Summer Berry Charlotte

I made this charlotte for no reason other than it’s almost summer and we feel it in the air. Friday was the last day of school and that afternoon our pool was full of overjoyeous kids. That always puts a smile on my face. I haven’t been spending much time in the kitchen lately but this is so refreshing, so colorful, that I had to make it. My mood needed it. My mood needed something bright, girly, fresh and fruity.

The charlotte is filled with blackberry and raspberry mousse. I added a little bit of raspberry puree to the ladyfingers but it was not enough to make a difference so I didn’t include it in the recipe that follows.

I also experimented using my financier flexipan to make the ladyfingers. I usually pipe them free-hand but the mold worked really well because it is the same heigth as the ring mold in which I built the charlotte. There is something about repeated piping that is very therapeutic for me. One of my favorite things to do. Pipe, steady hand, focused mind. My old executive pastry chef, Sebastien, would always try to compete with us to see who could pipe macarons the fastest. We are talking four, five, six full sheetpans in less than 3 minutes. Those were good times.

Ladyfingers
Makes 4 dozen small ladyfingers and 12 small sponge disks

3 organic egg yolks
75 grams sugar
3 organic egg whites
50 grams powdered sugar, sifted
75 grams unbleached all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg yolks and the granulated sugar until they become very thick and pale (ribbon stage). I only have one bowl for my Kitchen Aid so I have to transfer this mixture to another bowl. Wash the Kitchen Aid bowl.

Whip the egg whites fully and slowly add the sifted powdered sugar. Keep whipping until you have a pretty stiff meringue. Fold the yolks into the meringue and finally fold the flour in.

Pipe the ladyfingers and the disks onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I usually draw lines on the parchment so I can guide myself and pipe equal size ladyfingers. Sift powdered sugar on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let them cool.

Blackberry Mousse

100 grams blackberry puree, strained (about 175 grams blackberries)
10 grams sugar
1 sheet of gelatin
100 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Heat the blackberry puree with the sugar. When it comes to a slight boil, remove from heat. In the meantime, soften the gelatin in ice water for about 3 minutes. Add the bloomed gelatin to the puree. Let it cool until it is about body temperature. If we add the hot puree to the cream, it will deflate.

While the puree cools, whip the cream. When the puree has cooled slightly, add it to the cream and fold gently until you can no longer see any streaks of unmixed cream.

Place the mousse in a pastry bag and pipe about half way up the ring mold with the ladyfingers assembled on the edges. Freeze the charlottes.

Raspberry Mousse

100 grams raspberry puree, strained (about 175 grams raspberries)
10 grams sugar
1 sheet of gelatin
100 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Proceed as above. Pipe the mousse on top of the frozen blackberry mousse. Place the charlottes in the refrigerator for the mousse to set.

Decorate with fresh berries on top.