Apple Charlotte

This recipe for apple charlotte is a classic French dessert. The name seems to derive from that of a headdress in vogue in the late eighteenth century, the ‘charlotte’. It is normal to make a charlotte with apples, but pears and other types of fruit are also possible. Remember to serve it hot and, if possible, to accompany it with a zabaglione cream. This dessert is perfect for rounding off a delicious dinner or lunch party, or as a lovely breakfast, and above as scrumptious snack, to be eaten with a nice cup of tea or coffee. It is much loved by both adults and children. The appearance of this dessert makes it look very sophisticated but the preparation is quite simple: just follow our directions in detail, accompanied by the picture gallery that shows you step-by-step how our chef went about it, and you will have the perfect charlotte.

Ingredients

  • apples 4 renette apples
  • biscuits 300 grams Savoy sponge fingers
  • sugar 6 tablespoons of sugar
  • butter 60 grams
  • egg yolks 2 egg yolks
  • Italian 00 flour 1 tablespoon of flour
  • milk Half a glass of milk
  • rum A glass of rum

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Information
20 minutes Total time
45 minutes Active time
Serves 4 persons
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Preparation

Peel 4 apples, remove the cores and cut into thin slices. Place the apples in a saucepan with two tablespoons of sugar. Add half glass of water and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon so that it forms a sauce (add, if it tends to dry out too much, add another ladle or two of warm water). In another pan, add the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, stir and add the flour and the milk a little at a time. Cook this cream filling in a bain marie until the mixture begins to simmer. Continue cooking for a few minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool. Grease a charlotte mould, dip the sponge fingers very quickly in the rum and line the bottom and sides of the mould. Then pour half the cooked apples into the mould, then a layer of the cooled cream, and finally repeat with another layer of apple sauce to fill the mould. Cover the surface with a few more sponge fingers soaked in rum. Put in the oven on a rather high heat and cook for 45 minutes. When cooked, leave to cool in the mould and then turn out the charlotte onto a serving dish. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Tips
You can make a charlotte with many different types of fruit - for example, apples, strawberries and pears - but also with jam or creamed chocolate, depending on your taste. The dessert will keep, under a glass bell or in cake tin, for a couple of days at most.
Trivia
This dessert dates back to the 1700s, and derives its name from Queen Charlotte, wife of George III: it seems likely that apple charlotte was prepared for the first time in honour of the sovereign. The shape of the charlotte also recalls the name given to the rippled head-dresses used by French nobles.

Step by step

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