How to bake English charlotte?
Charlotte has a long history with many plots. This dessert, originally English, in different countries has undergone its transformation and now the word “charlotte” in the world is called completely different from each other cakes and pies. The charlotte baked in Russia — the fast apple pie — is called Charlotte Russe in the English-speaking world — that is, the Russian charlotte.
It is believed that this very “Russian charlotte” was invented by the French chef Alexander I – Antoine Karem.
But the real charlotte, the one with which many experiments with dough and apples began – English. And this charlotte is not a pie at all, but pudding. Its basis is white bread. English puddings are often cooked in small, per one serving. We asked the English brand WALMER, producing bakeware, to share the traditional recipe of charlottes. Someone, and the brand that makes the forms for this very charlotte, should know the most accurate recipe. So, this is what they sent us in reply:
50 g butter
30 g sugar
200 g apples
1 tablespoon apricot jam
4 slices of white bread, without crust
English custard custard (how to make it, read here) – for watering
Put the oven to warm up to 180C. Peel the apples and cut them into pieces:
In a large saucepan, melt 1 teaspoon of oil. Add sugar and apples, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes, until the apples soften. Turn off the heat and add apricot jam. Allow the mixture to cool.
Now you need to melt the remaining butter, also in the pan. Cut the bread slices into small pieces. Dip each piece of bread in the melted butter and lay out the form in these pieces.
The form you need is small in diameter, but with a high side. There are a lot of apples in this cake and they are thick, so you need such a form to fit. After the bottom of the form is covered with bread and the sides are lined with it, lay the apples on top, and cover them from above with another layer of bread soaked in butter. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the charlotte and allow to cool slightly. Cut and serve with English custard.
English charlotte – the most delicate creature, When you open the top layer of a spoon on a plate with lava, delightfully fragrant soft apples swim out. And the cream as a glaze decorates charlotte fabulously, mixing with apples, it gives them a creamy taste. Try it! We insist 🙂
