" Charlotte aux fraises " (strawberry charlotte)
The charlotte was created in the early nineteenth century, in honor of the wife of King George III, Queen Charlotte. Prepared in a high mold with flared edges, the dessert was made with buttered bread or brioche, then filled with a compote of fruit, usually apples or plums. The dessert was then baked for long hours. In other words, the recipe has evolved a lot!
We must wait until 1800 to see a recipe that is close to the current charlotte. It is Antonin Carême, pastry chef and French chef, who would be at the origin. He would have adapted the recipe, lining the mold with biscuits and Bavarian cream. The dessert was called "charlotte à la parisienne". Later, when he worked in the kitchen of Tsar Alexander, he renamed it "Russian charlotte". This is the official name it bears today.
Many types of charlotte exist: the strawberry charlotte, the chocolate charlotte or the apple charlotte. What to satisfy the greatest number ...
Ingredients (Serve 6)
- 500 g strawberries
- 12g of gelatin or agar agar
- 80 g caster sugar
- 300 ml fresh cream
- 24 lady fingers biscuits or home made
- 100 ml of strawberry syrup diluted in 100 ml of water.
Directions
- Rinse the strawberries, shake them and let them drain on paper towels.
- Put the gelatin into a bowl and add a little bit water
- Book a few strawberries for decoration and mix all the others with a little texture.
- In a saucepan, lightly heat a quarter of the strawberry pulp with the sugar until it melts, then add the gelatin or the agar agar and mix.
- Stir in the rest of the pulp.
- Whisk the cream to become a whipped cream and add it to the preparation using a soft spatula.
- Lightly dip the biscuits in the diluted syrup, place them in a 16 cm diameter charlotte pan and add the strawberry mousse.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Decorate the top with the previously reserved strawberries.