Recipe: Strawberry Charlotte
You need to make this simple, delicious Charlotte 'aux fraises' this weekend!
A few months after my wedding last year, we were in our country house and I was looking around in the kitchen, just exploring the cupboards and the drawers filled with objects that had been used by Monsieur B’s family for many years.
I came across a smallish round baking pan with two flat handles and asked about it (scroll down for a photo). Monsieur B said, “Let’s make a Charlotte aux fraises !” Then he put on some good music and he showed me how his mother would prepare the pan, dip the biscuits à la cuillère (lady fingers) into orange liqueur, and mix up a sweet cream filling.
A Charlotte aux fraises is easy to make, doesn’t require the oven, and is tellement jolie (really pretty). It’s the elegant French cousin of a strawberry shortcake vibe.
You can use other fruits (raspberries and blueberries or blackberries are wonderful, too). But since the recipe is quite simple, the key is to get your hands on the best quality ingredients.
Here’s the list of what you’ll need:
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 6-8, depending on greed)
30-36 Biscuits à la cuillère (lady fingers)
2 cups Orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier (you can substitute orange juice)
1 cup Mascarpone
3/4 cup Crème fraîche (a good sour cream will work)
1/4 cup Powdered sugar
1 pint Strawberries, washed, trimmed, and chopped (save a nice handful to use on top of the finished cake)
PREPARATION
(20 minutes with a minimum of 3 hours in the fridge to set)
Firstly, put on this summery playlist I made for you and transport yourself to France…
Here’s a sweet little video about how to put the Charlotte aux fraises together.
STEP ONE
Start by preparing a round baking pan (ours is 8” in diameter, and is just about the height of one of the biscuits). If yours isn’t exactly that size, you just may need more or fewer biscuits to fill the pan (see technique below). Cover the inside of the pan with enough film to fold over the top at the end (I use two longish sheets).
STEP TWO
In a mixing bowl, make the cream mixture by stirring together the mascarpone, the crème fraîche, and the powdered sugar. Set aside and try very hard not to eat it all right now.
STEP THREE
Pour the liqueur or orange juice into a bowl that’s big enough for dipping a biscuit.
STEP FOUR
Unpackage all your biscuits and put them on a plate for easy access. Quickly dip one biscuit at a time into the liquid and start pressing them into the pan forming a ring with the flat side facing in. Tap at least one toe to the music on the playlist.
STEP FIVE
In the center of the biscuits, put a dollop or two of the cream mixture and smooth it out so it covers the film. Then spoon a layer of strawberries on top of the cream, and press a layer of dipped biscuits on top of the strawberries to complete one cycle (kind of like a lasagna, no?).
STEP SIX
Continue in the same pattern, building up layers until you reach the top of the pan (which will become the bottom of the cake once you flip it over later), finishing with a layer of dipped biscuits. Hint: my husband likes to do one more layer than seems humanly possible so that when you do the next step, you really have something to press down.
STEP SEVEN
Close the film over the top layer of biscuits. With a heavy plate or the bottom of a heavy pot, apply pressure on the cake to push it down and compress it a bit. Leave the heavy plate/pot on top of the film and put the pan into the refrigerator for at least three hours.
STEP EIGHT
Take the pan out of the refrigerator about a half hour before you want to serve your Charlotte. When you’re ready, turn the cake out onto a pretty plate or stand, top with any leftover cream and strawberries, et voilà — take your beautiful Charlotte to the table, beaming as everyone oohs and ahhs at your dessert prowess and your amazing choice of music (the playlist is great for summer dinner parties, too).
If you like this recipe, I hope you’ll click below to share it with someone sweet.
Bon app, les amis !