Apple Charlotte with Vanilla Crème Anglaise
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Units Scale
- 10-12 golden delicious apples
- 1/3 cup apricot preserves
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup clarified butter How To Make Clarified Butter
- 10 slices white bread
Instructions
- Peel, core and slice the apples thin. Place apples in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven.
- Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, over very low heat until the apples are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Once the apples are tender, add the apricot preserves, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons butter, cinnamon, and salt. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat stirring constantly until almost all of the liquid has evaporated away, about 20-30 minutes. The mixture should be very thick.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove the crusts from the bread slices. Using 2 slices (or more if needed), cut the bread into pieces that will completely cover the bottom of your mold.
- Saute the pieces of bread in 3-4 tablespoons of the clarified butter until lightly golden. Place them into the bottom of the mold. Cut the remaining bread slices into strips about 1 1/4 inches wide. Dip bread strips into clarified butter and line the sides of the pan with them, overlapping each strip slightly, trimming off any overhanging strips if needed.
- Fill the bread-lined mold with the apple puree. Cover with more bread strips dipped in the clarified butter. Pour any remaining clarified butter over the bread strips around the edge of the mold.
- Bake on middle oven rack for 20-30 minutes. Slide a knife between the bread and the side of the pan, if it appears golden brown, the apple charlotte is done.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before you try to unmold the charlotte onto your serving plate. Gently invert the mold onto a serving plate. Be very careful when lifting the mold up, if the charlotte wants to collapse, flip it back into the old and allow it to cool a little while longer.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve with whipped cream, or Vanilla Crème Anglaise
Notes
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle