Angel Food Cake Bavarian is an old fashioned icebox cake made with vanilla flavored Bavarian cream and pieces of angel food cake. Because of the angel food cake, it's sometimes referred to as Heaven on Earth Cake, but it can also be made with pound cake, ladyfingers and even Maria cookies. This version is a not-so-plain vanilla with a topping of whipped cream and homemade caramel sauce.
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How to Make Angel Food Cake Bavarian
To make this easy, creamy dessert, you soften a teaspoon of plain gelatin in 1 tablespoon of cold water. While the gelatin softens, you whisk egg yolks, cream, milk and sugar together over the stove until thick. You then add the gelatin, a dash of salt and a good vanilla before whisking it cool in an ice bath. Once cool, you fold in unsweetened whipped cream.
Assembling and Serving
To assemble, you put a thin layer of custard across the bottom of a baking dish then arrange the chunks of angel food cake. The ratio of cake to cream is up to you. For this cake, I used about a half pound of homemade angel food cake chunks. I did one layer of chunks, then threw a couple of chunks on the top just because. You can also assemble in a narrower pan such as a loaf pan and layer, or even in a bowl. And if you want, you can line a bowl with plastic wrap, assemble, then invert and decorate. But the most practical way is to just build it in a dish.
Chilling and Serving
The next step is a long chill. This cake seems to set up pretty quickly, so you may be able to cut neat slices after a four hour chill. I usually give it a good six. After chilling, you make some sweetened whipped cream and spread it over the top. The final touch is a drizzle of caramel sauce. Store bought is perfectly fine, but if you ever want to try it, here's a homemade caramel sauce recipe. It takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it it's pretty simple.
Maria Cookie Version
If you don't have any angel food cake, you can definitely use Maria Cookies. They soften in the Bavarian cream and become cake-like. Ladyfingers also work, though the hard type may need a little more time to soften. And then of course there's pound cake, which I'll probably use for my next batch. The photos above show a large square pan version, but you can also make smaller batches and use different size pans. For the little Maria version, I used a 4-inch glass pan and made half.
Recipe
Vanilla Cream Angel Food Cake Bavarian
Ingredients
Bavarian Cream
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 large egg yolks (36-40 grams)
- 1 small pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ cup heavy cream (for whipping)
- ½ pound angel food cake (can use more or less, half pound is just a ballpark)
Sweetened Whipped Cream Topping & Garnish
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons caramel sauce (homemade or storebought)
Instructions
Bavarian Cream
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
- Put the 1 tablespoon of cold water in a small cup or ramekin, then sprinkle in the gelatin to soften. Tap it down a little to make sure it's completely soaked in the water.
- Combine the milk, cream, sugar and egg yolks in a small (mine's a little over a quart) saucepan and whisk until uniformly blended. Set over medium low heat and whisk constantly until it boils and thickens. It will foam up quite a bit towards the end. This whole process should only take about 4 minutes, so if yours isn't foaming and thickening quick enough, increase the heat.
- Remove from heat briefly and add the gelatin, which will have gelled into a little blob which you'll have to pry gently out of the cup.
- Return to heat and stir over medium low until gelatin is dissolved. This will only take about 30 seconds. Add salt and vanilla.
- Submerge the saucepan in the bowl of ice water, being careful to keep water out of the custard. Whisk mixture until it is relatively cool (doesn't have to be ice cold).
- With an electric mixer, beat the half cup of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks just start to form, then fold it into the custard.
- Spread a thin layer of custard across the bottom of an 8-inch square dish.
- Cut the angel food cake into 1 inch (approximately) chunks and lay in the baking dish. Pour the custard over the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 to 6 hours or until firm.
- Make sweetened whipped cream by beating the cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, then beat in vanilla. Spread over the top of the dessert. Drizzle with caramel sauce.
Sue says
That sounds really good!