Why is charlotte called charlotte. Desktop cookbook

Charlotte is loved all over the world, but somewhere it's a pudding, somewhere it's a cold dessert, and in Russia it's a simple apple pie. In this article I will tell you about the history of the origin of this many-sided sweetness, about her travels around the world.

Charlotte is a simplified, folk, one might say affectionate derivative of "Charlotte".

There are two versions of the origin of the name:

1) Most of the legends associated with the creation of charlotte indicate that it comes from the female name "Charlotte".

2) Some culinary scientists claim (based on English recipes of the 15th century and later, which is credible) that the name of the dessert charlotte comes from the English word charlyt, which means a dish made from beaten eggs, sugar and milk. In the 15th century, in England, by the way, a meat dish with the same name was also popular.

From various sources, I have collected almost all available versions of the origin of Charlotte, some of them are quite funny:

1) Be that as it may, but all modern types of charlotte come from the English pudding. I put this most realistic, in my opinion, version at the very beginning, so as not to confuse you. It was the British who came up with this dessert, and what we have now arose relatively recently. In foggy Albion, it seems that puddings are prepared from everything in the world. The recipe for English charlotte is very simple, although there are also many options. That first and simple charlotte was a cold dessert, the so-called "raw", when moistened slices of bread were stacked in layers, interspersed with chopped fruit.

The basis of both cold / raw and baked charlotte is moistened slices of bread or biscuit, which are laid out in a small form, filling the middle with stewed fruit. The most common and favorite option is apple charlotte. But slices of bread are moistened in everything, and in dissolved butter, and in syrup from under stewed fruits, and in wine, and in Russia they were very fond of moistening bread in a mixture of eggs and milk (Oh, how many centuries have passed, but we have still love to soak bread slices for toast in this egg-and-milk mixture).

2) This version is also English, but with royal participation.

In the 18th century, King George III ruled Great Britain; his wife, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was the patroness of apple growers. It is believed that it was she who invented the Charlotte apple dessert. Of course, I did not search much, but I did not find any confirmation of this theory. Since this pudding existed before Queen Charlotte, I think she improved the recipe, but again, there is no information about this. But this version is beautiful, I do not argue.

3) Many people know the romantic legend about the creation of charlotte by a certain chef from the UK, who was hopelessly in love with a girl named Charlotte, for whom he created a wonderful apple dessert and named it after his beloved. Name, place of residence or work, but at least the time of life is lost forever, except for a dessert with a beautiful name. A doubtful version, but lives and lives for a long time.

4) The French chef Marie Antoine Karem, who lived at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, is often called the creator of charlotte, he was one of the founders of modern culinary arts, "haute cuisine", he was called "the cook of kings and the king of cooks". But he modified the charlotte, creating its new look, which is now called Charlotte Russe.

Charlotte evolution.
Despite the fact that charlotte is prepared with many fruits, the whole world fell in love with its apple version.
So, initially charlotte is a bread pudding, and its cold version, "raw". Those. slices of bread moistened with syrup from under boiled fruits were folded into the form in layers, these fruits were laid out between the bread, everything was covered with slices of bread.
Then they began to bake charlotte, the bread was already soaked in melted butter or wine, and even in a mixture of eggs and milk. But bread slices were already laid out not in layers, but along the bottom and along the walls of the form, filling the middle with stewed fruit.
Antoine Karem made charlotte an elegant and very delicate dessert, replacing bread with Savoyardi biscuits and biscuit slices, and apple filling with Bavarian cream.
In Russia, in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the flow of foreign chefs, recipes for charlotte also poured in, which adapted to our Russian realities, as a result of which charlotte from rye bread was born. But Charlotte Russe did not take root. At the beginning of the 20th century in our country, charlotte turned into a very simple biscuit pie with apples, which every housewife knows. So many generations grew up on a simple recipe for apple charlotte. And although our women are so talented that there are a great many variations of the simplest pie at the moment, everyone still dearly loves the classic charlotte recipe, this is not even a recipe, but the proportions that everyone supplements to their liking: 1 glass of flour, 1 glass of sugar, 4 eggs, 0.5 teaspoon of soda, slaked with vinegar. Nowadays, baking soda is replaced with baking powder and vanilla sugar is added.

Despite the fact that Charlotte Russe did not take root in Russia, it is very popular in Europe and America. Speaking of America!
Charlotte came to this continent along with immigrants, but very quickly a legend was born that one American chef from a city called Charlotte came up with charlotte. To the credit of the Americans, they somewhat modified the charlotte, but for the better, giving rise to a new and wonderful pie, making it truly national and their pride.

