Desk cookbook. Charlotte is the favorite pie of queens

Charlotte history

There are several versions of the origin of everyone's favorite apple pie, three of them are the most plausible. If you believe the first, then charlotte was first prepared specifically for the wife of King George III of Great Britain. Her name was Charlotte. Allegedly, she advocated for the expansion of apple orchards and patronized apple producers. Therefore, as a sign of gratitude, the subjects prepared this dessert and named it in honor of their queen.

The second story is more mundane: the name charlotte comes from the ancient English word“charlyt”, which translated means “a dish made from sugar, milk and beaten eggs.”

The third version is the most romantic. They say that a long time ago there lived a young man in France. He worked as a cook in one of the local restaurants. One day, having met a charming girl, the young man fell hopelessly in love. And this love inspired him to create a new dish, which he dedicated to his beloved. Her name was Charlotte.

Each version has the right to life. Everyone can choose which of the three to adhere to. Incorrigible romantics will love the last legend: the airiness of the dish, harmonious combination sourness and sweetness, speed of preparation, pleasant but short-lived languor while waiting for the result. Only a lover could do this.

Such a multifaceted charlotte

After this background, of course, it’s worth making charlotte, using one of your favorite recipes. What if this dish really contains a certain magic of lovers?

Classic charlotte

1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 0.5 kg apples, 2 tbsp. spoons of cognac, ½ tsp. cinnamon

First, prepare the apples: wash, remove the core, cut into slices. Pour 2 tablespoons of cognac and add cinnamon, leave to stand. If you don't want the apples to darken, add a little lemon juice and cover with a lid.

For the dough, beat the eggs with sugar until smooth and fluffy. And gradually add 1 cup of sifted flour into the resulting mixture. Stir gently.

Into the lubricated sunflower oil Place the apples in the mold and fill them with the resulting dough. Place in the oven, preheated to 180˚, and wait 35-40 minutes.

Curd charlotte

250 g of cottage cheese (can be low-fat), 1 glass of sugar, 4 large apples, 3 eggs, 100 g of butter, 1 glass of semolina, 15 g of baking powder, breadcrumbs.

Wash the apples, remove the core, cut into cubes. Add sugar and set aside until sugar dissolves. Mix cottage cheese, eggs and semolina, last add melted butter and baking powder. Mix the resulting mixture with apples.

It is better to line the mold with baking paper, grease with oil and sprinkle breadcrumbs. Place our dough in an oven preheated to 200˚ and bake until golden brown.

Charlotte in Polish

3 egg yolks, 200 g butter, 500 g flour, 100 g sour cream, 1 kg apples, 250 g cookies, 15 g baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon to taste.

Mix flour, baking powder, vanilla and butter. Grind the yolks with sugar until white and add to the flour mixture. The resulting dough should not stick to your hands. Put ready dough in the refrigerator for an hour.

After an hour, take the dough out of the refrigerator. We divide it into two parts - one is slightly larger than the other. We roll out a large one thinly and place it on the bottom of the mold, so as to completely cover the bottom and get sides. Sprinkle the dough with a thin layer of cookie crumbs, then lay out a layer of apples, sprinkle the apples with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Second layer - repeat in the same sequence. Roll out the remaining dough and cover the filling.

Place our future pie in an oven preheated to 180 degrees and wait for about 30 minutes. Then set the temperature regulator to 75˚ and wait about another 30 minutes until fully cooked.

Charlotte with mineral water

4 – 5 pcs. large apples, 70 g raisins, 70 g walnuts, 3 eggs, 150 g sugar, 1 tbsp. flour, ½ tsp. soda, 1/3 tbsp. mineral water, 3 tbsp. l. mayonnaise, vanillin, cinnamon, lemon zest- taste.

Wash the apples, remove the core, cut into large slices. Place in a pre-greased mold. Sprinkle nuts and raisins on top, and cinnamon if desired.

Separately prepare the dough: mix eggs, sugar, mayonnaise, flour, slaked soda And mineral water. Add zest and vanillin to taste. Mix everything with a mixer and pour into the mold with apples. Bake in the oven at 180˚ until done.

There are so many recipes for your favorite pie that when you hear the name “charlotte”, you can never be sure that you will accurately guess all the ingredients. And why? There must be some mystery to a pie with a romantic past.

Charlotte is loved all over the world, but in some places it’s pudding, in others cold dessert, and in Russia it’s a simple pie with apples. In this article I will tell you about the history of the origin of this many-sided sweetness and its travels around the world.

Charlotte is a simplified, folk, one might say affectionate derivative of “Charlotte”.

