Happy Birthday Charlie! You are the best sous chef a mom could ever ask for!
Not to be outdone by his brother’s Valentine’s dessert, Charlie designed these little cakes for his 8th birthday. Complete with layers of different chocolate mousse, a drizzle of caramel and topped with cream and berries. He instructed me to put strips of cake around the outside to hold it all in. Voila, he had built a chocolate charlotte in his mind! The kid is a genius! (in my humble, unbiased opinion ;))
Charlie has helped me in the kitchen ever since he could drag a stool over to the counter. He cracks eggs like pro, knows how to use a kitchen scale and is going to have better knife skills than I do someday soon. He already makes his own crepes, aebleskivers and bread, of course! He has passion in the kitchen and that special touch it takes to be a great chef! And a proud mom!
Sponge Ladyfingers from The Simple Art of Perfect Baking:
1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (100 grams) powdered sugar
Dark Chocolate Mousse: I made this mousse, but left out the cinnamon
White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Mousse from The Secrets of Baking.
White chocolate ganache:
8 ounces white chocolate, cut into very small pieces
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 tablespoon cornsyrup
1 tablespoon rum
For the white chocolate mousse:
3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
pinch cream of tartar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup heavy cream
Caramel Sauce: I made this caramel sauce but did not use the chai spices!
1/2 cup whipping cream, lightly whipped for garnish
Berries for garnish
Special equipment:
Charlotte molds (either 1 large or 6-8 small) I was lucky enough to find mine at an antique store. They were selling them as a set of “soup bowls with lids” for $12. Was it wrong that I didn’t tell them what they really were and their worth??? Keep your eyes peeled for these types of things!
ruler
Parchment Paper Sheets – 13 × 18
18-Inch by 12–Inch Heavy Gauge baking sheet pan
18-inch or 24-inch Pastry Bags You need a bag that can fit all of the lady finger batter at one time.
large round #4 Plain Pastry Tip
mixer with two Bowls and two Wire Whip attachments (one for the whites and one for the yolks. If you bake a lot this is a great investment!) or one of each plus a Hand Mixer
I used small Charlotte molds. Whatever size you are using you need to measure the height of the wall and that is how long your lady fingers will be. Prepare the pan with parchment that has had the length of the ladyfingers marked on them. Be sure the rows are separated by an inch.
I bent one of my round pastry tips so that it would be an oval. This will give you a slightly flatter ladyfinger, which is desirable. It does mean permanently changing the tip!
To make the ladyfingers:
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Measure your Charlotte molds and draw the lines on your parchment paper.
Fit your pastry bag with the large round tip.
Sift together the flour and 1/4 cup of sugar 3 times, set aside.
In one mixing bowl whip the egg yolks until thick, pale in color and when you lift the beater out the yolks rest on top of themselves for several seconds before melting back in. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
In the second bowl whip the egg whites on low speed until just bubbly, about 30 seconds, add the cream of tartar. Turn the speed to medium and whip until soft peaks. Slowly sprinkle the 1/4 cup of sugar over the whites and whip until thick and glossy peaks for, about 2 minutes.
Immediately pour the yolks over the meringue and gently fold them together. Don’t worry if you still see steaks of yolks, they will all combine when you add the flour.
Sift 1/2 of the flour over the eggs.
Using the whip attachment gently fold the flour into the eggs. Be sure to start at the bottom and come up through the eggs to get the flour off the bottom of the bowl. Repeat with the rest of the flour.
Quickly put all of the lady finger batter into the pastry bag. The batter will deflate if you leave any in the bowl and you will not be able to use it. Pipe the ladyfingers on your marked parchment. Make sure to leave about 1/2-inch between each one.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Bake for about 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of the ladyfinger. They should be very pale in color, but fully set.
Immediately slide a spatula under the ladyfingers. They come off the parchment more easily when warm. If you are not using the ladyfingers right away, wrap them well and freeze them. They stale very quickly at room temperature.
Line the bottom of the Charlotte mold with a round of parchment. This is insurance that you Charlotte will pop right out.
Overlap the ladyfingers slightly when placing them around the mold. This will insure that there are no gaps.
pipe in the dark chocolate mousse half way up the lady fingers.
Pipe the white chocolate mousse to the top of the lady finger mold and cover with plastic.
Refrigerate the molds and allow the mousse to set up for a couple of hours.
Invert the Charlotte onto the plate, decorate with berries and cream and drizzle with a touch of caramel sauce! Enjoy!
Wow, what a birthday treat! I love that he wanted a Charlotte. The dessert is gorgeous and he is very handsome. What a fun birthday!
Your a lucky boy Charlie to have such a talented Mama who loves you so!
Your son is quite wonderful!! And the white chocolate mousse has my heart thumping — in the best way!! Lovely!