Illustration from Karem's book, he is on the right.

How it was: Antoine Carem is said to have modified charlotte in 1802, laying out the form not with bread, but with Savoyardi (“Ladyfingers”) biscuits, filling the middle with Bavarian cream with gelatin. Such charlotte was a cold dessert and was called "Paris charlotte". But in 1814, Russian Tsar Alexander I entered Paris as a winner, for whom Karem prepared his dessert. Since then, this cake has been known worldwide as "Charlotte Russe".

5) I left the most beautiful and funny for you in the end.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, there were many German bakeries in Russia that prepared this dessert from the remnants of bread and bakery products. The Russians laughed and said that the wives of the Germans save money and even make pies from crackers, and the wives themselves, summarizing, were called Charlottes behind their backs. The name Charlotte was very popular at that time and became a household name for any German woman living in Russia.

6) In America, they believe that their national charlotte was invented by a certain chef from the city of Charlotte, which is somewhat doubtful, given the similarity with the English recipe. Most likely, charlotte was brought by immigrants. In the 19th century, a saying appeared in America that is said when speaking of a typically American phenomenon or object: "As American as apple pie" ("As American as an apple pie").

Now in the world three main types of charlotte are firmly established, from which all cooks are already dancing.

1. English charlotte pudding, made from bread slices and apples, can be either "raw" or baked.

2. Charlotte Russe, born of the great Antoine Karem. This charlotte is prepared by laying out the form with savoiardi cookies, Bavarian cream with gelatin is poured into the form. Nowadays, Bavarian cream is mixed with various berry and fruit purees or chocolate, and jelly, most often berry, is poured on top of the cake.

3. Modern Russian charlotte with apples, which is a classic biscuit with the addition of apples to the dough.

Until the middle of the last century, there was even a special detachable form for charlotte and it was called - charlotte! But, unfortunately, I could not find any photographs or illustrations of this unique form, although some books about it say that it is small, narrow and high with a removable bottom. Now, by the way, this is not tragic, since the stores are full of detachable forms of various sizes.

Charlotte with apples - a recipe for a delicious and simple charlotte in the oven and slow cooker. In order for a lush charlotte with apples from a simple recipe to turn out tasty and fragrant, it is best to use sour varieties of apples. And only at home you get the most delicious apple charlotte. Is it possible to find a family in our country that does not cook apple charlotte generously in autumn? Despite the variety of options for its execution, the simplest biscuit, to which apples are added, is still classic.

Charlotte recipe is so simple that even children can do it. This cake is not only loved, but adored by everyone. Many have learned to bake it since childhood. Below you have a classic simple recipe for apple charlotte, based on it, you can fantasize as your heart desires. Simply put, charlotte is an apple pie. Although this pie is called charlotte, the recipe for making it is very similar to an apple biscuit.

Delicious and easy recipes for charlotte with apples

As for the name of charlotte, there is a romantic story about a hopelessly in love chef who figured out how to cook charlotte with apples and dedicated this recipe to the lady of his heart, Charlotte. This is how charlotte pie was born. Charlotte is prepared using a variety of fillings, among which there may be berries common to Russia and exotic fruits, but charlotte with apples is still a classic option. A simple charlotte recipe will be described below.

The taste of the pie is highly dependent on the variety of apples used. It is very important that they are natural, and not beautiful, chemical-filled. Distinguishing good apples is easy:

• Firstly, they will not be completely liquid and shiny, some kind of defect is always found (a small wormhole, a crust in various places, etc. - show that insects would also really like this fruit);
• Secondly, the freshest apples appear in various regions of the country, mainly in late summer - early autumn, when a new crop arrives.

There are a lot of different recipes for baking charlotte on the Internet, but many do not really like to cook dishes that take too much time or have a complex cooking recipe. Many authors suggest separating the proteins from the yolks, but this procedure requires a certain skill so that not a drop of yolk gets into the protein.

Someone recommends degreasing the dishes in which the eggs will be beaten. We will not do any of this, because in this article we suggest you bake the simplest delicious charlotte with apples in the oven, which always turns out. In doing so, we will use a minimum of ingredients that are always on hand.

Charlotte with apples classic recipe

Recipe for classic charlotte with apples

Ingredients:

• 1 glass of granulated sugar;
• sour apples;
• 3 chicken eggs (chilled in the refrigerator);
• Soda (at the tip of a teaspoon), quenched with vinegar;
• 1 cup sifted flour.

Cooking method:

1. Break the eggs into a bowl in which you will beat them. Set the mixer to medium speed and beat the eggs until foamy. If there is no mixer or combine, you can do this with a whisk or even a fork, but then the time for whipping the mixture will increase accordingly;
2. Gradually add sugar to this mass, then soda, quenched with vinegar. Stir the mixture well. Add the sifted flour, continuing to beat for about 1-2 minutes. The consistency of the dough should be like thick sour cream;
3. Line the form in which you will bake apple charlotte with parchment paper for baking. If you want, you can grease it with butter, but I don’t do this (why do I need extra troubles!). If you are using a silicone mold, no paper is needed;
4. In the ingredients of charlotte, we did not indicate the number of apples. This is because apples come in different sizes and also because many people like it when there are a lot of apples. But then our pie with apples inside turns out to be wet. If you want your charlotte to be dry inside, take smaller apples, namely 2 medium apples or 4 small ones. The skin from apples can be cut off if desired, but, in principle, this can not be done. We cut the fruit into arbitrary pieces and evenly lay them in the form;
5. Pour the dough on top, trying to cover all the apples. Level with a spoon;
6. We heat the oven to 180 degrees and put our pie with apples in it for 30-40 minutes. It is advisable not to open the oven for the first 20 minutes so that the charlotte does not settle. We check the readiness of the cake with a match or a toothpick. If the stick is dry and the crust is browned - charlotte with apples is ready! Let the cake cool for another 15 minutes in the oven and serve. You can turn it over and remove the paper. And you can not turn over, as you want. By the way, you can sprinkle powdered sugar or chocolate chips on top for beauty.

Charlotte with cottage cheese and apples

Charlotte with cottage cheese and apples

Unusual charlotte with cottage cheese and apples attracts with its tenderness and softness. By the way, in this pie, the usual flour is replaced by semolina, because of which the charlotte literally melts in your mouth.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sugar;
• 100 g butter;
• 250 g of cottage cheese;
• 1 egg;
• 6 medium apples;
• 1 glass of raw semolina;
• A little fresh lemon juice;
• 1 tsp baking powder.

Cooking method:

1. Wash the apples, remove the middle with seeds and cut into equal slices;
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sprinkle with a little sugar;
3. Punch sugar with raw eggs, add melted butter, baking powder to the mixture and mix actively with a spoon;
4. Wipe the cottage cheese through a sieve and put it into the batter, then pour in the semolina;
5. Let stand for approximately 10-15 minutes. Arrange apple slices beautifully on the bottom of a greased form, pour the dough on top;
6. Put the mold in an oven preheated to 220 ° C, after five minutes reduce the temperature to 180 ° C and bake for another 40-45 minutes.

Historically, charlotte was made from white bread, custard, apples and liquor. Theoretically - it can be done with any fruits and berries. But in practice - the most delicious is still obtained from simple sour apples - for example, antonovka or simirenka - and eggs carefully beaten with sugar. In the simplest version, apples need to be thinly sliced ​​and put on the bottom of a baking dish, and topped with a dough of four eggs, a glass of sugar and a glass of flour. And bake at 200 degrees for only 30-35 minutes.

Traditional charlotte recipe

Ingredients:

• Chicken egg - 4 pcs.;
• Salt - on the tip of a knife;
• Sugar - 1 cup;
• Apple - 1 kg.;
• Soda - 1/2 tsp;
• Wheat flour - 1 cup.

Cooking method:

1. Beat egg whites with half a glass of sugar;
2. Beat the yolks with the remaining sugar;
3. Combine everything together and gradually add flour;
4. Add salt and soda;
5. Add diced apples;
6. Grease a baking dish with oil and sprinkle with semolina;
7. Put the mass into a mold and put in the oven, heated to 180 degrees;
8. Bake 30-40 minutes.

Charlotte lush with apples in the oven

Charlotte lush with apples in the oven

A simple recipe for lush charlotte with apples is bound to settle in the culinary notebook of even the youngest housewife. This pastry is prepared in an elementary way, but it always turns out surprisingly tasty, tender and “airy”. Lush classic charlotte with apples does not lose its taste the next day, solving the problem with an afternoon snack and a sweet snack.

Ingredients:

• Sugar - 1 glass;
• Green apples - 3-4 pieces;
• Lemon juice - 3-4 drops;
• Eggs - 4 pcs.;
• Flour - 1 cup.

Cooking method:

1. The yolks, separating from the proteins, beat with a mixer, adding at once the entire norm of sugar. We achieve complete dissolution of sugar grains, as well as a significant increase in the volume of the mass;
2. Now let's get to work with proteins. To make the mass beat better, add 3-4 drops of lemon juice, this will also help get rid of a possible egg smell while cooking a biscuit. We work with a mixer until a lush white mass is obtained;
3. We shift the whipped whites to the yolks. Stir gently to achieve uniformity. If you want to make charlotte as quickly and simply as possible, you can beat eggs with sugar in one container at once, without separating them into proteins and yolks. But in this case, the cake will come out less "airy".
   Next, sift the flour into the egg mass in small portions, each time kneading with movements from the bottom up. As a result, the dough should turn out smooth and uniform, without flour lumps;
4. Grease a detachable baking dish with a diameter of 22 cm from the inside with a piece of butter, first cover the bottom with parchment (you can use a larger container - in this case the cake will turn out not so high, but no less tasty). For charlotte, choose hard green apples of sour varieties. After cleaning and removing the core, cut into thin plates and lay on the bottom of a heat-resistant container;
5. Pour the apples with the prepared dough and put the mold in a hot oven for 30-35 minutes (until a golden crust appears). We maintain the temperature at 180 degrees. During the baking process, we try not to open the oven once again so that the lush biscuit does not settle.
   You can make sure that it is ready in the traditional way - immerse a match in the dough. If it remains dry, apple charlotte is ready! Slightly cooling the pastries, remove the detachable board. Turn the cake over, remove the parchment and serve;
6. Lush classic charlotte with apples is completely ready! Happy tea!

Apple quick charlotte

Instant apple pie

Ingredients:

• Chicken eggs - 3 pcs.;
• Melted ice cream or white chocolate - 150-200 g or to taste;
• Wheat flour - 1 cup;
• Large apples - 2 pcs.;
• Butter - for lubrication of the form;
• White granulated sugar - 1 cup.

Cooking method:

1. We clean the washed apples from the peel and core, chop them coarsely;
2. We melt the white chocolate for a couple. If you want to add ice cream to the cake, then take it out of the refrigerator early and leave it for a while at room temperature so that it has time to melt;
3. We drive eggs into a bowl, mix them with sugar;
4. Beat the egg-sugar mass with a mixer for at least 5 minutes;
5. Pour the flour into the mixture in small portions, while continuing to beat the dough with a mixer. We should get the consistency of not thick, but not liquid sour cream;
6. Pour ice cream or chocolate into the finished dough, gently mix the mass;
7. Lubricate the baking dish with butter (can be replaced with vegetable oil), put chopped apples into it;
8. Pour the fruit with sweet dough, which must be evenly distributed throughout the form;
9. Preheat the oven to 180°C. You need to bake fast charlotte only in a hot oven so that it can be thoroughly baked;
10. We bake dessert for 25 minutes at a temperature of 180 °;
11. After cooking, cool the pastry a little, then cut into portioned pieces and serve warm with tea to the table.

Charlotte in a slow cooker: a simple recipe

Ingredients:

• Eggs - 4 pcs.;
• Salt - 0.5 tsp;
• Sugar - 1 glass;
• Apples - 500 g;
• Cinnamon - 0.5 tsp;
• Wheat flour - 1 cup;
• Baking powder - 1 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Wash the eggs with soda and break into a bowl, add sugar;
2. Beat eggs with sugar - first at slow speeds, then at fast speeds until fluffy;
3. The more magnificent the mixture is whipped, the better the charlotte with apples will turn out;
4. Add flour, baking powder and cinnamon and knead the dough to a consistency like thick sour cream;
5. Cut the apples into cubes and add to the dough. Usually, when preparing charlotte, this is not done. But with apples, charlotte is much juicier and more tender. Here according to taste and desire;
6. Lubricate the multicooker bowl with butter, sprinkle with sugar a little, just a little;
7. Cut the apple into slices and remove the seeds. First, put thin apple slices into the slow cooker. Sugar is needed so that the apples caramelize during the baking of the pie;
8. Carefully transfer the dough to the slow cooker and spread over the surface;
9. Cooking lush charlotte in a slow cooker in the "Baking" mode for 60 minutes. Usually during this time the cake is baked. In any case, periodically check the cake for readiness;
10. Let the charlotte stand for 5 minutes with the multicooker lid open and remove. To do this, insert the steam rack and turn the bowl upside down. Bon appetit!

Charlotte with apple and banana

Charlotte with bananas and apples

Another interesting option for making quick charlotte is a banana and cinnamon recipe in the oven. And although the baking technology is simple, a step-by-step recipe with a photo will not be superfluous.

The pie is baked quickly and tasty in the oven, it gives the pastries a beautiful blush, a light crust and a little crunch, which makes the charlotte even more appetizing. A little banana and cinnamon will only “decorate” the dessert, so be sure to add them to the charlotte if you want it to exude a pleasant aroma and have an unforgettable alluring taste.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 1 cup;
• Sugar - 1 cup;
• Vinegar - 1 tbsp;
• Apples - 6-10 pcs.;
• Bananas - 1-2 pcs.;
• Cinnamon - to taste;
• Eggs - 3 pcs.;
• Soda - 1 tsp

Cooking method:

1. First of all, we take up the preparation of apples and bananas: we peel them from the skin, we also remove the core from the apples;
2. We cut the fruit into pieces: we cut bananas into thin rings, apples into slices. If you cook fruit after kneading the dough, then it will have time to “settle”, which is not very good for baking a magnificent pie;
3. Beat the eggs with sugar (using a mixer) for 1-1.5 minutes to get a thick, bubbly, and most importantly - a lush mass;
4. We add the sifted flour, soda slaked with vinegar, then carefully mix the mass so that the foam we need does not disappear;
5. Lubricate a mold or a cast-iron pan (whichever is more convenient for cooking) with plenty of oil, sprinkle the walls and bottom with semolina or breadcrumbs, spread (evenly) chopped apples into it. If desired, sprinkle them with cinnamon to taste;
6. Pour the apples with part of the dough, put the banana rings on top, pour the fruit with the dough again;
7. We place the form / pan with charlotte in a preheated oven, bake the cake for 20-25 minutes on fire, a little more than average. From time to time, dessert should be checked with a toothpick for readiness.

After the final preparation, we take out the quick charlotte together with the form from the oven. We give the cake a little time to cool, after which we take out the dessert, cut it into pieces, and then carry it, beautiful and fragrant, to be eaten by our household.

Compared to the standard cooking technology, where the cake is baked for more than an hour, a quick charlotte with apples is made in just half an hour. It is easy to prepare, but has a very refined original taste, for which it is impossible not to fall in love. Prepare your favorite dessert quickly and tasty, and don't let your efforts disappoint you. Bon appetit!

Video "Chartlotte recipe with apples is simple and delicious"

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Interesting facts from the life of biscuit pie with Charlotte apples

Date added: 2014-12-09

If the guests are on the doorstep, and there is nothing for tea, the best and safest option is to quickly bake Charlotte. It takes 15 minutes to prepare, no more. In the meantime, the cake is baking, it will be time to have a nice chat with the guests. And after another 30-40 minutes, it will be time to enjoy this delicious apple pie.

The history of the apple pie "Charlotte"

The history of the appearance of "Charlotte" on our tables is rather confusing, and even the name of this pastry is interpreted in different ways.

Some think that this dessert got its name in honor of the wife of King George III of England, Queen Charlotte, who was a great lover of apples and patronized those who grew orchards.

There is a version that this dessert owes its name to the wives of German bakers living in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They prepared this pie from the remnants of bread and bakery products. It was a novelty for the Russians. They laughed at the frugality of the Germans who bake pies from crackers. The bakers' wives were called Charlottes behind their backs (it was a fairly common German name), and their cake was called "Charlotte".

And some believe that the word "charlotte" comes from the Old English word charlyt, which means a dish made from beaten eggs, sugar and milk.

The recipe for this dessert has also undergone changes. Initially, "Charlotte" was prepared without baking and was a kind of English pudding. Pieces of bread were soaked in syrup made from apples and placed in layers in a mold, between which pieces of fruit from the syrup were placed. The top layer must have been bread. Later, custard was used for layering.

Then "Charlotte" was baked, after wetting the pieces of loaf not in syrup, but in a mixture of milk, eggs and sugar. There are recipes for this dessert with cookies and all kinds of creams.

After the October Revolution in the Soviet Union, by order of the government, the name "Charlotte" disappeared from the menu of restaurants and cafes as a "bourgeois" dish and was replaced by "apple grandmother".

Currently, "Charlotte" is mostly perceived as sponge cake with apples , although there are recipes with pears, plums, bananas. Different culinary specialists also offer their own dough: on kefir, and on sour cream, and on mayonnaise, and with butter. Everyone can choose according to their taste. But in my opinion, the most successful option is still the classic "Charlotte" with biscuit dough.

Pie "Charlotte" - a combination of benefits with taste

The composition of the usual "Charlotte" includes chicken eggs, granulated sugar, wheat flour and apples. It is not burdened with fats, it is easily absorbed by the body. Its calorie content is small, which allows it to be used in the diet of overweight people. It is not contraindicated for those suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Egg whites will fill a person with energy. And apples will be enriched with vitamins, antioxidants, organic acids. Apple pectin binds toxins and removes them from the body. Apples are rich in potassium and iron, which allows you to restore the composition of lymph and blood, besides, potassium helps to strengthen the heart muscle.

Classic recipe for apple pie "Charlotte"

To prepare the classic "Charlotte" you need the following products:

• Chicken egg-3-4 pieces (depending on the size of the egg)
• Granulated sugar - 1 cup
• Wheat flour - 1 cup
• Fresh apples - 2-3 pieces
• Oil for greasing the mold (you can use both vegetable and butter)
• Semolina for sprinkling the mold (you can also take flour for this purpose)

How to make Charlotte Dessert.

The idea of ​​classic charlotte was borrowed from the English: charlotte is a type of pudding that is usually served warm. The bottom of the form is spread with bread soaked in butter or egg mixture. A layer of ready-made apples (boiled with sugar or mashed) is laid on top of the bread and covered with a layer of soaked bread. You can make multiple layers. Charlotte is then baked in the oven and served warm with ice cream, whipped cream or sweet sauces.

Charlotte in Russian

Russian charlotte was invented in London at the beginning of the 19th century by the French chef Marie Antoine Karem, who was in the service of Alexander I. The dish was originally called Charlotte a la Parisienne(Paris charlotte), later the dessert became famous all over the world under the name charlotte russe(Russian charlotte). To make Russian charlotte, the mold is laid out with savoiardi cookies or a ready-made biscuit and filled with Bavarian cream and whipped cream. Then the dessert should be cooled until hardened.

There is a controversial assertion that during the reign of Stalin, as part of the fight against "crooking before the West", it was renamed "apple grandmother". However, in the "Book of Tasty and Healthy Food" from 1952, this recipe is called charlotte.

Currently, in the CIS, charlotte is called an easy-to-prepare pie, which is a biscuit stuffed with chopped apples: mix 4 eggs, 1 glass of flour and 1 glass of sugar, add a teaspoon of vinegar-slaked soda and a few chopped apples, bake in the oven .

Name etymology

There are several versions of the origin of the name of the dish. According to one of them, this recipe was suggested by Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III of Great Britain. According to another version, the name of the dessert comes from OE. charlyt, which means a dish made from beaten eggs, sugar and milk. In the 15th century, a meat dish with the same name was also popular in England. There is a romantic story about a hopelessly in love chef who dedicated the dessert he invented to the lady of his heart, Charlotte.
According to another version, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century in Russia there were many German bakeries in which this pie was prepared from the remnants of bread and bakery products. The Russians laughed and said that the wives of the Germans save money and even make pies from crackers, and the wives themselves, generalizing, were called Charlottes behind their backs, since it was a rather popular name that had already become a household name for any German woman living in Russia.

see also

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Notes

Sources

• Alan Davidson.. - 2. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. - p. 159. - ISBN 0192806815.
• Kovalev, N. I. Dishes of the Russian table: history and names. - Lenizdat, 1995. - 317 p. - ISBN 5-289-01718-6.

