Apple Bavarois with Calvados

Before starting this Apple Bavarois recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

Soak the gelatine sheets in a big bowl filled with cold water.

Peel the apples.

Remove the core with a knife and cut 3 apples into cubes.

Melt 12 grams of butter in a frying pan. Add 25 grams of castor sugar. Caramelize for a few minutes and add the apple cubes.

Brown the apples on all sides for a few minutes over medium heat so they don't burn. When the apples are cooked and golden, add the Calvados...

... and flambé with a blow torch. The alcohol should be very hot for this operation.

Once the flame disappears, all alcohol has burned off. Take the pan away from the heat, drain the apples and transfer into a dish to let them cool down.

In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.

Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl...

... add the castor sugar...

... and beat vigorously with a whisk.

When the milk starts boiling, add to the preparation. Combine well with a whisk.

Transfer the preparation into the saucepan used to boil the milk and cook 'à la nappe' until the temperature reaches 84°C. Make sure you don't exceed this temperature, otherwise the egg yolks will coagulate. I recommend using a digital thermometer with probe.

When cooked, pass the cream through a fine sieve.

Strain the soft gelatine. Squeeze to get rid of as much water as possible...

... and add to the hot cream. Combine carefully with a whisk until the gelatine has completely dissolved.

Add the Calvados and combine again.

Leave to cool at room temperature. Pour the cream into a large dish so it cools down faster. Do not refrigerate the cream.

In the stand mixer, beat the whipping cream until you obtain a whipped cream.

When the cream is cold, transfer into a mixing bowl...

... add 1/4 of the whipped cream...

... and combine with a whisk.

Add the preparation to the rest of the whipped cream...

... and combine carefully with a maryse spatula until homogeneous.

Place a Pavocake crown mould on your kitchen worktop.

Pour some Bavarian cream in the mould...

... to fill the crown pattern at the bottom. Reserve in the freezer for 15 minutes. Use the boost function on your freezer if it has this feature.

When the cream has set, scatter half of the apple cubes over the cream.

Cover with another layer of Bavarian cream.

Spread the remaining apple cubes over the cream.

Cover with a final layer of cream and fill the rest of the mould.

Bury the apple cubes in the cream with a fork.

Cut a disc of sponge cake, using a stainless steel ring Ø 16cm.

Place the sponge cake disc over the cream and press gently so the cream comes up a little on the sides. Add more cream if needed. The biscuit should be buried in the cream to create a flat surface.

Using a pastry brush, steep the biscuit with Calvados syrup.

Cover with cling film and store in the freezer. The cake needs to be completely frozen before releasing it from the mould. Refrigeration will not be sufficient to get good results.

Cut the two remaining apples into thin slices.

In a non-stick frying pan, repeat steps 5 and 6 to make a caramel. Arrange the apple slices in the caramel and brown over medium heat.

Flip the apple slices to cook on both sides. They should be cooked and golden but not crunchy.

Arrange the cooked apple slices over a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave to cool.

Remove the frozen cake from the freezer. Transfer the entremets on a round cake board Ø 18cm. Gently release the cake from the silicone mould.

Arrange the apple slices...

... in the central cavity...

... and create a rounded swirl shape.

Melt the clear glaze in the microwave for a few seconds until liquid. Apply the glaze carefully over the apple slices with a brush. Refrigerate between 4 and 6 hours until completely defrosted. Enjoy!