I've been wanting to make an Apple Charlotte ever since I saw Julia Child demonstrate it on the French Chef. I was all the more inspired once I got my Charlotte mold for my birthday a few months ago. It seemed only fitting that I should actually get around to trying my hand at one this week in honor of Downton Abbey's return. (Even though Mrs. Patmore refused to make apple charlotte when requested.) There are several different variations of this recipe out there, but I chose to start with Julia Child's recipe and adapt it to fit my own preferences. I left out the rum that Julia's version includes, but liked that she used slices of bread instead of breadcrumbs, like many other versions call for. What you end up with is a lovely, buttery, crisped bread crust, filled with a thick apple puree in the middle. Paired with the Vanilla Crème Anglaise, it is incredible. (Although I am certain I would be content eating paperclips if they were covered in that delectable custard sauce. )
If you don't have an actual Charlotte mold like mine, you could try using a round casserole dish or a round metal cake pan. It is best if you have a dish with fairly tall sides. According to Julia: "For the sake of drama, the mold should be 3-½ to 4 inches high."
Apple Charlotte with Vanilla Crème Anglaise
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 10-12 golden delicious apples
- ⅓ cup apricot preserves
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ 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 ¼ 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
Vanilla Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cups boiling milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks. Beat 2-3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms ribbons (thickened just slightly enough so that when you lift the beater from the mixture, the liquid will fall back in the bowl forming a quickly-dissolving ribbon-like appearance on the surface of the mixture).
- While beating the yolk mixture,very slowly drizzle in the the boiling milk so that the yolks warm slowly without scrambling.
- Pour the mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring slowly,scraping around the edges and bottom of the pan until the sauce thickens just enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow to come to a simmer. (No warmer than 165 degrees.)
- Remove sauce from heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Serve warm or cold.
- To chill the sauce: place bowl over a pan of ice water, stirring frequently until cooled. Cover and refrigerate.
Notes
Adapted slightly from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck
bakeaffairs
This cake looks so mouth watering and beautiful!
mandyjoy
Thank you so much!
Susan
I haven't made Apple Charlotte in FOREVER! So glad I found your recipe!