Blueberry Lemon French Bavarois Dessert (Gluten Free)
Jill Colonna
An easy no-bake French dessert, similar to an Italian Panna Cotta, made with fruit purée and less cream. This recipe adds a touch of roasted coriander seeds, giving a lovely texture to bring out the lemon and blueberry flavours.
Wash and drain the blueberries. Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for 10 minutes.
Place the coriander seeds on a baking tray and toast under the grill for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Finely grate the zest of the lemon (yellow zest only, no white pith, otherwise this is too bitter). Add the lemon and seeds to the blueberries and purée in a food processor (or mix by hand with a mortar & pestle).
Heat a quarter of the purée in the microwave for 1m30 seconds. Squeeze the gelatine of any excess water and stir into the purée until melted. Add the crème fraîche or double cream then pour into shaped silicone moulds (here I used briochettes, but half spheres are even better).
Place on a baking tray and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, turn the moulds upside down and run under hot water for a few seconds. Turn them upright so that no water touches them and turn out each bavarois with the help of a pastry scraper or pie slice and place directly on each serving plate.
Notes
Serve with fresh blueberries that have been macerated in some crème de cassis or limoncello liqueur. Add any extra roasted coriander seeds for that extra crunch. I added fresh lemon verbena, which complements this dessert beautifully.Discovered that a red wine (Beaujolais Cru, such as Morgon or Moulin à Vent) brings out the citrus flavours. Serve with lemon or lemon verbena macarons (recipes are in Mad About Macarons and Teatime in Paris respectively).Ensure gelatine sheets are 2g each, as I've discovered that some brands have smaller sheets and the whole thing is too liquid (if this is the case, block in the freezer for an hour, then turn out and leave to defrost for 20 minutes).