need to incorporate some fluff to give our strawberry Bavarian cream the moussy airy texture it should have. On the side, whip the cream to soft peaks and fold into the Bavarian cream mixture. Divide the mixture into 4 serving cups and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. The gelatin will harden and your strawberry Bavarian cream will have its perfect serving texture.
How to serve strawberry Bavarian cream
A traditional way of serving this dessert is by making it in a large mould and flipping it onto a plate once it hardens. Then, it gets sliced to portions. Many recipes present Bavarian cream like that. I thought it looked a bit out of fashion and decided to make mine as single-serving portions.
Bavarian cream is firmer than a pudding and has a very pleasant texture. The air of the whipped cream is trapped in the firm structure of the cream hardened with the gelatin. Using strawberries will also add the crunch of the tiny strawberry seeds. Some people sieve the strawberry purée but I don’t mind using the fruits whole. As I said before, it makes it feel more wholesome.
Here’s a strawberry cheesecake smoothie, if you have more strawberries.
This post was originally published in July 2017 and was updated in June 2019.
Strawberry Bavarian cream
Ingredients
- 260 g fresh strawberries
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 200 ml whole milk
- 13 g gelatin
- 200 ml whipping cream
Instructions
- Separate egg yolks from whites. Combine the yolks with the granulated sugar and beat for a couple of minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the milk and set on medium heat. Stir the mixture until it reaches boiling temeprature, it will thicken slightly. Remove from the heat when done.
- Soak the gelatin and prepare it according to package instructions. Stir gelatin into egg custard. Let cool to room temperature making sure not to leave it too long or the gelatin will harden this mixture before the other ingredients are added.
- Clean and cut the strawberries, combine with powdered sugar. Blend until smooth. Stir into custard mixture when it has reached room temperature.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold into Bavarian cream mixture. Divide strawberry Bavarian cream into 4 molds and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hous before serving.
I would love to start my summer mornings with a glass of this. Simply amazing and perfect use for summer strawberries.
This would definitely add a luxurious feel to regular breakfast fruits!
How come I’ve never had Bavarian cream in a mousse-like form? This looks so delicious and super easy to make.
I like it better like this than made in the larger mold and sliced.
I love custard desserts especially if they don’t require baking them. This strawberry bavarian cream looks so light and refreshing perfect for a hot summer day!
Thank you so much Kelly!
This is a fabulous recipe for this part of the year. In fact, I’ve got everything I need to make this recipe, so I am keep to get everything started. Off to the kitchen! 🙂
Thanks Danielle! Enjoy!
Strawberry is one of my favorite fruit and surely this dessert is delicious. Have to check this for my next party.
Thank you Veena, hope your guests will love this.
This is the perfect dessert recipe for us right now here in Phoenix Arizona because it’s so hot outside! I’m looking for all the no bake recipes I can get! Loving this mousse and can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Amanda! Uh I have never experienced the heat you guys get in Arizona so I feel for you. I’m not much of a summer person 😀
What a perfect summer treat! This is a great way to use up strawberries you might just have sitting around. I’m definitely going to have to give this one a try
Thank you Karyl! I really hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂
What a great dessert for these hot summer days. Something cold and creamy would taste fantastic after a light dinner. You know, great desserts will withstand the test of time. They’ll come back in favor because they are good. I imagine you can use any fruit that’s in season.
I believe so, I don’t see why other fruits wouldn’t work in here. I would probably love it with peaches or mango!
This sounds HEAVENLY. I love just about anything with a mousse-like texture, and I can’t get enough strawberry recipes right now, so this is perfect!
Aw thank you Leslie!
I love the texture of Bavarian cream! With strawberries, it is really delicious and just perfect this time of the year. At our place too, our diet these days is mostly pasta, and berries, but never together 😉 .
Come to the dark side and enjoy pasta with berries hahaha 😀
I am a sucker for anything Bavarian. I love love love to make my own cream and last summer I made some yummy southern pecan bavarian. I’ve been searching for the perfect strawberry bavarian cream to make like forever and I’m going to make this and eat it for breakfast!
Uhh love the idea of southern pecan Bavarian cream! Gotta try that variation!
Perfect summertime dessert. This looks so pretty and sounds absolutely heavenly!
Thank you so much!
You certainly brought back Some of my best childhood memories – my aunt coming to Easter, Christmas or a birthday lunch celebration and bringing her specialty – strawberry bavarois! Yes, it was her forte! I will definitely try your recipe this weekend and I’m sure she’ll be watching me from wherever she is. ❤️ Thanks for sharing!
How awesome! Hope you have enjoyed my recipe and it brought back all the memories <3 Thank you for taking the time to leave this message, this is why I love blogging and sharing recipes!