It's pastry time!...Strawberry Bavarian Cream

I'm at class again...this time it's about pastry making. I've always admired the art of making cakes, the creation, the marriage of flavors, the sweet geometry of tastes, the painting of decorations. The wonder and magic of a dessert, the guessing of flavors from the cake's name,  the happy faces staring at the delicious appearance, the melting in your mouth surprise. Yes, I'd love to be a pastry chef in my sweetest dreams...so here I am learning the basic with my teacher Gabriella and her assistant Agnese.  At the first (of four) lessons we prepared a very simple strawberry Bavarian cream, that I made at home again, perfect for a fresh summer dessert or snack. We also made some cream puffs, that Gabriella used to create a Croque en bouche, a cream puff pyramid covered by a rain of caramel...a real magic! And we made the puffs fly...in the shape of swans...Since I sometimes (quite often indeed) leave reality for fantasy I added at the end of the post a video of a young Italian artist, whom I recently listened live, Raphael Gualazzi. He's a great pianist, who brought back the true jazz vibe in Italy...I would like to share this little "trip" with you. Before that, the recipe of the strawberry Bavarian cream. Buon appetito e buon viaggio! (Enjoy the flight!)

Strawberry Bavarian Cream

(the recipe is taken from my class cookbook written by Roberta Molani - makes six servings)

500 g strawberries 

1 lemon juice 

120 g sugar

12 g leaves isinglass (gelatin)

500 g lightly whipped cream 

Blend strawberries with sugar and lemon juice. Soak gelatin leaves in cold water for about 5 minutes. Drain and let them dry over a clean dishcloth. Divide the strawberry shake into 3 parts. Cook one part in a kettle till it begins to boil. Remove from fire and add gelatin stirring quickly. Mix this syrup again with the rest of the strawberry shake and with 500 g lightly whipped cream. Refrigerate for at least three hours. Decorate with fresh strawberries, additional whipped cream and a mint leaf. 

Here's the official video of Raphael Gualazzi performing the song Reality and Fantasy, which gives the name to his album and live tour. Mitico!