Bavarian cream is lightened with whipped cream when on the edge of setting up, before being molded, for a true Bavarian cream is usually filled into a fluted mold,[4] chilled until firm, then turned out onto a serving plate. By coating a chilled mold first with a fruit gelatin, a glazed effect can be produced. Imperfections in the unmolding are disguised with strategically placed fluted piping of crème Chantilly. In the United States, it is not uncommon to serve Bavarian cream directly from the bowl it has been chilled in, similar to a French mousse. In this informal presentation, Escoffier recommended the Bavarian cream be made in a "timbale or deep silver dish which is then surrounded with crushed ice".[5]
It may be served with a fruit sauce or a raspberry or apricot purée or used to fill elaborate charlottes.
Though it does not pipe smoothly because of its gelatin, it could substitute at a pinch for pastry cream as a filling for doughnuts. The American "Bavarian Cream doughnuts" are actually filled with a version of a crème pâtissière (pastry cream), causing local linguistic confusion.