Cider, apple & vanilla charlotte cake

I love the charlotte cake, it's one of the cakes that you can make endlessly according to your desires and the season ! Here I present an autumn version, with cider, apple and vanilla flavors. As always, you will find a ladyfinger, filled with a cider mousse, caramelized apples in cider and a vanilla whipped ganache in decoration. You can also make a perry and pear version with this recipe if you are more pear than apple ;)



Prep time : 1 hour + 10 minutes cooking + time to set in the fridge + a few hours or one nigh for the whipped ganache
For a 18 to 20cm charlotte :

Ladyfingers :

120g egg whites (about 4 whites)
100g of caster sugar
80g egg yolks (about 5 yolks)
100g T55 flour
Icing sugar

Start by preparing a French meringue: whisk the egg whites, then add the sugar in three times gradually increasing the speed of the robot. The meringue is ready when it is smooth and shiny.



Then add the egg yolks and whisk again for a few seconds, just long enough to incorporate them.



Finish by delicately incorporating the sifted flour with a maryse/spatula.



When the cake batter is smooth, put it in a pastry bag  with a plain tip (10-12mm diameter).



Pipe (on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper) ladyfingers (like you can see on the photo, be careful to have enough ladyfingers to be able to circle your cake pan) and two 20 to 22 cm spiral
(depending on the size of the cake pan you will use for assembly) ; if you have a classic oven with 30x40 tray, bake the ladyfingers in two times : one tray for the ladyfingers and one for the circles, but bake them quickly or the dough may fall down.




Sprinkle the ladyfingers with icing sugar, wait two minutes and sprinkle them a second time.



Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for about 10 minutes (the cake must go up when you put a finger in it, but it must be very soft). When it comes out of the oven, put it on a wire rack and let it cool.



Then, cut the right length for the band and place it in your circle on a serving platter or gold cardboard. Remember to cut out the base of the ladyfingers to have a neat charlotte at the base.

Cider apples :

2 apples
250g cider
30g butter
50g sugar

Melt the butter and sugar.



Cut the apples in 8 and add them to the butter and sugar mixture.




When it starts to caramelize, add the cider and cook until the apples start to melt.

Cider mousse :

Italian meringue :

50g egg whites
33g water
135g sugar

Prepare a syrup with water and sugar. When it reaches 110°C, start to whisk the egg whites.
When the syrup is 121°C, pour it over the whites while continuing to whisk.
Whisk until cool, the meringue should be very shiny.



Cider mousse :

200g cider
6g gelatin
235g liquid cream
50g egg yolks
20g sugar
85g Italian meringue

Rehydrate the gelatin in a large bowl of cold water.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, then add the champagne.
Pour everything into a saucepan and cook like a custard (at 85°C).



Then add the rehydrated and wrung out gelatine, mix well and leave to cool.
Whip the liquid cream into a not too firm whipped cream.



When the cider custard is at 30°C, loosen the Italian meringue a little with a whisk, then delicately add the custard.




When the cream is homogeneous, add to the maryse the whipped cream, always delicately, until you have a homogeneous mousse. 

Assembly :

Pour half of the foam over the ladyfinger.



Then add the second ladyfinger circle.



Place the apples.



Then cover with mousse.



Put in the refrigerator until the foam is set (minimum 3 hours).

Vanilla whipped ganache :

50g white chocolate
1,5g gelatin
200g liquid cream
1 vanilla bean

Heat 80g of cream with the vanilla beans and leave to infuse.



Melt the chocolate. Heat the cream again, then pour it in 3 times over the chocolate, stirring well.



When the ganache is smooth, add the rest of the cold liquid cream. Film the ganache and put it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, if possible overnight.

Decoration :

Apple slices

When the mousse is set, whip the vanilla ganache like a whipped cream, then pipe it on the charlotte.




Decorate with apple pieces. I also toasted my apple peelings in the oven for a few minutes with powdered sugar.



Here you go, your charlotte is ready, enjoy !