In a part of the world best known for serious cakes like the Schwarzwalder kirschtorte and substantial desserts like the famous Dampfnudeln (sweet steamed dumplings), some people find the appearance on Munich menus of something called Bayerisch vanillecreme rather confusing... especially when they taste it for the first time and find themselves unexpectedly in contact with a dessert that's suave and rich yet also airy and meltingly light; something most closely resembling a vanilla pudding which has wandered into the mortal realms after a brief sojourn in Heaven. (Which is what the Bavarians think their part of the world can be mistaken for, anyway.) How in the world, some people might say, did a sweet this subtle and sophisticated turn up in the robust mainstream of Bavarian home cooking?

It turns out there's probably a French connection. In 1385, Duke Stephan II of Bavaria married his daughter Isabel to the king of France, Charles the Sixth. Due to her husband's ill health, Queen Isabel (referred to by the French as Isabeau de Bavière or Isobel the Bavarian) wound up having to shoulder much of the serious business of ruling France, and was constantly engaged in diplomatic travel and power-brokering across central Europe. One thing she seems to have brought back to Bayern with her when business took her home was the recipe for the rich egg-based custard-cream desserts then popular at Charles's Parisian court. From the Bavarian court the vanilla creme made its way out into local food culture, and has never faded in popularity from that day to this. And in French food culture, Isabeau's affiliation with the dessert is remembered in its French name, bavarois, "the Bavarian dish". (Please note: this recipe is nothing to do with bavaroise, which is a drink involving tea and alcohol, sometimes specifically absinthe.)

You should be clear before embarking on this recipe that it's no easy-mix pudding, but a high-end product worthy of a royal court, and is therefore going to require moderate effort and all your attention for the hour or so that it takes to put it together. But the results will really be worth it. The final vanilla cream can be enjoyed on its own, or can have chocolate or fruit added: can be enriched with liqueurs or schnapps, stacked in parfait glasses, and used in all kinds of creative ways.

One note in passing: there are a lot of recipes for "Bayerische Vanillacreme" out on the Web that for some reason add vanilla ice cream and cornstarch to the mix. This is most likely somebody's attempt to get around the number of eggs needed in the original recipe to lend it richness and thicken it. These recipes are in no way authentic, as cornstarch wouldn't have been readily available in Bavaria in the 1400's any more than ice cream would have.)

Ingredients:

• 8 leaves of gelatine or 2 envelopes of powdered gelatin
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 liter / 1 US pint / 16 fluid ounces milk
• 1/2 liter / 1 US pint / 16 fluid ounces heavy cream
• 125 grams / 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Before you begin, make sure you've got enough gelatine for the job. You want to check that the amount you're using, of whichever kind of gelatin, is going to be sufficient to set about 1 pint / 500ml of liquid. If you're using large commercial-size sheets of gelatine, four should be enough. In any case, check the directions on your gelatine to make sure it will set half the total liquid in the recipe.

If you're using leaf gelatin, cut it up into slices and put it in a bowl with about a quarter-cup of water to soften. (If you're using powdered gelatin, you won't need to do anything about it until later.)

Split the vanilla bean and carefully scrape out all the seeds. (Put the scraped-out pod in a jar with some plain sugar to make vanilla sugar.) Add the vanilla seeds to the milk, blend them well, and simmer them together over low-to-medium heat for about ten minutes. Don't allow to scald or boil!

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. When this has been done, very slowly add the hot milk-and-vanilla mixture to the eggs and sugar, beating steadily all the while. Then pour the mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat very slowly over medium heat, beating constantly until they thicken. Take your time and do not allow this mixture to boil! If you do, you'll wind up with scrambled eggs, or a grainy pudding. Cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

When the cooked custard has thickened, if you're using leaf gelatine, remove it from the cold water, add to the custard mixture, and whisk together very well until dissolved. If you're using powdered gelatine, dissolve it in about 1/3 cup of warm-to-hot water and add to the custard mixture, whisking in well.

As soon as the gelatine is dissolved into the custard, remove it from the heat and pour into a bowl set over cracked ice in a larger bowl. Whisk more or less constantly until the custard starts to become cold. (Change / replace the cracked ice if you need to.) When it's cold, put the gelatine and custard mixture in the refrigerator and whisk again at five- to ten-minute intervals until it becomes very thick.

After about half an hour of this, beat the heavy cream until stiff. After giving the cooked custard mixture one last beating, carefully fold in the whipped cream until it's completely and evenly combined.

How you proceed from here is up to you. The formal treatment for a Bayerische creme involves setting it in a mold (oiled first: almond oil is best for this). But you don't have to do that if it's too much trouble. You can simply pour the whole vanilla creme mixture into a large bowl and chill it until set (never serve it until at least three hours have passed). It can be spooned from this big bowl into dishes and served plain with just a sprinkle of cocoa: or you can garnish it with fresh fruit, pureed fruit, or jam thinned with a little fruit liqueur.

Alternately, you can pour the vanilla creme into small individual bowls to set, then garnish as above when serving.

You can also divide the vanilla creme recipe into two or three parts -- leaving one plain, beating cocoa into another (three or four heaping tablespoons of plain cocoa will be enough to flavor one part of the creme) and half a cup or so of pureed fresh fruit into a third; then pour or spoon the contrasting mixtures into parfait glasses, layering with more fresh fruit, and top with a little more whipped cream.

In all cases, refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

Serves four to six.