Berries are hard to come by in this country. I would have loved to pop my metaphorical cherry baking my first charlotte russe using strawberries, but it was unfortunately out of season. I know berries imported from the USA sort (those big, tempting Driscoll brand strawberries) are available in some supermarkets. But, the price of a 250-400 gram pack makes this humble baker cry. So expensive! (;A;)
From conversations exchanged with Eva, my good Livejournal friend from Slovakia, I found that as much as berries and certain nuts are hard to buy and find in my country, same could be said with tropical fruits like mangoes, coconuts, and pineapples in temperate countries. So, mango it shall be.
There were also peach slices thrown into the cake, too :D I originally thought of strawberry because I was able to sneak a big jar of French apricot jam into the grocery cart last week. For plan B, I thought of something that could also go well with apricot. The peach-and-mango combination was an immediate answer that came to my head.
Mangez-moi, chéri
To celebrate a month of cooking together, my pupil and I baked this dessert. She called it our French cooking day's pièce de résistance not only because it was truly a work of beauty, but because it was one of the reasons executing our specially-planned three-course meal made us stand and fuss around the kitchen for 8 hours.
It was quite a labor of love. In between whipping the cream and artfully arranging the fruit slices on the cake, I realized how the French concept of love extends to their food. Their most comforting dishes encourage the cook to be very hands-on, patient, attentive, and gentle. Now that I think about it, we also had to massage and stuff meats with all sorts of herbs and spices. You could also say, there was a bit of sensuality thrown into that line of thinking, too! Indeed, the French are lovers even in the kitchen.
Gateau Charlotte au
Mangue et Pêches
The elegant and decadent charlotte is a dessert invented by Marie Antoine Carême in honor of his employer Czar Alexander I. This is why the dessert is alternately called charlotte russe. The traditional charlotte is filled with Bavarian cream or mousse then lined with lady fingers and topped with cream and fruits.
To an extent, it could be considered as an ice box cake, or a no-bake cake. It is traditionally lined with stale bread dipped in butter, but modern versions are also lined with sponge cake and lady fingers. This dessert could be enjoyed hot or cold. But because it is usually enjoyed by Europeans in the summer, most would consider it a cold dessert.
We went with the 'lined with sponge cake' direction and present you with the fruit of our 8-hour kitchen labor~
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
3/4 cup pastry flour (1 cup all purpose flour + 1 tbsp cornstarch)
100 g sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Crème Chantilly
250 ml whipping cream
3-4 tbsp icing sugar (ordinary sugar is okay, too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Apricot Syrup
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hot water
3 generous tbsp apricot jam
Other stuff (Fruits for filling and topping, then the lady fingers)
2 peeled cheeks of ripe mangoes, sliced into 1/4 inch crescents
4-5 sliced peaches (I used the sort preserved in light syrup. Fresh peaches are good, too!), further sliced into smaller, 1/4 inch crescents
10-15 French lady fingers, carefully sliced in half
Directions
Making the Sponge Cake Base
1) Whisk yolks thoroughly. Set aside.
2) Beat egg whites until foamy. Then gradually add sugar until you get stiff peaks.
3) Gently fold the white into the yolks.
4) Sift in pastry flour and gently fold into the mixture.
5) Pour in melted butter and milk, and vanilla extract; then gently fold into the mixture.
6) Bake in parchment lined baking tin at 320 deg F (160 deg C) for 23 minutes.
7) After baking, invert the cake tin onto a baking paper-lined plate and let cool upside down.
Making the Crème Chantilly
1) Place a mixing bowl over a tray of ice. Squirt a whole 250-ml pack of whipping cream
into the bowl, follow with drops of vanilla extract and spoons of sugar.
2)Whip the cream until it becomes stiff. Afterwards, gently tap your egg beater or
wire whisk into the bowl to remove excess whipped cream and cover the mixture with cling film. Chill in the fridge.
Making the Apricot Syrup
1) Mix the water and sugar in a small bowl or ramekin.
2) Strain the jam onto the bowl. Mix well, then set aside.
To Assemble the Charlotte
1) When the cake cools, carefully slice it horizontally in half. You could also chill the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes after it has cooled down to room temperature. I do recall celebrated chef/food magazine editor/food stylist Donna Hay giving this tip to Australian Master Chef contestants.
2) (After you've also chilled the cake) Brush the bottom half with apricot syrup.
3) Take out the whipped cream from the fridge and scoop a generous dollop of cream onto the cake. Spread evenly with a cake spatula.
4) Add the sliced mangoes and peaches. Then, add another generous dollop of whipped cream and spread evenly with a spatula. Cover the remaining whipped cream with cling film and put it back in the fridge to chill.
5) Brush the top half with the apricot syrup before putting it on top of the fruit-and-cream filling. Brush the top of the cake with apricot syrup again. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6) After half an hour, take the cake and the whipped cream off the fridge. Scoop two generous spoons of whipped cream onto the surface of the cake and carefully spread the icing with a spatula. Don't worry if you suck at applying the icing. We got the lady fingers to cover that thing /wink, wink/
7) Cover with cling film again and chill the cake in the fridge for about 15 minutes. After that, line the edges of the cake with lady fingers.
7) Arrange the sliced mangoes and peaches on top of the cake.
8) Chill in the fridge and serve when everything sets.
Enjoy a slice with a pot of mango-orange-passionfruit tea or mild-flavored chamomile tea.
Un piece de delicousness! :D
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