Apple Charlotte is a dessert made with sliced white bread and apples, a quintessentially British dessert, or so I thought until I started to research it! I was going to start this post talking about how Apple Charlotte was ‘invented’ in Britain in the middle of the 18 century for Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, but it seems like this is contested, with some food historians claiming it to be an English recipe and some insisting that it was invented in France. So, I’m leaving it to the historians to slug it out!
I’m living on an Island, in the middle of the channel between France and England, so I’m going to bring you an English/French version of this dessert 
. I’ve used Bramley Apples (definitely an English variety) and I’ve added a couple of splashes of Calvados, an apple brandy originating from Normandy.
I made 6 individual puddings and although, making separate puddings may be a bit more fiddly than making one big pudding, I think that they look so much nicer if you are serving them up for friends (like I was). But feel free to use the same quantities of apples (and perhaps a little less bread) to make one large pudding in a 1 pint pudding bowl.
I also ought to add that you can make these desserts the day before you serve them. Prepare and cook the Charlottes, then cool and leaving them in their ramekins, cover them with cling film (Saran wrap) and place in the fridge. On the day of serving, remove from the fridge and let them come to room temperature before heating for 10 – 12 minutes at 350°F.
Now, all you have to do is to decide whether to serve it with British Birds custard or to serve them with French crème fraîche!
Apple Charlotte
- Prep Time: 30m
- Cook Time: 40m
- Total Time: 1h 10m
- Serves: 6
- Category: Desserts, Pies & Tarts
Ingredients
For the filling
- 6 apples (I used bramley)
- 1/2 cup sultanans
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon calvados (optional)
For the pudding crust
- 12 slices of sliced white bread (approx)
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Peel and core the apples and dice them into pieces of approx 1cm.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the 1/4 cup of sugar, stir and then add the apple pieces.
- Stir the apples on a medium heat until they start to soften but still hold their shape (approx 5 minutes). Take off the heat and add the sultanas and Calvados. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F / 245°C /Gas mark 9
- Butter 6 ramekins (8 ounce).
- Cut the crusts off the bread. Using a cookie cutter, cut 6 bread rounds to fit the bottom of the ramekins and 6 larger rounds to fit the top of the ramekins. Cut enough rectangles to line the insides of the ramekins.
- Melt the butter. Dip each piece of bread (both sides) into the melted butter and then dip one side in the sugar. place the pieces, sugar side down, to line the ramekins.
- Spoon the apple mixture into the center of each ramekin and press down firmly as you want to get as much filling in as possible. Place the top piece of buttered, sugared bread on the top of the ramekin and press down.
- Place the six ramekins onto a baking tray, making sure that they do not touch each other. Cover the whole tray tightly with a piece of tin foil. This will ensure that the bread top stays put on the top of the pudding and is not forced off by the apples whilst cooking.
- Place the baking tray of puddings into the center of the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Check that the charlottes have caramelized by running a knife around the outside of the ramekin and turning out on to a plate. If it has not caramelized, pop it back into it's ramekin and cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes.
- To serve, run a knife around the side of the ramekin and turn out on a plate. Serve warm with either custard, creme fraiche, cream or ice cream.
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