The classic "charlotte" appeared in London in the early 19th century thanks to chef Marie Antoine Careme, who was in the service of Emperor Alexander I. Originally the chef named the cake "Parisian charlotte", but in 1814, when the French capital fell to the Russian troops, he renamed it "charlotte russe" (Russian charlotte). The name has several versions of origin. But the most common is that the pie was named "charlotte" in honor of the wife of King George III of Great Britain, Charlotte, a great lover of apples and patroness of gardeners, who tended apple trees.
At first charlotte was made with white bread and apples, but Karem suggests another version - he replaced the bread with cookies, from which he formed the crusts and filled them with buttercream.
In the Russian cookbook by Elena Molokhovets, published in 1901, she offered several recipes for marshmallows with different bases: black and white bread or rye bread and sugar breadcrumbs. Each of the bases was supposed to "soak" in melted butter with sugar, spices and candied fruits.
Vlad Piskunov, brand-chef at Matryoshka restaurant, thinks the recipe by Elena Molokhovets is too complicated and offers to make his own version of the quiche.
To make the shortcrust pastry you need 50 g sugar, 2 egg yolks, 85 g butter, 120 g flour, 1 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Beat egg yolks with sugar with a mixer until fluffy, add butter at room temperature, mix well, but do not whisk. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix the dough with your hands. Cover with clingfilm and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
For the filling you will need 6 large green apples, 150 g sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 15 g pectin and 80 g raisins. Peel the apples, cut out the core and dice them. Put the sliced apples into a saucepan, add the sugar, raisins and cinnamon, and stew over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. To keep the apples firm, add pectin. Vlad Piskunov advises mixing pectin with a small amount of sugar (about 20-30 g) so that it mixes evenly without lumps.
While the filling cools, prepare the sandy base. The dough should rest for 5-10 minutes at room temperature after the refrigerator. You can roll out the dough on parchment or distribute it evenly with your hands throughout the mold. The chef advises choosing a mold with a removable bottom with a diameter of 24 cm. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent the filling from running out. Bake the dough at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Place the filling in the prepared pastry.
For the decoration you will need 2 large green apples, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 2 tbsp of almonds, 50g of sugar and 30g of butter. Peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Put the apples on a baking tray and bake at 160 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. When the apples have cooled, place them on top of the finished pie.
"It is better to put the finished charlotte in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Decorate the pie with almond petals and powdered sugar. And you can serve each piece with an ice cream scoop," advises Vlad Piskunov.
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