No Bake Strawberry Cake with Ladyfingers Is Taking Over America Right Now

This No-bake French Strawberry Charlotte cake recipe (Charlotte aux Fraises) consists of fluffy ladyfingers in and around the cake filled with incredibly silky Crème mousseline (pastry cream enriched with butter), and delicious fresh strawberries. It is one of the easiest cakes ever, with incredible, delicious, professional patisserie-looking results!

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.

Charlotte cake traditionally has layers of ladyfingers, Bavarian cream, and fruit, typically strawberry or raspberry. This cake recipe is filled with vanilla-flavored Créme mousseline, which I find creamier and richer than Bavarian cream. Also, mousseline cream is made without gelatin (unlike Bavarian cream), using simple ingredients such as egg, milk, butter, etc.

My Strawberry Charlotte cake recipe is a no-bake version, using store-bought ladyfingers that work perfectly fine without becoming too soft. The cake is the most delicious cross between Tiramisu and Fraisier cake; has the benefit of the lovely ladyfinger biscuits (just like tiramisu) combined with delicious vanilla mousseline cream and strawberries (just like fraisier cake).

If you love French desserts, make sure to check out my ultimate best French pastries list with recipes!

Why this is the best Strawberry Charlotte cake recipe

1. It is rather easy – As fancy as it looks, making this Charlotte cake is extremely easy, you do not even have to turn the oven on! Feel free to use store-bought ladyfingers (or make your own, I have an easy homemade ladyfinger recipe). The one part you need to pay attention to is assembling the cake, but I will teach you how to do it easily step-by-step
2. It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste and Charlotte Cake is one of the best European desserts. Fluffy ladyfinger cookies, luxurious vanilla bean Créme mousseline, and refreshing strawberries make this Charlotte cake absolutely irresistible! It is creamy, fruity, rich, but very well balanced in sweetness and super refreshing! You will love it!
3. It is an honest, detailed tutorial – While this recipe might look long, all the information I have written here, every tip and trick will help you achieve the perfect results without any issues on the way. Remember, baking is science, and every little detail written here is to help YOU!

Ingredients

For the Ladyfingers (if store-bought)

• ▢27 pieces Ladyfingers 220g / 8oz store-bought

Strawberry coulis

• ▢200 g (1 cups) Strawberry puree use fresh or frozen strawberry
• ▢60 g (⅓ cups) Granulated sugar
• ▢1 Tablespoon Lemon juice

Mousseline creme

• ▢375 g (1½ cups) Whole milk
• ▢75 g (⅓ cups) Granulated sugar
• ▢60 g Egg yolk approx. yolk of 3-4 eggs
• ▢20 g (2½ tablespoon) Corn starch
• ▢20 g (2½ tablespoon) All-purpose flour
• ▢1 Teaspoon Vanilla bean paste
• ▢75 g (⅓ cups) Unsalted butter soft - will be mixed into pastry cream straight after it is cooked
• ▢75 g (⅓ cups) Unsalted butter soft - will be whipped into the pastry cream to make the mousseline cream

Fresh strawberry filling

• ▢150 g (1 cups) Fresh strawberries cut into pieces

How to make this recipe

Make the strawberry coulis

Making strawberry puree for this Charlotte cake recipe is super easy and really makes the difference when it comes to softening the ladyfingers and bringing strong natural strawberry flavors.

The process is the following:

1. Cook strawberry sauce until slightly thickens: Whether you use frozen or fresh strawberries, first blend strawberry, then cook with sugar and lemon juice over medium heat until slightly thickens. You don´t want to cook it for too long (that would be jam texture,) just long enough so some water evaporates and it thickens a bit
2. Let sauce slightly cool down before using: You will have to use the sauce to drizzle the ladyfinger,s so use it either cold or at least room temperature

💡 Top Tip: Lemon juice is needed in the recipe to balance the flavors of the strawberry, do not skip it

2. How to make pastry cream for the mousseline cream

Pastry cream is the most delicious, rich, silky, and creamy custard-like cream filling used in many types of desserts. You will have to make a pastry cream first that will be turned into Crème mousseline at a later stage with fluffy, soft butter. I have a detailed Baking Guide with tons of tips about making the perfect pastry cream (Creme Patissiere), so make sure you read it.

1. In a large enough bowl with the help of a Hand whisk, mix together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy for about 1-2 minutes
2. Mix in corn starch, flour, and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated and have a smooth paste
3. Bring milk to boil in a saucepan on medium heat then remove it as soon as it starts simmering. Make sure it is simmering but not crazy boiling
4. Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously with a Hand whisk. This stage is effectively tempering the egg yolks and the mixture should already start to slightly thicken
5. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens. Concretely it is approximately 1 min after the first boil. It might get lumpy first, don’t worry just keep whisking and the cream will get smooth and glossy
6. If in doubt, strain the pastry cream for a lump-free, creamy end result
7. Add in room temperature soft butter and mix with a Rubber spatula until completely incorporated. It is worth adding the butter in 3 stages and mixing well after each addition

Pastry cream needs to be completely cooled to room temperature before using it to make the filling for the Charlotte cake. Place the cream into a shallow bowl or container and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid skin forming on top.