There are two versions of the origin of the name:

1) Most of the legends associated with the creation of charlotte indicate that it comes from the female name "Charlotte".

2) Some culinary scientists claim (based on English recipes of the 15th century and later, which inspires confidence) that the name of the dessert charlotte comes from the English word charlyt, which means a dish made from beaten eggs, sugar and milk. In the 15th century, in England, by the way, it was also popular meat dish with the same name.

From various sources, I have collected almost all the available versions of Charlotte’s origin, some of them are quite funny:

1) Be that as it may, but that’s it modern views Charlottes come from English pudding. I placed this most realistic, in my opinion, version at the very beginning so as not to confuse you. It was the British who came up with this dessert, and what we have now arose relatively recently. In Foggy Albion, it seems that puddings are prepared from everything under the sun. The recipe for English charlotte is very simple, although there are also many variations. That one, the first one simple charlotte was a cold dessert, the so-called “raw”, when moistened slices of bread were laid in layers, interspersed with chopped fruit.

The basis of both cold/raw and baked charlotte is moistened slices of bread or biscuit, which are spread small form, filling the middle with poached fruit. The most common option and favorite is apple charlotte. But slices of bread are soaked in everything, and in dissolved butter, and in syrup from stewed fruit, and in wine, and in Russia they really liked to soak bread in a mixture of eggs and milk (Oh, how many centuries have passed, but here They still love to soak bread slices for croutons in this egg-milk mixture).

2) This version is also English, but with royal participation.

In the 18th century, Great Britain was ruled by King George III, and his wife Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the patroness of apple producers. It is believed that she was the one who came up with apple dessert"Charlotte." Of course, I didn’t search much, but I didn’t find any evidence for this theory. Since this pudding existed before Queen Charlotte, I think that she improved the recipe, but again, there is no information about this. But this version is beautiful, no doubt.

3) Many people know the romantic legend about the creation of charlotte by a certain cook from Great Britain, who was hopelessly in love with a girl named Charlotte, for which he created a wonderful apple dessert and named it in honor of his beloved. Name, place of residence or work, and at least the time of life is lost forever, except for dessert with beautiful name. A dubious version, but it has been alive and well for a long time.

4) The creator of charlotte is often called the French chef Marie Antoine Carême, who lived at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries; he was one of the founders of modern cooking, " haute cuisine", he was called “the cook of kings and the king of chefs.” But he modified the charlotte, creating it the new kind, which is now called Charlotte Russe.

Illustration from Karem's book, he is on the right.

How it happened: they say that Antoine Carême modified the charlotte in 1802, lining the mold not with bread, but with Savoiardi biscuits (“ Lady fingers"), filling the middle with Bavarian cream with gelatin. This charlotte was a cold dessert and was called "Paris charlotte". But in 1814, Russian Tsar Alexander I entered Paris as a winner, for whom Karem prepared his dessert. Since then, this pie has been known worldwide as "Charlotte Russe".

5) I left the most beautiful and funniest for you for last.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries in Russia there were many German bakeries that prepared this dessert from leftover bread and bakery products. The Russians laughed and said that German wives save money and even make pies from crackers, and the wives themselves, in general, were called Charlottes behind their backs. The name Charlotte was very popular at that time and became a household name for any German woman living in Russia.

6) In America, they believe that their national charlotte was invented by a certain chef from the city of Charlotte, which is somewhat doubtful, given the similarity with the English recipe. Most likely, charlotte was brought by emigrants. In the 19th century, a proverb appeared in America, which is said when speaking about a typically American phenomenon or subject: “As American as apple pie" ("As American as Apple pie").

The evolution of charlotte.

Despite the fact that charlotte is prepared with many fruits, the whole world has fallen in love with its apple version.
So, initially charlotte is a bread pudding, and its cold version, "raw". Those. Slices of bread, moistened with syrup from boiled fruit, were placed in layers in a mold, and these fruits were laid out between the bread, and everything was covered with bread slices.

Then they began to bake the charlotte, the bread was soaked in melted butter or wine, and even in a mixture of eggs and milk. But the bread slices were already laid out not in layers, but along the bottom and along the walls of the mold, filling the middle with poached fruit.
Antoine Carême made the charlotte elegant and very delicate dessert, replacing bread with Savoyardi biscuits and biscuit slices, and apple filling- Bavarian cream.

In Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries with the flow of foreign chefs, charlotte recipes poured in, which were adapted to our Russian realities, as a result of which charlotte from rye bread. But Charlotte Russe didn’t catch on. At the beginning of the 20th century in our country, charlotte turned into a very simple sponge cake with apples, which every housewife knows. So many generations have grown up simple recipe apple charlotte. And although our women are so talented that there are currently a great many variations of the simplest pie, everyone still dearly loves the classic charlotte recipe, it’s not even a recipe, but proportions that everyone adds to their own taste: 1 glass of flour, 1 glass of sugar, 4 eggs, 0.5 teaspoon of soda, slaked with vinegar. Nowadays, soda is replaced with baking powder and vanilla sugar is added.

Despite the fact that Charlotte Russe has not taken root in Russia, it is very popular in Europe and America. By the way, about America!
Charlotte came to this continent along with emigrants, but very quickly a legend was born that charlotte was invented by an American chef from a city called Charlotte. To the credit of the Americans, they slightly modified the charlotte, but in better side, giving birth to a new and wonderful pie, making it truly national and our pride.

Nowadays, three main types of charlotte are firmly established in the world, from which all culinary specialists are already dancing.

1. English charlotte pudding, made from bread slices and apples, can be either “raw” or baked.

2. Charlotte Russe, born to the great Antoine Carême. This charlotte is prepared by lining a mold with savoiardi cookies and pouring Bavarian cream with gelatin into the mold. Nowadays, Bavarian cream is mixed with various berries and fruit purees or chocolate, and the pie is topped with jelly, most often berry.

3. Modern Russian charlotte with apples, which is classic sponge cake with the addition of apples to the dough.

Until the middle of the last century, there was even a special detachable form for charlotte and it was called charlotte! But, unfortunately, I could not find a single photograph or illustration of this unique shape, although some books say that it is small, narrow and tall with a removable bottom. Now, by the way, this is not tragic, since the stores are full springforms various sizes.

Maybe, delicious pastries loved by everyone, from little boys and girls to grandparents. Yes, sweets, especially sweet pastries- enough high-calorie dishes, but in the morning even a girl who is losing weight can afford a piece of pie.

Now exists great amount Pie recipes for every taste. Yes, they are incredibly tasty and unusual, but we shouldn’t forget about the classics. Fortunately, many old recipes survived and are still very popular. For example, classic charlotte. Who among you hasn't tried it? Probably every mother or grandmother knows some version of this pie, because people have come up with so many charlotte recipes that you can try them all your life. Let's take a closer look at some of the recipes.

What is charlotte?

But before we talk about recipes, you need to find out what this dish is. Let's start with the fact that charlotte is originally a dish of apples and bread soaked in something. There are a huge number of origin options. The most plausible theory sounds like this: around the 14th-15th century, a pudding made from boiled fruit and bread appeared in Great Britain. Yes exactly english pudding became the start for all variations of charlotte. English raw or cold charlotte has become very popular. Then many began to bake it, soaking the bread in both butter and syrup.

Further, Antoine Carême at the beginning of the 19th century came up with a new more delicious recipe charlottes. Bread soaked in something was replaced tender cookies savoiardi, instead of boiled fruit was used with gelatin. This version of charlotte is called Charlotte Russe. Currently in this option berries are also used, for example, savoiardi cookies are moistened in rum or liqueur, placed on the sides, filled with Bavarian cream, and placed on top berry jelly.

The recipe for a simple apple pie that is familiar to us appeared at the beginning of the last century. Then almost every housewife mastered it, during which time Russian women were able to come up with a huge number various recipes.

Necessary ingredients for the classic version of charlotte

Once you know what charlotte is, you can start cooking. First, let's look at the ingredients for classic recipe.

Flour. So, we need about one glass of flour premium.
Sugar. Next ingredient- This white sugar, if desired, it can be replaced with reed.
Eggs. For the classic recipe we need 3 eggs.
Apples. The most important and important ingredient. You can decide for yourself which apples to choose, sweet or slightly sour.
Oil. We also need 1 tablespoon of plain butter.
Vanillin/cinnamon. Here everyone chooses the option that he likes best.

How to prepare a classic version of charlotte?

We have already figured out what charlotte is, what ingredients are needed for the classic recipe, now we can start cooking.

Turn on the oven. It should be heated to 180 degrees.
Let's start with eggs. Break the eggs into a large and convenient bowl.
Add sugar.
Mix. To avoid delaying the process, you can take a mixer. You need to beat for 10-15 minutes at maximum power. During this time, all the sugar will completely dissolve, and the mass will increase 2-3 times in volume.
Add flour. Now we gradually and continuously add flour in small portions and immediately mix from top to bottom so that there are no lumps and the mass is homogeneous.
Let's move on to apples. Set the dough aside and start making the filling. Wash, peel, core and cut the apples into thin slices, add cinnamon if desired.
Let's start assembling. Grease the pan with a little oil, lay out the apples, and place small pieces of butter on top. Fill this layer with a portion of dough, repeat the steps until the ingredients run out.
Place in the oven. Important! Do not open the oven for the first 10-15 minutes, the cake may settle.

