Charlotte Royale cake, as its name implies, is a dessert suitable for royalty, filled with bavarian cream though some recipes call for other types of filling and covered with cookies or pieces of cake. Often, fruits like raspberries, strawberries or cherries are added for flavour and a decorative flair.
The classic iteration of the cake, called the Charlotte Russe, involves a circle of ladyfinger cookies with cream in the middle and was likely invented by French chef Marie Antoine Carême in the early 19th century.
Many variations exist; some swap fruit for chocolate and surround the typical creamy filling with a whole other cake. However, one of the best-known variations of the Charlotte cake is the Charlotte Royale. The Charlotte Royale replaces ladyfingers or sponge cake with a carefully constructed dome made of swiss rolls, which create a swirling pattern over the surface of the cake. It’s beautiful and elegant in its simplicity.
Ingredients
For the jam
- Strawberries 200g
- Caster sugar 250g
- Unsalted butter 2tbsp
For the sponge roll
- Eggs 6 large
- Sugar 150g
- Soft flour 150g
- Baking powder 1tsp
- Salt pinch
For the cream
- Gelatin 20g
- Raspberries 275g
- Liqueur 1tbsp
- Whole milk 300g
- Egg yolk 4
- Sugar 50g
- Double cream 225g
- Strawberries 50g
For the decoration
- Sugar 30g
- Arrowroot 1/2 tbsp
- Double cream 75g
- Icing sugar 12g
- Strawberries 5
- Water 125g
Method
For the jam
- Cook strawberries and sugar over low heat until sugar melts, add butter and boil for 4 minutes, stir vigorously and set aside.
For the sponge roll
- Whisk eggs and sugar until light and frothy.
- Carefully fold in flour baking powder mixture.
- Pour into prepared swiss roll pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 200oC until golden-
- Sprinkle sugar on paper, turn cake out onto it and peel off lined paper, trim edges of cake and score 2cm from the short edge. Leave to cool slightly, spread jam and roll firmly from the score end.
For the Bavarian cream
- Soak gelatin and set aside.
- Puree raspberries and pass through fine sieve, add liquor and set aside.
- Heat milk just under boiling point, whisk yolk and sugar until pale and creamy, pour hot milk over yolk mixture and whisk together, add gelatin to the mixture, mix well.
- Return mixture to heat, stir until it coats the back of the spoon (do not boil).
- Remove from heat, pour into a clean bowl, let it cool slightly then fold in the raspberry puree and cool for 30minutes.
For the assembling
- Line a bowl with a cling film, slice swiss roll and use to line the base and sides of the bowl closely together to avoid filling seeping through.
- Whip cream until soft peak, stir into bavarian cream, fold in remaining raspberries and strawberries, spoon into the lined bowl.
- Cover with the remaining swiss slices then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.
For the decoration
- Boil icing sugar and water, dissolve arrowroot in 2tbsp of cold water and stir into the syrup, then boil for 3minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly before spooning over Charlotte Royal to glaze.
- Whip cream and icing sugar until soft peak, scoop into piping bag with star nozzle tip and pipe scallop around Charlotte and garnish with berries.