An excerpt characterizing Charlotte

- What, sir, do not sleep? - said the Cossack, who was sitting under the wagon.
- No; and ... Likhachev, it seems to be your name? After all, I just arrived. We went to the French. - And Petya told the Cossack in detail not only his trip, but also why he went and why he thinks that it is better to risk his life than to make Lazarus at random.
“Well, they would have slept,” said the Cossack.
“No, I’m used to it,” Petya answered. - And what, the flints in your pistols are not upholstered? I brought with me. Isn't it necessary? You take it.
The Cossack leaned out from under the truck to take a closer look at Petya.
“Because I’m used to doing everything carefully,” said Petya. - Others, somehow, do not get ready, then they regret it. I don't like that.
“That’s right,” said the Cossack.
“And one more thing, please, my dear, sharpen my saber; blunt ... (but Petya was afraid to lie) she had never been honed. Can it be done?
- Why, maybe.
Likhachev got up and rummaged through his packs, and Petya soon heard the warlike sound of steel on a bar. He climbed onto the wagon and sat on its edge. The Cossack sharpened his saber under the wagon.
- And what, the good fellows sleep? Petya said.
- Who is sleeping, and who is like this.
- Well, what about the boy?
- Is it spring? He was there, in the hallways, collapsed. Sleeping with fear. It was glad.
For a long time after that Petya was silent, listening to the sounds. Footsteps were heard in the darkness and a black figure appeared.
- What are you sharpening? the man asked, approaching the wagon.
- But the master sharpen his saber.
“It’s a good thing,” said the man, who seemed to be a hussar to Petya. - Do you have a cup left?
“At the wheel.
The hussar took the cup.
“It’s probably light soon,” he said, yawning, and went somewhere.
Petya should have known that he was in the forest, in the party of Denisov, a verst from the road, that he was sitting on a wagon recaptured from the French, near which horses were tied, that the Cossack Likhachev was sitting under him and sharpening his saber, that a large black spot to the right - a guardhouse, and a bright red spot below to the left - a dying fire, that the man who came for a cup was a hussar who wanted to drink; but he knew nothing and did not want to know it. He was in a magical realm, in which there was nothing like reality. A big black spot, maybe it was definitely a guardhouse, or maybe there was a cave that led into the very depths of the earth. The red spot may have been fire, or perhaps the eye of a huge monster. Maybe he’s definitely sitting on a wagon now, but it’s very possible that he’s not sitting on a wagon, but on a terribly high tower, from which if you fall, you would fly to the ground all day, a whole month - all fly and you will never reach . It may be that just the Cossack Likhachev is sitting under the wagon, but it may very well be that this is the kindest, bravest, most wonderful, most excellent person in the world, whom no one knows. Perhaps it was the hussar who was passing for water and went into the hollow, or perhaps he had just disappeared from sight and completely disappeared, and he was not there.
Whatever Petya saw now, nothing would surprise him. He was in a magical realm where anything was possible.
He looked up at the sky. And the sky was as magical as the earth. The sky was clearing, and over the tops of the trees clouds quickly ran, as if revealing the stars. Sometimes it seemed that the sky was clearing and showed a black, clear sky. Sometimes it seemed that these black spots were clouds. Sometimes it seemed that the sky was high, high above the head; sometimes the sky descended completely, so that you could reach it with your hand.
Petya began to close his eyes and sway.
Drops dripped. There was a quiet conversation. The horses neighed and fought. Someone snored.
“Fire, burn, burn, burn…” whistled the saber being sharpened. And suddenly Petya heard a harmonious chorus of music playing some unknown, solemnly sweet hymn. Petya was musical, just like Natasha, and more than Nikolai, but he never studied music, did not think about music, and therefore the motives that suddenly came to his mind were especially new and attractive to him. The music played louder and louder. The tune grew, passed from one instrument to another. There was what is called a fugue, although Petya had no idea what a fugue was. Each instrument, now resembling a violin, now like trumpets - but better and cleaner than violins and trumpets - each instrument played its own and, without finishing the motive, merged with another, which began almost the same, and with the third, and with the fourth , and they all merged into one and again scattered, and again merged first into a solemn church, then into a brightly shining and victorious one.

The simplest and most popular dessert for tea today, it turns out, has a very rich history. Over the centuries, it has undergone several unexpected transformations, but in any guise it retained its name and remained a simple and tasty dish, which can be prepared not only by a professional pastry chef, but also by a beginner. In short, charlotte or charlotte is a dish of biscuit dough with apple filling. But she wasn't always like that. "Culinary Eden" has investigated and brings to your attention a story about the intricate history of apple pie.

It is well established that the name “charlotte” was given to the dessert already in the second half of the 20th century in the process of natural simplification of ancient recipes. In pre-war cookbooks, you can still find the spelling charlotte, which came from the English Charlotte. The dessert received this name in the second half of the 18th century on behalf of the wife of George III, Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), who is considered the patroness of apple producers. Initially, charlotte did not require cooking and was a type of ancient English bread pudding. Slices of bread were soaked in syrup boiled from apples, pears or apricots, stacked in layers, a fruit filling was placed between them, and the charlotte was also covered with soaked slices of bread on top. (By the way, suspiciously similar to tiramisu, you could say it's a British and older version of the Italian dessert.)

The Oxford English Dictionary of 1796 defines charlotte as follows: “A pudding made in a special form from biscuit biscuits or slices of bread. It comes raw and baked. Of the baked ones, the most famous is apple. Indeed, at that time in England, charlotte was one of the options for pudding, and a fundamental change in the recipe occurred only with French help 20 years later. The famous French chef Marie Antoine Careme, who at that time was considered "the chef of kings and the king of chefs", prepared a special charlotte for Alexander I, the Russian Tsar, who entered Paris on March 19, 1814 as the winner in the war of 1812. The modified charlotte, which even the British would not have recognized, impressed Alexander so much that Karem had to vigorously resist the desire of the Russian Tsar to take the great cook to Russia. Karem prepared Charlotte a la parisienne (Charlotte in Paris), his own version of Charlotte, the recipe for which he learned while in England in the service of the Prince Regent. The English recipe was quite simple:

Charlotte can be prepared with different fillings. Usually these are fruits (apples, apricots, pears), but there may also be berries or jams, preserves, whipped cream with fillings, creams, fruit and berry or chocolate mousses. The advantage of charlotte is its versatility, survivability of the dish in different eras and unparalleled adaptation to different conditions and composition of products.