Happy Birthday Charlie! What a beautiful charlotte.
Happy Birthday Charlie! What an amazing cake! I’m pretty sure at 8 I was still making mudpies! 😛
Happy birthday! 🙂 What an amazing cake! Charlie have great taste, I’m sure he’ll be a great (and cute) chef 🙂
Oh such a precious young man! And how fortunate to have him by your side and interested in cooking. All three of mine make a mean “One-Eyed Sailor!” hahahaha
I’m coveting your tiny charlotte molds and your extra KA mixing bowl. This is an amazing recipe — so decadent and beautiful. You are so talented!
You know, I saw Charlotte molds yesterday, and I seriously contemplated buying them. Now that I’ve seen yours and Charlie’s genius post, I think I need to go back and get them. This dessert looks just fabulous. Great job, Charlie!! Happy Birthday!
Charlie has excellent taste! Wow, what a beautiful cake from a talented mama. Happy birthday to him! 🙂
You made your own lady fingers? I didn’t even know that was possible! (ha ha) I’ve only ever seen them in the package. 🙂
What a wonderful birthday cake, and your son is absolutely adorable!!
I’ve been meaning to make lady fingers forever… and the way you arrange them in the mold is gorgeous. Looks like a big project, but awesome results!
This looks way more creative than anything I’ve ever made 🙂
Homemade ladyfingers are an absolute MUST! They taste so much better than store bought – and don’t increase the difficulty that much. Great photos and steps. Really great site.
happy birthday to charlie! i am in love with your charlotte molds. i have two and i keep them like such treasures. beautiful!
Happy Birthday, Charlie!!
And I love your Charlotte molds, Zoe.
Your son is so gorgeous! I came here because I saw the image of your charlotte on Tastespotting. It caught my attention because it’s so simply elegant. When I got here, I was dazzled by the images of the process and the product, but the one thing more beautiful than the dessert is your son. You are blessed with talent and your son.
Happy Birthday to Charlie! How ever did they get so big, so fast. And as always, I feel that I’m an inadequate mom to my kids (food-wise) when I read your site. *sigh* Mine get DQ cake for their birthdays.
Happy Birthday Charlie! I LOVE that you like to cook & help your mom out. This is great!
I love the Charlotte molds – so elegant! I will have to try making lady fingers you made it seem so easy!
Awwww. Those are so beautiful and very tasty looking. I love, love, love home made lady finger. You are quite blessed to have such an adorable little helper!
Super sweet pics and encouragement to us all. Sweet boy.
Happy Birthday to Charlie! 🙂
Got your book and made your fantastic bread today for the first time. I was impressed with the results. It went nicely with a homemade guinea hen terrine, some pickled vegetables and a mache salad. I’ll try to blog about it one of these days. Thanks!
Sounds like an adorable little man you’ve got there!
And I seriously need to work on my piping skills…
Hi Zoe,
What a lucky guy! Any child growing up with someone as talented as you has got to end up with wonderful kitchen skills. I love the idea Charlie created. Happy Birthday kiddo!
How long did the process take you? I just love antique store finds!
Jane
So pretty!! It looks too delicious and pretty to eat XD
-munches-
What beautiful charlottes! And your son is such a handsome young man! Your pictures are always such a perfect teaching tool, as well. 🙂
Awesome charlottes… I tend to cheat and buy the ladyfingers premade 🙂 Your son is so cute!
Can we expect to see Charlie winning the title of “Top Chef” in about 20 years?? He’s adorable and what a fabulous dessert…You always amaze me…Sue.
Charlie is so adorable!The dessert is beautiful..and I am coveting the small Charlotte Molds.
They are so cute!
Our daughter is expecting baby #3 in Sept.. IF she is a girl..They love “Charlotte”.:)
Adorable from A to Zoe! Happy Birthday to Charlie and thank you for the wonderful recipes.
What a beautiful, beautiful dessert. I hope Charlie had a fabulous birthday!
What a beautiful boy Charlie is, and so is his cake! Adorable, in fact.
Oh my goodness, these turned out so beautiful!! So much love and work was put into them- it’s quite obvious. He’s darling. Hope he had a good bday!!
What sweet little cakes! And to find all of those French charlotte molds for $12… What a steal!
Happy Birthday, Charlie!
What an incredible deal on those molds! Gorgeous cakes.
What a beautiful creation and so very artistic. I haven’t made a Charlotte for many years and have been thinking about it a lot the past few weeks. You have inspired me to have a go, I will try our your recipe for the biscuits, thanks for sharing.
Lucky lucky Charlie. Homemade ladyfingers and a gorgeous charlotte.
Amazing! I love these “small” Charlottes. I wish I had the special Charlotte moulds to make them as gorgeous as yours!
Did you grease/butter the molds before lining?
Nice desserts.
Thanks.