Burnt Almond Charlotte

A gelatine cream set in a mold lined with lady fingers, flavored with caramel and chopped almonds. The method lives in the earlier Caramel Charlotte Russe entry, so the working order is worth spelling out.

• The method it points toSoften the gelatine in the 1/2 cup cold water, dissolve it in the scalded milk with the plain sugar, then stir in the caramel and vanilla. Chill the mixture until it thickens to raw egg white, fold in the almonds and then the whipped cream, and turn it into a lady-finger-lined mold.
• The hingeFold the cream in only when the gelatine base has begun to set. Fold too early and the cream sinks into a rubbery layer; too late and the base sets in lumps that will not smooth out.
• Two half-cups of sugarThis is not a duplication. One half cup sweetens the milk; the second is caramelized separately and stirred into the hot milk, where it may seize briefly before dissolving.
• "Whip from 3 1/2 cups cream"Period cooks whipped cream and skimmed the stiff froth off the top, returning what stayed liquid to be whipped again. With modern heavy cream a smaller quantity whipped to soft peaks gives a comparable volume of whip, but the equivalence is only approximate.
• Granulated gelatineTwo tablespoons is roughly two envelopes of modern unflavored powder, about 1/2 oz. Half a box is the recipe's own stated equivalent; the strength of period boxed gelatine is not exactly comparable to modern powder.
• "Burnt almond"In this period the phrase means caramelized, not scorched. Blanched almonds toasted to light brown give the flavor; the caramel in the base carries the rest.
• Setting and yieldFour to six hours in the refrigerator, or overnight; unmold by dipping the outside briefly in warm water.