Foodreference.com - Articles Section
Food Articles and Beverage Articles - Essays and Articles about food, wine, beer and spirits history, science, culture, production, use and appreciation of food and beverages`

Sign up for FoodReference Weekly Newsletter

Food History
See also: Bavarian Cream Recipes; Cream Trivia; Cream Puff Trivia

BAVARIAN CREAM, CRÈME BAVAROISE

Bavarian cream was originally a French (or German?) cold dessert of egg custard stiffened with gelatin, mixed with whipped cream (sometimes with fruit  purée or other flavors), then set in a mold, or used as a filling for cakes and pastries.

No one is sure about the origin of Bavarian cream, but during the late 17th  and early 18th centuries many French chefs worked at the court of the Wittelsbach Princes (a German family that ruled Bavaria from the 12th century to 1918). This would have given them the contact to have learned it in Bavaria. The  famous French chef Carême (1783-1833) gives recipes for it in the early 18th century. The suffix 'crème' in German speaking lands, is the term for the  gelatin mold - (Schokolatencreme, Weincreme, etc.) and there are many variations,  flavored with chocolate, lemon, kirsch, etc.

So - in summary, the most likely origin is that the French chefs working for  the Bavarian rulers (the Wittelsbachs) learned something either the same or very  similar while working in Bavaria, and when they returned to France continued to make it, and called it Crème Bavaroise (Bavarian Cream). And since, in addition  to being served in a gelatin mold, it was also used as a cake filling, the next  step to its use as a doughnut filling at Dunkin Donuts was inevitable.

. HOME . . Cooking Tips . . Facts & Trivia . . About & Contact . . Links . . Search . . Subscribe .

•Food History 'A' to 'E'• •1871 Paris Siege Menu in French• •1871 Paris Siege Menu in English• •A la mode• •A Matter of Taste• •Animal Crackers• •Apalachicola• •Apples - The Big Apple• •Apple Brown Betty• •Bacon, Bringing it Home• •Bain Marie• •Baked Alaska• •Balsamic Vinegar, Traditional• •Banana Bread History• •Battle Creek Sanitarium• •Bavarian Cream• •Beans - History & Nutrition• •Blueberry History• •Breakfast Cereals, They're Great• •Bubble & Squeak• •Caesar Salad, Caesar Dressing• •Canning: A History of Canning• •Cans, Extreme Shelf Life• •Celery, A History• •Chateaubriand• •Cherries, History• •Chicken a la King• •Chuckwagon History• •Chutney• •Cocoa and Delectable Chocolate• •Corn, History of Corn• •Creme Bavaroise• •Crepes Suzette: Suzette, Woman of Mystery• •Cucumber History & Use• •Deep Dish Pizza• •Eclairs• •Eggs Benedict• •Eighty Six• •English Muffins•

Please feel free to link to any pages of FoodReference.com from your website. All contents of this website are copyright © 1990 - 2008 James T. Ehler and FoodReference.com unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this website for non-commercial, personal use only. Any other use of the materials in this website without prior written permission is prohibited. Contact email: james@foodreference.com