💡 Top Tip: It’s worth keeping a good quality (so that the milk won’t burn in it) small/medium-sized saucepan for making pastry cream and other creams for baking

3. The process of making mousseline cream

For this Strawberry Charlotte cake recipe, we will be making a wonderful Crème mousseline. It is a rich, but not overly sweet cream, and very stable to pipe or to fill cakes.

The process is simple, however, you have to be careful with the temperature of the ingredients:

1. It is very important that the pastry cream is cooled but not cold meaning either let it cool at room temp or cool it in the fridge then let it come back to room temperature
2. The butter needs to be soft. Soft butter means soft enough without hard butter chunks for the mixer to cream it but do not melt it in the microwave as melted butter can´t be creamed
3. So once pastry cream is set but not cold and butter is soft, move butter into your Stand mixer fitted with your whisk attachment and start creaming the butter for a few minutes until it becomes fluffy. Alternatively, this can be also done with an Electic Hand mixer but pay close attention to the consistency of the cream
4. Once butter is creamy and pale, start adding the room temperature pastry cream in 4 steps (adding always ¼ only) while the mixer is still on
5. Cream mixture until it reached a fluffy, pipeable consistency. This will take less than a minute
6. Make sure you do not over whip the cream at this point as it can get runny

Use the cream to assemble the cake immediately. Please note that mousseline cream will further set in the fridge due to its butter content, so you have to fill the cake straight after it is whipped up.

💡 Top Tip: You have to be extremely precise with the temperatures when making this kind of cream, aim for room temperature ingredients. If either pastry cream or butter is too cold or too warm, you won´t be able to whip up the mixture properly as either butter will stay in chunks or the entire mixture will break and curdle

4. How to assemble the cake

Building up the layers of this Charlotte is super easy, but a step-by-step process. Prepare the cake elements:

• Prepare the ladyfingers (store-bought or homemade). I recommend cutting the very end of the ladyfingers on one side, so on the bottom of the cake the ladyfingers are straight
• Make the strawberry coulis and let it too to room temperature
• Prepare the mousseline cream: make the pastry cream and let it cool to room temperature then whip it up with butter until fluffy. Move cream into a piping bag
• Wash and clean fresh strawberries then cut them into quarters

Now it´s assembling time!

1. Assemble the Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) and set it to 18cm / 7 inch
2. Start to build up the Charlotte cake from bottom to top
3. Arrange the ladyfingers neatly and tightly - this will be the side of the cake.
4. Arrange the ladyfingers on the bottom of the cake too. Trim the ladyfinger cookies, if needed
5. Drizzle the ladyfingers with the strawberry coulis. This will soften the ladyfinger cookies and also brings extra strawberry flavor. Be mindful with the coulis, we want the ladyfingers to soften, but not to get overly soggy
6. Fill a Piping bag with mousseline cream and pipe half of the cream on top of the ladyfingers
7. Place strawberry pieces on top of the cream
8. Place another layer of ladyfingers on top and again, drizzle with the strawberry coulis
9. Pipe the rest of the cream on top
10. Smooth the top with an Offset spatula
11. Place the cake into the fridge for 4 few hours, or overnight. This resting time is needed for the cream to set and the ladyfingers to soften

💡 Top Tip: While assembling the cake, it is critical that the ladyfingers are nice and tight as we want to avoid cream leakage

5. How to decorate

Once your Strawberry Charlotte cake sets in the fridge, it is decorating time!

• Carefully remove the Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size)
• Decorate the top with fresh strawberries, mint, and edible flowers
• Serve the cake shortly. Store in fridge

Expert tips

• While making the ladyfingers, make sure egg yolk and egg white are properly whipped up, then the flour is gently folded in - in order to be able to pipe the batter
• When making the mousseline cream, the temperature is critical. Both pastry cream, as well as butter, must be at room temperature
• An inexpensive Rubber spatula is super useful whenever "fold" is mentioned in the recipe. With the help of your spatula, you will be able to fold the cream gently without breaking it
• 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

More Strawberry Dessert Recipes

Take the traditional classic Italian dessert to the next level with this scrumptious, no-bake strawberry tiramisu recipe! Sweet, crunchy ladyfingers are topped with silky mascarpone cream and fresh strawberry jam between each layer for a blast of berry flavor!

Go to the recipe: Strawberry Tiramisu

Strawberry Muffins

Sweet, light, and packed with fruity flavor, these strawberry muffins are the perfect addition to your breakfast or brunch menu. This easy strawberry muffin recipe uses fresh strawberries and a hint of vanilla flavor to create a delicious and versatile muffin that the whole family will love. And they only take 30 minutes to bake!

Go to the recipe: Strawberry Muffins

Strawberry Mousse

This light and creamy strawberry mousse is one of the best things to arrive at your spring or summer dessert table! Made with fresh strawberries and topped with a delightful vanilla chantilly cream, this easy strawberry mousse recipe has just the right sweetness and fruity flavor for a mid-day snack or post-dinner dessert. Serve it with a bowl of ice cream or chocolate-covered strawberries for the ultimate treat!

Go to the recipe: Strawberry Mousse