Charlotte sometimes – Charlotte au chocolat blanc et framboises

charlottefraiseweb

charlottefraise2webI bought a nice charlotte mold from France last summer, I wanted one so bad, then I got it, and since then, I barely used it. It’s the second time in one year that I made charlotte. What a shame…I am just not a sweet tooth, but there is no excuse for it.

It’s difficult to find those molds in the US, William Sonoma has them and also I have seen them on a baker tools site on the internet. I think they’re only have one or two mold sizes.

Charlotte is another one of those traditional dessert, everyone knows how to make in France. Like tiramisù there is no cooking involved so it’s quite a simple dessert to make, and always refreshing to eat.

Charlotte molds are about 10″ height, and the sides are surrounded with lady fingers, then the inside is filled with fruits, and mousse or bavaroise cream like this one. This charlotte is closer to what we call the Russian charlotte filled with bavaroise cream, either way with cream or mousse, it’s always a delicious and refreshing dessert.

I love everything about charlotte, its name, its texture and consistency…and as a dessert, it’s not that filling. Not being a sweet tooth, I am picky about desserts, they need to be light and not too sweet. Charlotte will satisfy even the hard core sweet tooth because of its creamy texture and white chocolate taste.

Ingredients for 6

  • 1 pack ladyfingers
  • juice of 3 oranges
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbs rum
  • 10.59 oz (or 300 g) white chocolate chips or chocolate cut in very small pieces, like shaved
  • 13.52 fl oz (or 400 ml) milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3 gelatin sheets, or agar agar
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 0.6 cups (or 150 ml) heavy cream
  • 2 packs raspberries

Preparation

First start preparing the ladyfinger for the “crust”. Squeeze the juice of the three oranges and place in a small container. Add rum and vanilla extract and mix well. Dip lady fingers in the orange juice mixture, then place one layer at the bottom surface of the mold, then coat the sides of the mold, all around it.

Place white chocolate in a mixing bowl. Heat up milk and sugar to a very hot temperature but not to the boiling stage and pour on top of chocolate. Let it sit until the chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. In the meantime, place gelatin sheets in water, and let it dissolve. Add gelatin to milk/chocolate mixture. Mix well and let it cool down. Place in the refrigerator for a little while, until it gets cold but not thickened. It needs to be hard enough so that it will allow you to fold whipped cream in it.

Whip cream and add carefully to the chocolate/milk mixture.

Add two layers of raspberries on top of ladyfingers layer. Add chocolate/cream mixture and put back in the refrigerator to let it thicken, about 12 hours.