Charlotte Cake

The Charlotte is one of the favorite cake of my husband with the meringue lemon tart. Since we have been living in North America, I have not done any. Living here sometimes it is a challenge to find ingredients that I want or need. The only ones you can find are the ones with a harder texture and less wide. I like and need the soft ladyfinger cookies to do it but in Toronto there were impossible to find. In France I was just used to go to the grocery store, it was easy, even convenience stores had some. 

You are gonna tell me: "Why don't you bake some?" and you are right! 
It never occurs to me to do my own ladyfingers until last year when my mom bought me the book Le Sucrée from Ladurée. I tried once and they did not turn great, the taste was good but they were too flat and too dry to be used in a charlotte, I did not like the texture. A ladyfinger cookie is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar. Like a sponge cake.

But a few weeks ago I found some at Trader Joes and my husband was like a kid in a candy store, so happy like "Yeahhh I'm gonna have my charlotte cake, yuhu !!!" 

Charlotte are usually made in spring with fresh berries, it is a cake with layers of fruits, cream and ladyfingers. But there are so many variations, with mousse, custard or bavarian cream or yogurt. It can look complicated but it is not, it is quite simple to do.

The dessert Charlotte russe was invented in the 19th century by Marie Antoine Carême, a renowned French Chef who named it in honor of his Russian employer Czar Alexander I. He was inpired by an old english dessert made of slice of bread and custard. But as usual there are so many stories behind the origin and the name.

Because it is a cold dessert, for those who are afraid of baking, this is the perfect dessert for you, no baking!! Just need to prepare it in advance and keep it  in the fridge. 

I bought a fresh pineapple last week end and I did not know what to do with it.  A pineapple upside down cake? Yes why not... I then when I opened my cupboard, I saw the ladyfingers and this was it. A Pineapple Charlotte.

I am just going to do a simple yogurt cream without gelatine, it will not hold very well but this is the way we do it in my family, more rustic. I remember my grandma used to make one with pears and yogurt and covered with chocolate.

The first step was to poached to pineapple to get a softer texture. I poached it in a simple syrup with vanilla bean. I kept the syrup to soak the ladyfingers in it. For a more adult version you can soak the ladyfingers in a syrup with rhum or any liquor that goes well with the fruit filling.

Ingredients:
One can of fruit of your choice or fresh fruit
Around 40 ladyfingers
35 oz of greek yogurt (1kg)
1 cup of sugar (130g)

1. Drain the fruit and keep the syrup
2. Mix the yogurt with sugar
3. Dip the ladyfingers quickly in the syrup
4. Line the mold with the ladyfingers and place them at the bottom, round face in
5. Pour half of the yogurt in the mold, add the fruits and a layer of ladyfingers
6. Layer again yogurt, fruits and finish with ladyfingers
7. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and place a weight on top of it
8. Place in the fridge overnight
9. To unmold the charlotte, run the blade around the edge, invert the charlotte on a serving place. It should slide right out.

You can serve the Charlotte with berries coulis, whipped cream or just like that.
It is a perfect dessert after an heavy meal, it is light and refreshing.
But I think next time I think I will try to make my own ladyfingers. And do a more classy version with fresh berries. Looking forward to spring!!