April 21, 2014
Rob
5

Recipe: Charlotte with red fruits

Oh, sweet Charlotte! I’m particularly proud of this post because it really shows that I am improving on the road to pastry.

Recipe---Charlotte---26

A couple of years ago, I discovered the existence of a dessert called Charlotte on my magic book of recipes.

A Charlotte is usually made of a Bavarian cream filling with ladyfingers on the inside and on the outside, all around the cake.

Recipe---Charlotte---31

The result was exciting for me back then, but looking at that picture right now, I feel kinda ashamed.

I learned two lessons with my first attempt at making a Charlotte:

  1. Frozen fruits are not suitable for decorations as they become very soggy and are usually of inferior quality
  2. Making a Charlotte with single ladyfingers side by side is really hard, since the cream will eventually come out and the final cake will not be perfect

For this reason, this time I followed a new recipe by Iginio Massari which requires baking a strip of ladyfinger biscuits: the perfect solution for a clean-looking Charlotte!

Recipe---Charlotte---Step-25

And with all the fresh fruits on top, it just looks amazing! (The secret is to arrange fruits neatly, in circles or in patterns; don’t just throw them on top randomly. Oh, and be generous, don’t leave empty spots!)

Recipe---Charlotte---07

On a historical note: the original Charlotte was named for the wife of King George III of England and consisted of an apple compote baked in a round mould lined with toast slices. A few decades later, French chef Carême adopted the concept after a kitchen disaster: his gelatin supply was not sufficient for his Bavarian cream, so he steadied the sides of his sagging dessert with ladyfingers and created the modern Charlotte!

Recipe---Charlotte---04

 

Charlotte with vanilla Bavarian cream and red fruits

Print recipe
Charlotte with vanilla Bavarian cream and red fruits

Ingredients

Ladyfinger batter

100gEgg yolks (~5)
65gGranulated sugar
1/2Vanilla bean (seeds only)
210gEgg whites (~7)
50gGranulated sugar
100gPastry flour
35gCornstarch

Vanilla Bavarian cream

60gEgg yolks (~3)
60gGranulated sugar
9gCornstarch
150mlMilk
150mlHeavy cream
1/2Vanilla bean (split)
3gSheet gelatin (usually 1.5 sheets)
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
5gLemon juice
180gHeavy cream (to be whipped)

Orange and rum syrup

50gWater
50gGranulated sugar
Zest of 1/2 orange
25gRum

Filling and garnish

Raspberries
Strawberries
Redcurrants
Blueberries
1/2Kiwi
1/4Apple or pear
50gNeutral glaze (or apricot jam, heated and mixed)

Directions

Ladyfingers

1
Whip the egg whites and granulated sugar at medium speed in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment.
2
When the egg whites form stiff peaks, set aside
3
Now whip the egg yolks and vanilla seeds for about 10 minutes at high speed until the mixture is thick and creamy
4
Using a whisk, gently stir the egg whites to restore a smooth appearance and then add the whipped egg yolks
5
Using a spatula, fold the egg whites and egg yolks together. Don't overmix: keep the mixture streaked in appearance since you will have to keep on mixing once you add the flour
6
Sift the flour and cornstarch together and incorporate into the egg mixture gently in three times, taking care not to deflate the batter.
7
Place the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip and pipe 2 sets of 4-5 cm strips close together onto a paper-lined sheet pan.
8
In another pan, pipe two 18cm rounds (the same size as the cake ring)
9
Sprinkle the surface of the cookies with powdered sugar. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves, then sprinkle again a second time
10
Bake at 210°C approximately 10-12 minutes with the oven door slightly open.

Sugar syrup

11
Bring to a boil the water, the sugar and the orange zest in a saucepan on medium heat. Let boil for 1 minute then cool down and add the rum.

Bavarian cream

12
Soften the gelatin in cold water
13
Combine the milk, cream, zest, 20 grams of sugar and the vanilla bean with its seeds in a saucepan on medium heat
14
In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and the remaining sugar together
15
Strain the boiling milk and cream onto the yolk mixture in three times to temper it. Whisk constantly.
16
Put the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat whisking continuously. Allow the pastry cream to boil for 2 minutes then remove from the heat.
17
Add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and whisk
18
Add the lemon juice and whisk
19
Place the cream into a clean bowl on an ice bath to chill quickly, stirring often
20
Whip the cold heavy cream to soft peaks (Important: the cream must not be overwhipped!)
21
Fold one third of the whipped cream into the cream when it is starting to set, at about 25°C or slightly cooler. A warmer temperature will make the whipped cream liquid.
22
Fold in gently the rest of the whipped cream with a spatula

Assembling the Charlotte

23
Cut the ladyfinger strip on one of the long sides to make the biscuits equally tall
24
Place a cardboard round inside the cake ring,
25
Place the ladyfinger strips and the ladyfinger rounds (trimmed, if necessary) inside the cake ring. Make sure there is no gap from which the cream could leak
26
Brush the ladyfinger round generously with the room temperature syrup
27
Pour some Bavarian cream inside the cake and then add the red fruits
28
Cover the fruits with some more Bavarian cream
29
Repeat the previous steps to create an additional layer with the remaining ladyfinger round, syrup, cream and fruits

Decoration

30
Place the raspberries all around the edge of the cake
31
Add four pairs of kiwi half slices
32
Then place thehalf strawberries in circle and add some blueberries and redcurrants to fill the gaps between the kiwi slice pairs
33
Finally fill the centre of the Charlotte with blueberries, redcurrants, a few raspberries and a slice of apple (I cut three v-shaped slices from 1/8 of an apple)
34
Brush the fruits with the heated neutral glaze (or the mixed apricot jam). Store the Charlotte in the fridge and wait for at least 3 hours before serving.

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