Charlotte Russe is a classic French dessert that has been around for centuries. It is a light, airy pastry filled with cream, custard, or fruit and topped with meringue.
Brief History and Origin
The origin of Charlotte Russe dates back to the early 19th century in France. It was created by Marie-Antoine Carême, who was a famous French chef. The name “Charlotte Russe” comes from the French word “russe”, which means Russian. This is because the dessert was originally served at a dinner honouring Tsar Alexander I of Russia in 1814.
Charlotte Russe quickly became popular throughout Europe in the 19th century and eventually made its way to America in the late 1800s, gaining even more popularity. It is now a classic dessert enjoyed worldwide, and it has even been adapted to fit different cultures and tastes.
Charlotte Russe – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 60 mins
- Cooking Time: 55 mins
- Total time: 1 hr 55 mins
- Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 packages Savoiardi (hard Ladyfingers)
- 6 egg yolks
- 300g white granulated sugar
- 8 sheets gelatin, soaked in cold water for 12 minutes, then drained
- 2 tsp. plain flour
- 480ml half and half
- 350ml double cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 60ml sherry
- Pinch of salt
- 125g white sugar
- Chocolate shavings, sweetened whipped cream for garnishing
Instructions
- Add sugar, salt, flour and egg yolks in a bowl, and whisk until creamy and consistent.
- Add cream to a saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Add 60ml of half and half in the egg yolk mixture, whisk and transfer the egg yolk mixture to the remaining half and half cream.
- Continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes while constantly stirring until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Now add half of the sherry, vanilla and gelatin mixture, and mix until everything combines.
- Take off from heat and leave for 15 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a refrigerator until chilled.
- Around the inside edge of the 9-cup soufflé dish, arrange savoiardi in a vertical position, standing next to each other and coat with the remaining sherry.
- In a separate bowl, add cream and whip using an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft peaks appear, then fold into chilled half-and-half mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the soufflé dish, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or until chilled and set.
- When ready, take the charlotte out of the refrigerator, transfer it to the serving plate, decorate it with your desired garnishing and serve.
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Blackberry And Cinnamon Charlotte Russe:Blackberry and cinnamon offer sweetness and warmth to the traditional dessert.
- Strawberry Charlotte:Adding strawberries to charlotte russe makes it more flavoursome.
- Chocolate Charlotte Russe:The depth and warmth of chocolate add so much flavour to this dessert.
- Lemon Charlotte Russe:Lemon’s zing and the citrusy flavour is a great way to deviate from traditional flavours.
- Passion Fruit And Lime Charlotte Russe:Passion fruit has an exotic flavour which, when paired with lime, gives you a dessert worth festivities.
