There strawberry charlotte it is a very scenographic dessert that contains all the fresh flavors of spring and summer: the sugary note of strawberries and cream, the acidity of lemon, the sweetness of ladyfingers and mascarpone. Perfect to prepare as a birthday cake or as a dessert at the end of a meal with friends, the strawberry charlotte is made with a very simple recipe, without cooking, with few ingredients and very few calories. Strawberry charlotte composes in just 30 minutes and rests just 2 hours in the refrigerator before being enjoyed, which is why it is the ideal dessert to prepare even a little in advance. The real trick to making this cake is use a springform pan with high edges with a diameter of 20 cm, so as to be able to serve the dessert after resting without any fear that it will lose its shape! And if strawberries are your favorite fruit, why don’t you also take a look at the recipe for the cream and strawberry tart and the cream and strawberry cake?

Preparation

1

Wash the strawberries thoroughly under running water.

2

Remove the stalk. Set aside about 9-10 strawberries for the final decoration. Cut all the others into cubes.

3

Transfer the chopped strawberries into a bowl, add the granulated sugar and 150 ml of lemon juice.

4

Mix well and cover with cling film. Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, so that they release the liquid you will need for the syrup.

5

Whip the cream with a planetary mixer or an electric mixer at maximum speed. It must be very firm. Then set aside 2 tablespoons of whipped cream for decoration.

6

In a bowl, pour the mascarpone and icing sugar. Work with a spoon until you get a smooth cream.

7

Also add the whipped cream and mix it with a spatula making delicate movements, from top to bottom, so as not to disassemble it.

8

Take the strawberries out of the fridge and drain the juice using a slotted spoon or strainer. Add the strawberries to the cream and mix gently.

9

To make this recipe you will need a springform pan with fairly high edges, 20 cm in diameter.

10

Lightly dip the ladyfingers, only on the unsweetened side, in the strawberry juice. Position them vertically around the edge of the mold and on the base, keeping the wet side inside and the dry side outside.

11

Fill the mold with half of the mascarpone and strawberry cream, then level it well.

12

Cover the cream with another layer of ladyfingers wet on one side only. Pour the other half of the cream onto the ladyfingers and level it.

FOR THE DECORATION OF THE STRAWBERRY CHARLOTTE

1

Cut the strawberries kept aside into equal slices, removing the stalk and keeping 1 strawberry aside. Dip each slice in the remaining 50 ml of lemon juice.

2

Place the slices on the surface of the cake in a circular direction.

3

Model the strawberry kept aside by making spiral cuts, in order to create a small rose.

4

Place the rose in the middle of the cake and, with the two spoonfuls of cream kept aside, make the decoration with a sac-à-poche.

5

Leave in the fridge at least 2 hours before consuming. After the necessary time, remove the cake from the mold and serve.

Advice and tips

You can add a few leaves of fresh mint on the surface of the strawberry charlotte, so as to obtain an even fresher and more delicious flavour.

You can use purchased ladyfingers or prepare them at home, following our original recipe!

If you don’t want to use mascarpone, you can replace it with chantilly cream, a cream prepared with cream, vanilla and icing sugar. Alternatively you can use cream cheese.

To slightly vary the taste of the charlotte you can use a berry juice for the ladyfingers syrup. Remember not to wet them too much, otherwise they will become soggy and collapse.

The step of dipping the strawberry slices in lemon juice is important so that they do not become dark during rest in the refrigerator.

Using a springform pan or a cake ring is essential for the success of this dessert.

If you don’t have sweetened cream you can use fresh cream and add 20 g of icing sugar before mounting it.

storage

Strawberry charlotte can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 days maximum, inside an airtight container or covered by a cake bell. We do not recommend freezing.

History

The story of the strawberry charlotte is dotted with various legends, hypotheses and theories. According to a widespread version, the name of the dessert derives from the archaic English term “charlyt”, which means “pudding”. Another theory says that the name “charlotte” should derive from the term used to indicate a particular type of hat worn in France by eighteenth-century women, who inspired the creation of the cake mold of the same name. In reality, it is probable that the name of the dessert derives directly from a dessert invented in Russia by Marie-Antoine CaremeFrench pastry chef, who dedicated it to the Tsar Alexander I.