Strawberry Charlotte
makes 1 8-cup or 2 4-cup charlottes
Recipe from Barbara Kafka
Charlottes are wonderfully old-fashioned desserts. The mold should always be lined with lady fingers (or strips of bread or brioche). When strawberries are in season, this is my favorite version.
This recipe is part of the Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology.
ingredients
4 pints (8 cups) strawberries, washed and hulled
5 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup water
16 ladyfingers (if using two 4-cup charlotte molds, double the amount
timer
prep: 45 minutes
total: 3 hours 45 minutes
tools
large pot
strainer (or colander)
food processor
serrated knife
8-cup charlotte mold (or two 4-cup charlotte molds)
instructions
1. Place 3 pints strawberries in large pot with sugar and water. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat for 2 minutes. Strain, reserving syrup and half the whole berries.
2. Place remainder of whole berries in work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Process, pulsing on and off, until berries are coarsely puréed.
3. Lay ladyfingers on work surface. Holding serrated knife perpendicular to the cookies, slice ladyfingers in half. (You'll use rounded tops to line molds, flat bottoms to fill them.)
4. Line bottom and sides of mold with ladyfinger tops, with rounded edges against mold. Stand ladyfingers against side on end. Spread 1/2 of strawberry purée over lined bottom of mold.
5. As needed, dip ladyfinger bottoms, one at a time, in reserved syrup. Layer dipped ladyfingers over purée. Layer 1/2 of whole cooked berries, then more ladyfingers, the remaining purée, more ladyfingers, and remaining whole cooked berries. Finish with layer of undipped tops, round side up. Chill 3 hours.
6. Slice the remaining pint of strawberries for garnish.
7. To serve, unmold the charlotte onto a plate. Hold a platter over charlotte and flip back onto platter. Garnish with sliced strawberries. Strain reserved syrup and serve in bowl.
