Every year on 5 November, the sky fills with fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night. The tradition dates back to 1605, when a group of plotters hid barrels of gunpowder in a cellar beneath the Houses of Parliament in London, hoping to blow up King James I. Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the explosives just hours before the plan could go ahead, and Londoners lit bonfires to celebrate the king’s escape. British settlers brought the custom to South Africa, and while the bonfires have largely faded, many of us still gather in the garden to watch the fireworks with friends and something sweet to share.

These little pastries make an elegant end to the evening. Bavarian cream, or bavarois, has a slightly confusing name. Despite sounding German, it was perfected in French kitchens in the 1800s and is often credited to the famous chef Marie-Antoine Carême. It starts as a classic egg custard, which is thickened with gelatine and then folded with whipped cream. The result is a dessert that is light, silky and firm enough to hold its shape when turned out of a mould, which makes it ideal for small, individual pastries.

Prep time: 35 minutes, plus 4 hours setting | Cooking time: 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the bases:

• 6 Marie biscuits

For the Bavarian cream:

• 250 ml milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 60 g castor sugar
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 10 g powdered gelatine (1 sachet)
• 45 ml cold water
• 250 ml cream, whipped to soft peaks

For the strawberry jelly:

• 200 g strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 50 g castor sugar
• 100 ml water
• 5 ml lemon juice
• 5 g powdered gelatine (half a sachet)
• 30 ml cold water

For the hearts:

• 50 g red candy melts, or white chocolate coloured with red oil-based food colouring

Method

Bavarian cream:

1. Sprinkle the gelatine over the cold water and leave to soften for 5 minutes.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming, but not boiling. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until pale, then slowly pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly.
3. Pour the mixture back into the pan and stir over low heat for 5 to 8 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon. Don’t let it boil.
4. Take the pan off the heat, add the softened gelatine and stir until it dissolves. Strain into a clean bowl and cool to room temperature.
5. Fold in the whipped cream. Spoon the mixture into 6 individual silicone moulds, about 6 cm across, and level the tops. Chill for at least 4 hours, or until firm.

Chocolate hearts: Melt the candy melts or coloured white chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between. Spoon into a piping bag or a small zip-seal bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe 6 small hearts, about 3 cm wide, onto a sheet of baking paper and fill them in. Chill until set.

Strawberry jelly: Soften the gelatine in the 30 ml cold water. Simmer the strawberries, sugar, 100 ml water and lemon juice for 10 minutes until the fruit breaks down. Strain through a fine sieve, then stir the gelatine into the warm liquid until dissolved. Cool until it is thick and syrupy but still spoonable.

Assemble: Place the Marie biscuits on a serving plate or small cake boards. Turn the creams out of their moulds and set one on each biscuit. Spoon a thick layer of strawberry jelly over the top of each cream, letting just a little drip over the edges. Chill for 15 minutes to set the jelly, then gently press a heart upright into the top of each pastry.

Tip: If you’re tempted to swap the strawberries for other fruit, steer clear of fresh pineapple, kiwi fruit and papaya. They contain natural enzymes that break down the proteins in gelatine, so the jelly will never set, no matter how long you leave it in the fridge.