Charlotte is a dessert made of sponge cake or ladyfingers layered with cream and fruit, chilled and served upside down. Charlotte Russe is a molded French dessert made with ladyfingers, Bavarian cream, and vanilla pudding. Its origin is disputed, but it is named after a Russian Tsar. Variants exist, including a Brooklyn version with sponge cake, cream, and chocolate sprinkles. Charlotte Russe can be served with fruit or modified with different ingredients.
A charlotte is a dessert that has been made in various forms since perhaps the 16th century. Today’s charlottes benefit from modern refrigeration because they are typically molds of sponge cake, or other breads or ladyfingers, layered with creams or custards and fruit. The entire dessert is chilled, often in a large bowl, and when it’s done, it’s flipped over and served upside down. You can compare sweet donuts with an upside down trifle.
Charlotte Russe is a special type of charlotte, referencing the Russian Tsar Alexander I, (Russe is French for Russian). This particular version was the creation of Marie Antoine Carême, invented in the early 19th century. Carême was a renowned French chef, in the service of the Tsar. There are a few different accounts as to who created the recipe for Charlotte Russe, when it occurred, and who it really was named after. Some suggest that Carême was simply improvising on a long-known recipe created for Queen Charlotte of England, yet others argue that the dessert is named after a sister-in-law of Alexander I, who was also named Charlotte.
No matter what the origin, Charlotte Russe today is typically considered a molded French dessert made by lining a bowl, or small individual cups with fluffy ladyfingers. Madeline may be suggested in some recipes instead. The mold is then filled with Bavarian cream, a vanilla pudding thickened with gelatin. Once the entire dessert has cooled, it is inverted onto a plate. The presentation, as long as the custard is thick and not runny, can be exciting. Layered cut of the mold reveals a beautiful ladyfinger cake surrounding the vanilla pudding layer.
A variant of Charlotte Russe, called of the same name, was once popular in Brooklyn. This replaced virtually all elements of the original. Instead of using ladyfingers, the sponge cake was cooked in rounds and topped with cream and chocolate sprinkles. Desert was often garnished with a cherry. This would definitely be an easier version to make, since you don’t have to go through the process of demoulding the dessert, but for purists, it wouldn’t be satisfying.
Some complain that Charlotte Russe is too simple, but this can easily be fixed by serving fruit with the cake. Garnish a slice of Charlotte Russe with fresh strawberries, peaches or berries for added flavor and texture to the dish. Of course, if you’re not interested in making an authentic version, you can change many aspects of this dessert. You can use the chocolate mouse in the center, substitute any sponge variety for the ladyfingers, or sprinkle the top with toasted almonds.
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