Savarin is a yeast-based cake that’s baked in a ring mould then soaked in a light sugar syrup, originally inspired by rum baba but ring-shaped rather than a solid sphere or cylinder. It’s a great summer dessert when served with whipped cream and berries or other soft fruits.
Before you start make sure you have a piping bag with a star nozzle and a 22cm non-stick savarin ring mould to hand.
Strawberry savarin with vanilla cream
Serves 4
Savarin dough
250g plain flour
15g fresh yeast
A pinch of salt
30g sugar
4 medium eggs
80g melted butter
Sugar syrup
400ml water
200g caster sugar
Zest from 1 orange
Vanilla cream and garnish
1 vanilla pod, split in half
250ml double cream
25g icing sugar
200g strawberries, stems removed and cut in half
Make the dough first. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl then mix in the eggs and butter. Beat well until you have a thick, sticky batter, cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and leave in a warm place (22-24C) for about 30 minutes or until the batter has doubled in size.
When the batter has risen, beat it with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute, then spoon it into the savarin ring mould and leave in a warm place so the batter can rise again until it reaches three-quarters of the way up the mould.
Set the oven to 180C then bake the mould for 20 minutes.
When cooked, remove the savarin from the mould and place it on a cooling rack.
To make the sugar syrup, pour the water into a small pan and add the caster sugar and orange zest. Bring to the boil then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool. Strain off and discard the orange zest.
Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Pour the cream into a large bowl, add the vanilla seeds and icing sugar and whisk until the soft peak stage. Now place the vanilla cream in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
Place the savarin on a large dish and pour the warm sugar syrup over the top. Carefully drain off the syrup and repeat the process (you need to be gentle with the savarin when doing this, since soaking the sponge will soften it).
Fill the middle of the savarin with the vanilla cream, garnish with the strawberry halves then serve.
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