Strawberry Charlotte Royale
A strawberry Charlotte Royale is a fun recipe if you are looking for something a little different to try. This recipe features Grand Marnier Bavarian Cream and is a regal looking dessert. It isn't as hard to make as it may look, but it does require a little planning ahead, so make sure you prepare accordingly. This was inspired by Soulful Baker: From highly creative fruit tarts and pies to chocolate, desserts and weekend brunch by Julie Jones.
Ingredients
Sponge Cake (see note)
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g cake flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 6 large eggs
- 150 g castor sugar - don't try to skip this, I learned that the hard way.
- confectioners' sugar for towel
- 2 cups strawberry or raspberry jam
Strawberry Coulis
- 1 lb strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp sugar
Bavarian Cream
- 1 cup milk
- 60 g castor sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
- 4 egg yolks
- 5 oz Grand Marinier or other orange liqueur or brandy or fruit puree
- 2 packages powdered gelatin or 7 sheets
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream lightly whipped to soft peak
Instructions
To Prepare the Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 450°F, butter and line a half baking sheet (16x11-inch) and a quarter sheet pan (13x9-inch) with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flours and baking powder, then sift them.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whip attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until tripled in volume and the eggs sit on the surface of the foam when the beater is lifted out of the bowl.
- Sift half of the flour mixture over the egg foam and gently fold it in. Repeat with the remaining flour. As soon as the flour is incorporated fill the two prepared pans, using 2/3 of the batter in the larger pan and 1/3 in the smaller one.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the cake is set, light gold and just starting to pull away from the sides.
- Immediately run a knife around the edge of the larger cake pan and invert onto a kitchen towel that is generously covered with confectioners' sugar. Peel off the parchment paper, dust the surface with more confectioners' sugar then return the parchment and tightly roll up the sponge. Allow to cool completely.
- Allow the smaller cake to cool in the pan and then cover with plastic to prevent it from drying.
- Once the rolled cake is cool, unroll it and cover with a thin layer of jam. Starting at the short end, roll the cake into a tight spiral that goes half way up the cake. Cut off the spiral log, wrap it in plastic wrap to hold it's shape and continue to roll with the remaining cake. If you want a larger or smaller spiral, you can roll it until you have the size you desire. Once the cakes are rolled and wrapped, freeze them for at least an hour.
- Cut the frozen cake into 1/4-inch-thick disks.
- Line a sphere mold or bowl with plastic, then line the mold with the disks of cake. Make sure they are tight, so the filling can't be seen when inverted out of the mold. Set the lined mold aside.
To Make the Filling
- Gelatin: Mix the gelatin and water, allow to sit until bloomed.
- Custard: Whisk the yolks, sugar and grand Marnier together in a medium bowl. In a small pot, bring the milk and 1 teaspoon sugar to a simmer.
- Liaison the hot milk into the yolk mixture until the yolks are warm, then return them into the pot and cook over low heat until the mixture is thickened. Add half the bloomed gelatin and stir until it dissolves. Strain into a bowl, set over an ice bath, and stir often, until chilled.
- Once the custard is cool, fold in the whipped cream. Pour half the mixture into the cake lined mold. Refrigerate the mold for about an hour. Leave the remaining custard mixture at room temperature, so the gelatin won't set.
- Strawberries: Cook the strawberries and sugar together in a pot until they are very soft. Blend with an Hand Blender. Add the remaining gelatin and continue to stir over low heat until the gelatin dissolves. Strain and set over an ice bath to cool. Add 1 cup of the strawberries to the remaining custard, then spoon this over the set custard in the mold. The filling should fill the mold almost to the top. Return to the refrigerator.
- Measure the area of filling in the mold and create a template. Use the template that fits that area to cut a circle out of the remaining small pan of cake. Place that round of cake over the filling, cover with plastic and allow to chill for several hours or overnight.
- Invert onto a serving plate and serve chilled.
Notes
I have tried many recipes and I landed on this one inspired by Mary Barry, because it was the easiest, with the fewest steps and still had a nice texture. Mary's recipe required self rising flour, which is quite popular in England, but difficult for us to find here in the states, so I created my own by mixing all-purpose and cake flours, then adding a bit of baking powder.