French charlottes are made all over the world, but only in Russia the French recipe is carefully avoided. Even in the prosperous period of the second half of the 19th century, in the book of Elena Molokhovets, one can see a dozen strudels and “black bread charlotte”. This peculiar recipe can be called a mix of French and American versions on a solid English basis with a real Russian flavor.

By the way, in Russian culinary publications of the pre- and post-revolutionary period, you can find a recipe very similar to the English Charlotte called Babka from white bread with apples. The recipe is very close to the English original, with the difference that the bread is soaked in milk mixed with eggs (as for croutons). Babka is served hot in English style, sprinkled with sweet sauce. The same recipe in restaurant collections of the late 30s is called Apple Charlotte. In it, in addition to the fact that the bottom and walls of the mold are laid out with slices of white bread soaked in the lezon (milk and eggs), the middle is filled with the same slices, mixed with apple cubes and lemon zest, and the filling is also closed from above. Charlotte is baked for 40-50 minutes at medium temperature, "reaches" another 10-15 minutes in the oven with the flame off.

But the neighboring recipe for Airy Apple Pie has French roots. Antonov apples are baked in the oven, and rubbed with sugar, after which the applesauce is simmered over low heat until thickened, and then mixed with whipped proteins and baked for 10-15 minutes, after which it is immediately served directly in the baking dish, otherwise the pie risks settling. With such a cake, oddly enough, it is customary to drink not tea, but cold milk. (This recipe looks suspiciously like a traditional Russian Antonov apple marshmallow.) The ingredients for the fluffy apple pie are as follows:

For 6 egg whites 1¼ tbsp. sugar, 300 g apples and 2 tbsp. spoons of powdered sugar.

Perhaps the strangest variety of charlotte can be considered charlotte in Kharkov, the peculiarity of which is the absence of sugar in the biscuit and sausage filling with a variety of diced vegetables. This seemingly artsy modern primitivism as an appetizer for red port wine may have the most ancient roots, and certainly legitimately claims the name "charlotte". In 15th century England, a meat pie called charlyt (an old English word) was very popular, and from which, according to one of the many versions, the name of the apple dessert comes.

In the early 21st century, charlotte is an easy and quick-to-make biscuit pie filled with applesauce, made from readily available and inexpensive ingredients, with two main cooking options.

Apple pie

Ingredients:
3 eggs,
150 g sugar
200 ml of kefir,
2-3 cups flour
2-3 apples
½ teaspoon of soda,
lemon.

Cooking:
Beat eggs, add kefir and soda slaked with lemon juice. Sift the flour and pour in a trickle into the apple-kefir mixture, stirring constantly, until the consistency of sour cream. Lubricate a baking sheet or form with vegetable or butter, place the chopped apples and pour over the dough. Bake in a preheated oven for 30-40 minutes at 180°C. Readiness can be determined by a brown crust or a toothpick, on the surface of which there should be no traces of dough when pierced.

Charlotte with apples

Ingredients:
4 eggs,
1 cup of sugar,
1 cup flour
2 apples
slice of lemon,
butter,
powdered sugar.

Cooking:
Rinse and dry the apples, remove the cores and cut off the peel. Cut the apples into pieces of the desired size (preferably thin), sprinkle with lemon juice so that they do not darken, and mix. Beat the eggs until fluffy white foam, adding sugar in small portions. Beat always in one direction, drive with a mixer only in a circle in the selected direction. Achieve white fluffy foam. Sift the flour and, stirring gently, pour in small portions into the egg foam. Stir. Grease the mold with oil and sprinkle with a little flour. Pour a little dough on the bottom, lay the apples and fill with the remaining dough. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 180°C. The light brown color of the crust indicates readiness. When opening the oven door, the charlotte may fall off, so leave it to cool in the switched off oven.

This is how the evolution of charlotte made a huge turn, going through recipes that were complex and rich in components and operations, bringing the dish to simple forms, from which it all began. What will happen to Charlotte next? Wait and see.