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Strawberry Charlotte Russe
Cut large firm strawberries lengthwise; dip them into liquid gelatine and line a plain mould, placing the flat side against the mould. If the mould is on ice the jelly will harden at once and hold the berries in place. Fill the center with charlotte made of a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. Soak an even tablespoonful of gelatine in one tablespoonful of cold water, then dissolve it with a little boiling water. Add to the whipped cream a tablespoonful of powdered sugar. Then turn in slowly the dissolved gelatine, beating all the time. When it begins to stiffen turn it into the mould with the strawberries.
A moulded whipped-cream charlotte set with gelatine, decorated with split berries suspended in clear jelly. The whole thing hinges on gelatine temperature: too hot and it thins the cream, too cool and it seizes into threads before it is mixed in.
- The hinge: gelatine temperatureDissolve the gelatine, then let it cool until it is barely warm to the touch but still fluid, and pour it into the cream in a thin stream while beating steadily. Added hot it deflates the cream; added cold it sets on contact and leaves rubbery strings through the mould.
- An even tablespoonful of gelatineThree teaspoons, roughly 9-10 g, which is a little more than one standard modern envelope of powdered gelatine (2 1/4 tsp, about 7 g). Gelatine strengths varied, so one envelope per pint of cream is a reasonable modern reading and gives a soft set that still slices.
- A pint of creamTwo cups of heavy or whipping cream, at least 36% fat. Chill the bowl and beaters; cream whipped near room temperature will not hold the gelatine. Whip to stiff peaks but stop before it looks grainy.
- The liquid gelatine for liningThe recipe never says what this is. It appears to be a separate clear jelly; a small quantity of water or strained strawberry juice set with gelatine and lightly sweetened will answer. Dip the split berries and set them flat side against the chilled mould as directed, and chill until firm before filling.
- Mould on iceA bowl of ice water under the mould, or twenty minutes in the freezer beforehand. A modern refrigerator does the same job more slowly; the point is a cold metal surface so the jelly grips the berries instead of sliding them out of place.
- Powdered sugarIn this period the term usually meant finely ground granulated sugar rather than modern cornstarch-bearing confectioners' sugar; either will serve. A single tablespoon for a pint of cream is barely sweet by current taste, and two to three tablespoons suits most palates.
- Setting and unmouldingChill at least four hours, preferably overnight. Dip the mould in hot water for a few seconds, run a thin knife around the rim, and invert onto a chilled plate.
- YieldA pint of cream roughly doubles in volume when whipped, enough to fill a mould of about a quart to a quart and a half and serve six to eight. Best eaten the day it is made; the berries weep and the jelly clouds by the second day.
A charlotte russe is properly a mould lined with sponge fingers and filled with Bavarian cream, generally credited to the French chef Antonin Carême in the early nineteenth century and said to have been named in honour of the Russian court he served for a time. By 1900 American cookbooks had loosened the term: any sweetened whipped cream stiffened with gelatine and turned out of a mould might be called a charlotte, with or without cake. This version drops the sponge in favour of a jelly lining studded with halved strawberries, a decorative moulding technique of the kind also used for a chartreuse. Packaged granulated gelatine was becoming widely available in this period, and moulded desserts were popular in American household cookery — a showpiece that needed no oven, only ice.