Charlotte cake is one of the easiest cakes you will ever make. It requires no baking and can be put together in just minutes. With fresh berries on top and in the cake itself, it is a perfect spring dessert. Give this Charlotte cake recipe a try and you will likely discover that it is your new favorite cake to make and to eat.
What is Charlotte cake exactly
Strawberry Charlotte cake is a decorative no-bake Strawberry cake that uses store-bought ladyfingers. The cake is the most delicious cross between Tiramisu and Fraisier cake; has the benefit of lovely ladyfinger biscuits (just like tiramisu) combined with delicious vanilla mousseline cream and strawberries (just like fraisier cake).
Charlotte cake origin
Each country has its own interpretation of strawberry cake, eg. Victoria sponge cake in the UK, Strawberry shortcake in the US, Fraisier cake in France, and yes because we talk about France, they also have another super delicious and famous strawberry cake called Charlotte cake (Charlotte aux Fraises).
Charlotte cake, also called Charlotte Russe Cake is a classic French cake recipe from the eighteenth century. You might have heard of Charlotte Royale cake, which is similar in terms of overall taste, but very different in terms of design; the ladyfingers are replaced by slices of swiss roll.
What is mousseline cream filling
Crème Mousseline (also called German buttercream) is a silky, fluffy yet stable cream made of pastry cream and butter. It can be used as a cream filling for cakes, and cupcakes and it is also super popular in French-style recipes eg. Sable Breton tart, Fraisier cake, Paris Brest, or this Charlotte cake.
Ingredients for the Crème mousseline (also called German buttercream)
Milk: Use high-fat content milk, the highest you can get! It makes a huge difference when it comes to the deepness of the taste
Sugar: Simple, white granulated sugar is perfectly fine
Egg: Use egg yolk only for the best texture and flavor.
Flour: Flour is one of the thickening agents in this pastry cream recipe, use All-purpose flour. No, it won’t taste like flour!
Starch: Corn starch is the other thickening agent in the recipe, theoretically you could only use flour OR only starch however I prefer 50%-50%.
Vanilla: Vanilla is THE heart of making pastry cream! Avoid using artificial vanilla. I personally love to make my own vanilla extract.
Butter: Always use unsalted butter as you want to be in control of the quality of the salt. In my recipes, I always use 82% European-style butter.
Ingredients for the strawberry coulis
Strawberry: Strawberry is used twice in this Charlotte cake recipe! For the decoration, I suggest using fresh strawberries. For the strawberry coulis, both fresh and frozen strawberries can work.
Sugar: A small amount of granulated sugar will be used to make the coulis.
Lemon juice: A small amount of freshly squeezed lemon juice will bring the flavor of the strawberries out and balance the sweetness.
How to make the mousseline cream filling
For a video recipe, visit the original Charlotte cake recipe.
- Whisk together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy
- Mix in cornstarch, flour, and vanilla
- Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan, then pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens.
- Add in room temperature soft butter and mix until completely incorporated then let it come to room temperature
- Once the pastry cream is cooled to room temp, prepare the mousseline cream by whipping room-temperature butter first for 1-2 minutes. Start adding in the room temp pastry cream in 4 stages until the cream reaches a stable yet fluffy texture
How to make the strawberry coulis
- In a saucepan cook strawberry puree, sugar, and lemon juice for a few minutes until slightly thickens
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature before using
How to assemble the cake
For a video recipe, visit the original Charlotte cake recipe.
- Start to build up the cake from bottom to top. Arrange the ladyfingers in a circle around the side of a mousse ring or spring form. Then, arrange the ladyfingers on the bottom - trim the ladyfingers if needed, in order to fit them close to each other
- Drizzle the ladyfingers with the strawberry coulis.
- Pipe or spoon half of the cream on top of the ladyfingers. Place strawberry pieces on top of the cream
- Place another layer of ladyfingers on top and again, drizzle with the strawberry coulis. Pipe the rest of the cream on top. Smooth the top with an offset spatula
- Place the cake into the fridge for 4 few hours, or overnight
- Decorate with fresh strawberries and edible flowers
- Store in fridge
Expert tips
- When making the mousseline cream, the temperature is critical. Both pastry cream, as well as butter, must be at room temperature
- Strawberry can be easily substituted in the recipe with raspberry or any other berries
- Mousseline cream can also be substituted with mascarpone - similarly to making tiramisu
For more expert tips, visit the original Charlotte cake recipe.
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White Chocolate Covered Strawberries
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Mini Strawberry Pies
If you like strawberries with a creamy filling and buttery pastry, then you are going to fall in love with these mini strawberry pies! Just imagine fresh strawberries on top of a divine little cream pie with a super flaky crust! It's a simple 2 step recipe that is the ideal mini individual strawberry pie dessert for your next party or gathering!
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This article was originally published as Charlotte Cake at Spatula Desserts.
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