Cooking Recipe Charlottka/Charlotte Russe
Recipe Ingredients
Directions
Trim 12 of the ladyfinger halves, tapering them slightly at one end.
Arrange these halves, side by side, curved sides down, on the bottom
of a 1 quart charlotte mold with the tapered ends meeting in the
center. Stand the remaining ladyfingers, curved side out, side by
side around the inside of the mold; if possible, avoid leaving any
open spaces between them.
Beat the egg yolks briefly in a mixing bowl with a whisk or an
electric or rotary mixer. Stir beating, gradually add the sugar, and
continue to beat until the mixture is thick and pale yellow and runs
sluggishly off the beater when lifted from the bowl. In a small
saucepan, warm the milk and vanilla bean over moderate heat until
bubbles appear around the edge of the pan.. Remove the bean and
slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, beating constantly. Cook
over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a
custard heavy enough to coat a spoon. Do not let it boil or it will
curdle.
Off the heat, stir in the softened gelatin. When it has completely
dissolved, strain the custard through a fine sieve set over a large
bowl. With a whisk or rotary or electric beater, whip together the
sour cream and heavy cream until the mixture forms stiff peaks on the
beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. Fill half a large pot with
ice cubes and cover them with 2 inches of water, set the bowl of
custard into the pot and stir the custard with a metal spoon for at
least 5 minutes, or until it is quite cold and just beginning to
thicken to a syrupy consistency. With a rubber spatula, gently fold
the whipped cream into the custard. Pour the mixture into the
prepared mold, smooth the top with a spatula, cover with plastic wrap
and refrigerate for 4 or 5 hours.
To unmold the charlotte russe, invert a flat serving plate on top of
the mold and serve the dessert with a bowl of the raspberry puree.
Recipe By : Time-Like Foods of the World Russian Cooking