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.

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.