Charlotte Au Chocolat Recipes

Steps:

• Filling: Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons milk; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and granulated sugar.
• Bring 1/4 cup cream and remaining 1/4 cup milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add one-third of cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add remaining cream mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly; return to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until custard coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl with chocolate; let stand until softened, 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent skin from forming; let cool completely.
• Whisk remaining 3/4 cup cream to soft peaks and gently fold into custard. Refrigerate until ready to assemble, up to 1 day.
• Ladyfingers and Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pencil and ruler, make a template that will be the guide for piping ladyfingers and cake layers: On a piece of parchment, draw two sets of parallel lines spaced 3 1/2 inches apart. On a second piece of parchment, trace three 5-inch circles. Place each piece of parchment, pencil-side down, on an unrimmed baking sheet. Sift together flour and 1/4 cup cocoa into a medium bowl.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together egg whites, salt, and vanilla on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. In a separate bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks with remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gently fold egg-yolk mixture into egg-white mixture, then fold in flour mixture in three additions. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip.
• Pipe ladyfingers crosswise onto prepared templates, spacing 1/4 inch apart (you'll need about 16), then pipe cake rounds, starting in center of each circle and spiraling outward until you reach edge of template. Whisk together remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa and confectioners' sugar; sift over cake rounds. Bake ladyfingers and cake rounds until firm and springy, about 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Assembly: Place a 6-by-3-inch cake ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet; line ring with a 20-by-3-inch parchment strip to form a collar. Bring rum and granulated sugar just to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Place ladyfingers standing upright inside of ring, with domed sides facing out (use just enough to fit snugly). Place one cake layer at bottom of ring. Brush ladyfingers and cake with rum syrup. Pour half of chocolate filling into cake ring and top with a second cake layer. Brush cake with syrup and top with remaining chocolate filling. Top with final cake layer and brush with syrup. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Just before serving, whisk cream and confectioners' sugar to soft peaks. Carefully remove charlotte from bottom piece of parchment and transfer, still in cake ring, to serving platter. Remove ring and gently peel off parchment strip. Dollop whipped cream on top of cake and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

Steps:

• In a saucepan or double boiler melt the chocolate with the coffee, 2 tsp.
• rum and oil.
• Stir until smooth; cool.
• One by one add the yolks to the cold melted chocolate, beating with a wire whisk.
• In a separate bowl, stiffly beat the whties.
• Fold the whites into the chocolate.
• Leave in a cool place to set.
• To assemble the cake: Pour the milk and remaining 2 tsp.
• rum into a bowl.
• One by one lightly dip the ladyfingers into the milk/rum and line the bottom and sides of a 8-cup (2 qt) springform pan.
• Fill with half the chocolate mousse.
• Cover with a layer of ladyfingers, then with the remaining mousse.
• Finish with another layer of ladyfingers.
• Refrigerate the charlotte for 8 hours or overnight covered in plastic wrap.
• After unmolding, decorate if desired with swirls of sweetened whipped cream.

Steps:

• Lightly grease a 1-quart charlotte mold.
• Place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. In a small saucepan, scald the milk and sugar. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir to blend. Let cool, then beat in the egg yolks until smooth and shiny. Add the orange peel and beat to incorporate. Let cool completely.
• In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold 1/2 of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Gently fold in the remainder.
• In a small bowl, combine the cognac and water. Dip the macaroons 1 at a time into the mixture, then layer across the mold, flat side down. Arrange additional macaroons up the sides of the mold, flat sides out. Spoon 1/2 of the chocolate mixture into the mold, and top with a layer of macaroons. Add the remaining chocolate mixture and top with the remaining macaroons.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place a plate on top. Place a weight (such as a large can or measuring cup filled with water) on the plate and refrigerate until set, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• To serve, remove the weight and plate and unwrap. Place a platter on top of the charlotte and invert, shaking slightly to release and remove the mold. Thinly slice. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the paper. Set aside.
• In a bowl, mix together the almonds, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and wine.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Whisk into the almond mixture. Transfer to a saucepan and over the barest heat, whisk to dry slightly. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• When cool, spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared sheet and flatten slightly. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Bake until crisp on the top rack of the oven, 15 to 20 minutes. Do not let brown.
• Remove from the oven and lift one end of the paper. Pour a small glass of water under the paper. (The resulting steam will loosen the macaroons.) Let sit for 2 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool.

Steps:

• Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the hazelnuts and then half of the hazelnut liqueur. Whip the cream. Add the remaining half of the hazelnut liqueur to the cream and whip to shaving cream consistency. Fold into the butter/nut mixture. Line the bottom and sides of a 2-quart, cylindrical mold (like a souffle dish) with parchment. Paint (imbibe) the sponge cake layers with the orange liqueur and water. Place a layer of sponge cake on the bottom. Top the sponge layer with a layer of 1/2 of the cream. Plant a ring of strawberries, point down, around the outer edge. Top with another sponge cake layer and repeat with cream and berries. Top with a final layer of sponge cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove from mold and dust sides with coarse hazelnuts.
• For the optional flavored whipped cream garnish, whisk heavy cream in a bowl until it begins to thicken. Add the confectioners' sugar, orange liqueur, and vanilla and whisk to soft peaks. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe rosettes on top of the cake and top each rosette with a small strawberry.
• Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 3 (7-inch) cake pans with non-stick vegetable spray. Line the bottoms with a circle of baking parchment.
• In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Repeat 3 times. In a small saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and lemon extracts.
• In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar until pale yellow, fluffy and doubled in volume. While still beating, drizzle in the hot milk mixture. Fold in the flour mixture.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pans and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden, the center springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester comes out clean. Set the pans on a rack to cool. Run the tip of a knife around the edges of the cakes to loosen them, and turn them out of the pans. Yield: 12 servings

Steps:

• Grate chocolate. Add sugar and hot coffee. Add butter and eggs, and mix together well. Mix in liqueur, if desired. Line an 8-10 cup charlotte mold or soufflé pan with double-folded, heavy-duty aluminum foil. Pour in batter. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Chill. Serve covered with piped whipped cream or crème chantilly. Note: We did this in a smaller soufflé dish for 35 minutes without tin foil. Also beautiful in a fence of lady fingers in a springform pan.