How to decorate a charlotte?

Is it possible to decorate a charlotte, you ask? Yes, the main thing is to know what.

Powdered sugar.
The simplest and quick option. With powdered sugar, the charlotte immediately becomes more beautiful.
Fresh apples. If the pie will be served immediately, you can decorate it fresh apple.
Berries. They always look beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. A good option will add them to the top layer before cooking. In this case, the berries will give juice and color the dough a little.
Chocolate drops. Chocolate always looks beautiful and appetizing.
Yogurt or sour cream. Each guest can be served a piece of pie with a small amount of yogurt or sour cream. This serving will look more beautiful, and the taste may become even better and more interesting.

Mint.
When serving, you can place a small piece of mint on the top of the pie.
Syrup. You can decorate a plate with sweet syrup or pour it on top of a piece of charlotte.

What is charlotte? This is a pie with apples, but they can easily be replaced, for example with cherries. For this recipe we will need:

Oil. The first ingredient will be butter, you need to take about 250 g. You need to get it in advance, because it must be room temperature.
Sugar. You can take white or cane, weight 200 g.
Flour. We need one glass of premium flour.
Starch. You need to take 120 g.
Cherry. You can take either fresh or frozen - 300-400 g.
Eggs. You need 5 medium sized eggs.

Let's start cooking.

Turn on the oven and preheat to 200 degrees.
Beat the butter with a mixer, gradually add sugar in small portions.
Next, break one egg at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one.
We collect charlotte. There are two options here. In the first one, we mix most of the cherries with the dough, carefully placing the rest on top. In the second option, we lay the dough and cherries in layers.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Next recipe called " Lush charlotte with pear". To prepare it we will need:

4 chicken eggs medium size.
2 cups of flour. It's better to sift it.
3 ripe and sweet pears.
1 cup of sugar
0.5 teaspoon baking powder.
A small amount of lemon zest (optional).

So, let's start cooking.

Let's take care of the pears. Wash the fruit, peel it and cut it into small slices.
Thoroughly beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer at full power.
Gradually add flour and baking powder, stir until smooth.
Add pear to the dough.
Grease the mold with oil, lay out the dough, and carefully place more pieces of pear on top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes in the oven.

Charlotte with milk, white chocolate and berries

So, how to make this pie with berries and chocolate looks very beautiful and appetizing, for it we will need:

Oil. You need 100 g of butter at room temperature.
120 ml cow's milk. It can be replaced with almond or oatmeal.
200 g sour cream. It is better to choose 15% or 20%.
2 large eggs.
Zest of a whole lemon.
1 teaspoon vanillin.
280 g wheat flour top quality. It can be replaced with corn or oatmeal.
1 cup of sugar.
1 teaspoon baking powder.
200 g chocolate. Chocolate chips are best.
200 g of any berries. Frozen mixtures can be used.

Let's start cooking.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Melt the butter and gradually mix with milk, sour cream, eggs and lemon zest.
In another plate, combine sugar and flour.
Mix all ingredients using a mixer.
Add most of the berries and chocolate to the dough and mix.
Covering the form parchment paper or lubricate with oil. Pour the dough and decorate the top with the remaining berries and chocolate.
Bake for 50-55 minutes.

Charlotte on biscuit dough

How to cook charlotte biscuit dough? The dough itself is quite difficult to prepare; all proportions must be observed. It is worth saying that the ingredients and utensils must be cold. To prepare this charlotte we will need:

4 eggs.
120 g powdered sugar.
120 g flour.
300 g apples.
Lemon juice.

You can start cooking.

Separate the whites from the yolks. Beat the yolks well with sugar at maximum speed. Beat the whites until thick foam.
Next, carefully mix the whites and yolks in portions, gradually adding flour.
We wash, peel and cut the apples.
Place apples and dough in layers in a greased pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Charlotte on kefir

So, a simple charlotte recipe (step by step). We will need:

4 sweet apples.
250 g flour.
2 eggs.
100 g butter.
100 g sugar.
200-250 g of kefir of any fat content.

Let's move on to cooking. Mix butter and sugar, add eggs, kefir, then flour and a pinch of salt. If you want to thick crust, use baking powder. Place layers of dough and sliced apples into the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Charlotte - everyone's favorite and very popular dessert. Its recipe was invented many centuries ago. However, over the many years of its existence, it has changed several times. Therefore, the fascinating history of Charlotte deserves special attention.

