Blackberry and Cinnamon Charlotte Russe
Time & Yield
Yield: 1 Charlotte Russe (Serves 8-10)
Time: 2 ½ - 3 ½ hours (depending on if you homemake your lady fingers)
Ingredients
LADY FINGERS
3 large eggs (about 5½ oz; 155g)
4¾ ounces sugar (about ⅔ cup; 135g)
¼ tsp (1g) kosher salt
¼ oz freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 tbsp; 7g) from 1 large lemon
4½ oz all-purpose flour (about 1 cup, spooned; 125g)
½ oz cornstarch (about 2 tbsp; 15g)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
BLACKBERRY JELLY
500g of blackberries
50ml of crème de mure
50g of granulated sugar
4 gelatine leaves, softened in cold water
SOAKING SYRUP
140g granulated sugar
70ml of water
70ml of crème de mure
TO ASSEMBLE
30 sponge lady fingers
400g of blackberries
BAVAROIS
300ml of double cream
150g of granulated sugar, divided
300ml of milk
1 stick of cinnamon, broken into 3
4 egg yolks
4 gelatine leaves, softened in cold water
Recipe
LADY FINGERS
Start by preparing the lady fingers, and to begin those, adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F
Line two half sheet pans with parchment and fit a large piping bag with a 1/2-inch round tip. Roll bag open and stand upright in a tall drinking glass so it can be filled hands-free
Have ready a small, fine-mesh sieve and your powdered sugar for dusting
Fill a 2- or 3-quart sauce pan with a few inches of water; bring to a boil, then lower heat and adjust to maintain a steady supply of steam.
Combine eggs (3), sugar (⅔ cup), and salt (¼ tsp) in the bowl of a stand mixer, using a flexible spatula to stir
Place over the steaming pot (if it touches the bottom, crumple a strip of foil into a ring to act as a booster seat) and cook, stirring and scraping constantly, until warmed to 160°F. This should not take significantly longer than 5 minutes; major delays simply indicate insufficient heat/lack of steam
Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until the eggs are foamy, more than quadrupled in size, and thick enough to briefly mound up like soft serve when dropped from the whisk, from 5 to 10 minutes depending on the horsepower of your mixer. This is a crucial stage; if the foam is unable to hold soft peaks, the lady fingers will spread flat in the oven
When eggs are foamy and thick enough to briefly hold their shape when dropped from the whisk, add lemon zest (1 tbsp), then sift the flour (4½ oz) and cornstarch (½ oz) on top. Fold gently with a flexible spatula to combine in a thick batter
Transfer to prepared piping bag, twist to close, and pipe approximately thirty (yes, 30) 3- by 1-inch fingers, leaving an inch between each one. When piping, hold the bag at a 45° angle and apply steady pressure as you pipe, then stop squeezing before you reach the end of each one, and lift the bag straight up to break the "tail" of batter
Generously dust one tray with powdered sugar, and bake until puffed and firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Set aside, then dust and bake the second tray as before
Cool ladyfingers to room temperature directly on the sheet pan
BLACKBERRY JELLY
Next comes the blackberry jelly. Place the blackberries (500g), crème de mure (50ml) and sugar (50g) in a large glass bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to steep for 2 hours. After this time, all the liquid will have seeped from the blackberries – you should be left with approximately 200ml liquid
SOAKING SYRUP
While the blackberries are steeping, you can prepare the rest of the components. To make the soaking syrup, place the sugar (140g), crème de mure (70ml) and water (70ml) in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes and leave to cool
BAVARIOS
For the bavarois, whip the cream (300ml) to stiff peaks. Reserve in the fridge
Warm a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat, sprinkle in two thirds of the sugar (100g) and add the cinnamon pieces (3). Bring the sugar to a dark caramel then add the milk (300ml). Bring to the boil until all of the sugar has dissolved
Whisk together the egg yolks (4) with the remaining sugar (50g) until doubled in size and the mixture forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted – this is known as a sabayon
Pass the milk through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan and return to the boil. Tip ⅓ of the milk into the eggs and mix well, then return to the pan and cook until it reaches 180°F (or coats the back of a spoon)
Mix in the gelatine (4 leaves) and pour into a tray. Leave to cool before gently folding in the whipped cream. The mixture should be cold but not set. If the mixture gets too cold, gently whisk until soft. Transfer to a piping bag
ASSEMBLY
Soak the ladyfingers in the soaking syrup for 5 seconds on each side before arranging around the inside of the cake tin. Trim the ladyfingers so they fit neatly to make a base for the Charlotte
Arrange a layer of blackberries on top of the lady finger sponges then pipe over the Bavarios cream. Smooth the surface of the cream with a small palette knife and transfer to the fridge to set for 30 minutes
To finish the jelly, warm the blackberry liquid very gently and add the soaked gelatine. Whisk until dissolved and transfer to a jug in the fridge. Chill the jelly until it is a viscous consistency. If it is too thin when pouring on to the Charlotte, it will run down the sides of the ladyfingers
Arrange a ring of blackberries around the edge of the cream and carefully pour the jelly into the center. Return to the fridge to set. Best served on the day it is made
NOTES
You will need a springform pan to create this dish – if you don’t have one, you will quickly realize (like we did), that you will have to run out and buy one in the process of assembling, which is super stressful. There is no hack for this – you need one!
Source:
Lady Fingers: Serious Eats
Russe: Great British Chefs