Red Berry Charlotte recipe
It was the French pastry chef Carême who transformed the cake into what it is today – usually an exterior of light ladyfingers and an interior of vanilla cream or flavoured mousse.
Ingredients
- 2 cups red berries of your choice
- 1 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar, to dust
- 2 cups red berries of your choice
- 1 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar, to dust
- 2 cups red berries of your choice
- 1 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar, to dust
- 6 eggs, separated
- 350 g superfine sugar, plus extra to dust
- 350 g plain/all-purpose flour
- 6 eggs, separated
- 12.3 oz superfine sugar, plus extra to dust
- 12.3 oz plain/all-purpose flour
- 6 eggs, separated
- 12.3 oz superfine sugar, plus extra to dust
- 12.3 oz plain/all-purpose flour
- 3 leaves of gelatine
- 250 ml whipping cream
- 125 ml raspberry purée (see method)
- 125 g vanilla yogurt
- 3 tbsp Cointreau liqueur
- 1 large egg white
- 2.5 tbsp caster/superfine sugar
- 3 leaves of gelatine
- 8.8 fl oz whipping cream
- 4.4 fl oz raspberry purée (see method)
- 4.4 oz vanilla yogurt
- 3 tbsp Cointreau liqueur
- 1 large egg white
- 2.5 tbsp caster/superfine sugar
- 3 leaves of gelatine
- 1.1 cups whipping cream
- 0.5 cup raspberry purée (see method)
- 4.4 oz vanilla yogurt
- 3 tbsp Cointreau liqueur
- 1 large egg white
- 2.5 tbsp caster/superfine sugar
Details
- Cuisine: French
- Recipe Type: Dessert
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 40 mins
- Cooking Time: 15 mins
- Serves: 8
Step-by-step
- Start the recipe the day before you want to serve the cake. For the raspberry purée: put 200g raspberries, the juice of one lemon, and 1 tbsp icing sugar in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Pass the purée through a sieve/strainer to make it extra smooth.
- For the ladyfingers: preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4. Take a sheet of greaseproof paper and place a deep, 18 cm round springform cake pan on it vertically. Draw parallel lines the same depth as the pan. This will help you make ladyfingers of the right height for the pan. Flip the paper over and place on a baking sheet. On another sheet of paper, draw a circle around the base of the cake pan, flip over and place on a second baking sheet.
- Put the egg whites in a stand mixer or in a bowl using an electric whisk and whisk until they form soft peaks. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until well incorporated and glossy. Gradually sift in the flour and fold in with a large metal spoon. Finally, fold in the egg yolks.
- Fill the piping bag with the mixture and pipe ovals slightly longer than the depth between the parallel lines on the sheet of paper. You will need about 20 ovals. Sprinkle sugar over them for a lovely crunch.
- Pipe or spread the remaining mixture in a disc within the circle on the second baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and place the cake pan on it. Trim the tops and bottoms of the ladyfingers to make them all exactly the same length. Line them up tightly against the inner sides of the cake pan, sugared side out. Trim the baked base to fit and place inside the lined-up ladyfingers.
- For the raspberry and vanilla mousse: put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften; put the cream in a bowl and beat until soft peaks start to form, then refrigerate.
- Put the Raspberry Purée in a small saucepan over low heat until hot. Remove from the heat, add the softened gelatine, squeezed of excess water, and stir until it has dissolved. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the yoghurt and Cointreau.
- Whisk the egg white and sugar as above. Now line up all 3 bowls. Add a little meringue to the yoghurt mixture and beat in with a spatula. Fold in the remaining meringue very gently so as not to knock all the air out. Fold in the whipped cream in the same way.
- Allow to cool completely, then spoon into the ladyfinger-lined cake pan, leaving a little gap at the top for the berries. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, to serve, pile the berries on top. Cut into slices using a hot, sharp knife.
Patisserie at Home by Will Torrent is published by Ryland Peters & Small at £19.99 and is available to purchase from Ryland Peters.
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