"Charlotte" is considered a dish English cuisine, since this dessert was once invented by local peasants as a sign of gratitude for the wife of George III, Queen Charlotte, to whom she was very kind. Also, mentions of “Charlotte” are found in old cookbooks from the second half of the 18th century. The dessert was a kind of bread pudding and was very simple because it did not require additional culinary processing.

Small pieces of bread were soaked in apple, pear or apricot syrup and laid out in layers, between which the apple filling was placed. The cooking technology is strikingly reminiscent of the well-known tiramisu in that the dessert was not baked, but simply cooled. And maybe charlotte is an early version of the most beloved delicacy of Italians.

Over the course of several centuries, the recipe has changed somewhat and is currently a sponge cake filled with apples. Of course, now housewives bake charlotte, but everyone can handle the preparation, both experienced and experienced pastry chefs and beginners.

In dictionary in English 1796 Oxford University stated that charlotte is “a pudding made from sponge biscuits or pieces biscuits, cooked in special form. Can be raw or baked. The most famous of the baked ones is apple.”

As we mentioned earlier, charlotte was originally a type of bread pudding, but after a couple of decades, French chefs made significant changes to the cooking recipe, for which there is historical evidence.

After the victory in the Patriotic War, Russian Tsar Alexander I entered Paris triumphantly on March 19, 1814. On this occasion, the most famous French chef of that time, Marie Antoine Carême, prepared charlotte according to own recipe. The sovereign liked the new, improved dessert incredibly, so much so that he wanted to take Karem to Russia. The cook refused to go, but secret recipe shared it anyway. This is how the “Russian Charlotte” appeared.

There is another legend about the appearance of charlotte. Rumor has it that one unknown chef was in love with a poor village girl named Charlotte, and this bright feeling prompted him to discover everyone’s favorite culinary masterpiece.

This apple pie was extremely popular in the 19th century. He came to the USA with emigrants, where he received a new name “Charely rooshe”, which was modified from “Charlotte russe”. In the New World local chefs We constantly improved the recipe and changed the composition of the dessert, so today the filling of the pie can be very diverse. It can be either fruits and jams, or different jams, mousses and creams.

All over the world, French charlottes are considered the most delicious, but Russian pastry chefs try not to adhere to French recipe, bringing your own flavor to cooking famous pie, because charlotte is loved and appreciated precisely for its versatility, ease of preparation and simple ingredients that can be found in any store or bought at the nearest market.

Few people do not know about the delicious and fragrant pie called charlotte, it seems to me that many people prepared this dessert - a delicacy desired by many, because, it seems to me, history of the creation of charlotte will be of interest to many.

There are plenty of versions of the origin of this, but we will talk about several, the most plausible ones, as it seemed to me, and it is up to you, the guests and regular readers of the blog, to believe in them or not. 🙂

history of the creation of charlotte

As one version says, charlotte in the old days did not look like a pie baked in the oven based on sponge dough with apples and cinnamon. It consisted of crackers soaked in egg or butter, which were previously boiled in syrup. The whole thing was laid out in layers and served warm, without resorting to baking, flavoring the dish with sweet sauce or, in a word, it was a kind of pudding. This dessert was invented by the British and the name was coined from the English – charlyt.

Another version says that one of the first creators was George III, King of Great Britain, and the reason was envy of the French, Italians and Germans for creating delicious desserts. The king ordered his cook to come up with a tasty treat, and his wife, whose name was Charlotte, served as the muse, patronizing the apple plantations where the delicious harvest was harvested. The cook did his best, using all his imagination and abilities - and that’s how it was created delicious dessert based on biscuit and apples!

As another version says, the creator delicious pie, called Charlotte, was a young baker who was passionately in love with a woman named Charlotte. Having cooked this dessert, he names the dish after his beloved. The dish was appreciated by the baker’s beloved friend, and we inherited it - history of the creation of charlotte!

types and preparation of charlotte

There are so many recipes for charlotte that there is even a meat dish with this name. Different nations They prepare charlotte in their own way and consider themselves the creators. The option that has taken root most among us, namely apples baked in biscuit dough, is of German origin. This is exactly how they prepare their version of charlotte, which we undoubtedly liked. The pie is very easy to prepare and does not require much time. For those who have not yet cooked or are not familiar with charlotte, I have attached a simple recipe.

The dough contains two hundred grams of sugar, the same amount of flour, four eggs and soda slaked with vinegar. In addition to baking soda and vinegar, mix the ingredients with a mixer or using a food processor until thick, fluffy and homogeneous mass, then add soda slaked with vinegar. Apples, pre-cut into slices, mixed with sugar