Charlotte Russe (1840)
Reader ratingsEliza Leslie’s charlotte russe, from her 1840 Directions for Cookery: vanilla custard and whipped cream set in a straight-sided mold lined with sponge cake, turned out and iced with lemon.
- Recipe makes
- One 8-inch charlotte, 8 servings
- Prep
- Cook
- Total
The custard cools in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes, and the filled charlotte needs at least 4 hours in the refrigerator to set. Make it the day before if you like; ice it shortly before serving.
Charlotte russe walled with sponge fingers, with one wedge cut.
The story behind the recipe
A charlotte russe is a cold cream set inside a wall of cake: vanilla custard and whipped cream stiffened with isinglass, poured into a straight-sided mold lined with almond sponge, chilled in ice and salt and turned out onto a china dish. The bill of fare for Lincoln’s 1865 inaugural ball lists “Charlotte à la Russe” twice among its jellies and creams, once on its own and once flavored with vanilla.
An ice-house dessert
Eliza Leslie put her charlotte among the “Additional Receipts” at the back of her Directions for Cookery (eleventh edition, 1840). Balzer’s own version isn’t recorded, so hers stands in as the household one.
Leslie’s charlotte depended on two things a home cook of 1840 had to buy or store. The first was isinglass, “the best Russian isinglass,” a gelatin made from the dried swim bladders of sturgeon. An ounce of it was boiled down in water and strained into the custard. The second was ice. Leslie had the cook stand the filled mold “in a tub of pounded ice mixed with coarse salt” for forty minutes to an hour before it was turned out. Her sponge slices were glazed with raw egg white, and the top was finished with an icing of egg white and sugar flavored with lemon. Her other molds, and what became of Balzer’s sweets once the crowd reached the supper tables, are in What Was on the Sweets Table at Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball?
Read more about this recipe
Making it today
Powdered gelatin replaces the isinglass, and a refrigerator replaces the tub of ice, which means about four hours of chilling in place of Leslie’s hour. A springform pan does the work of her drum-shaped mold. We leave out the egg-white glaze, because the setting cream holds the cake in place, and use a lemon icing made without egg.
Leslie lined hers with almond sponge-cake. For a lining with that almond flavor, bake a double batch of the Lady Cake (1840) without its icing and use it in place of plain sponge.
Boil in half a pint of milk a split vanilla bean, till all the flavour is extracted. Then strain the milk, and when it is cold stir into it the yolks of four beaten eggs, and a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Simmer this custard five minutes over hot coals, but do not let it come to a boil. Then set it away to cool. Having boiled an ounce of the best Russian isinglass in a pint of water till it is entirely dissolved and the water reduced to one-half, strain it into the custard, stir it hard, and set it aside to get quite cold.
Whip to a stiff froth a quart of rich cream, taking it off in spoonfuls as you do it, and putting it to drain on an inverted sieve. When the custard is quite cold, (but not yet set or congealing,) stir the whipt cream gradually into it.
Take a circular mould of the shape of a drum, the sides being straight. Cut to fit it two round slices from the top and bottom of an almond sponge-cake; glaze them with white of egg, and lay one on at the bottom of the mould, reserving the other for the top.
Having thus covered the bottom, line the sides of the mould with more of the sponge-cake, cut into long squares and glazed all over with white of egg. They must be placed so as to stand up all round—each wrapping a little over the other so as to leave not the smallest vacancy between; and they must be cut exactly the height of the mould, and trimmed evenly. Then fill up with the custard and cream when it is just beginning to congeal; and cover the top with the other round slice of cake.
Set the mould in a tub of pounded ice mixed with coarse salt; and let it remain forty minutes, or near an hour. Then turn out the Charlotte on a china dish. Have ready an icing, made in the usual manner of beaten white of egg and powdered sugar, flavoured with essence of lemon. Spread it smoothly over the top of the Charlotte, which when the icing is dry will be ready to serve. They are introduced at large parties, and it is usual to have two or four of them.
Recipe makes: One 8-inch charlotte, 8 servings
Ingredients
For One 8-inch charlotte, 8 servings. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for One 8-inch charlotte, 8 servings.
Custard and cream
- Whole milk4 fl oz
- Vanilla bean1/2
- Large egg yolks2
- Superfine sugar2 oz
- Cold water5 tbsp
- Envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin1 1/2Author measures: about 3 3/4 tsp.
- Heavy cream, well chilled16 fl oz
Lining
- Plain sponge cake, in two 8-inch round layers, a day old1 lb
Lemon icing
- Confectioners’ sugar3 oz
- Lemon juice1 1/2 tbsp
- Lemon extract1/8 tsp
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 4 fl oz whole milk
- ½ vanilla bean
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 oz superfine sugar
- 5 tbsp cold water
- 1½ envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin (about 3¾ tsp)
- 16 fl oz heavy cream, well chilled
- 1 lb plain sponge cake, in two 8-inch round layers, a day old
- 3 oz confectioners’ sugar
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp lemon extract
Equipment
- 8-inch springform pan, at least 3 inches deep
- Parchment paper
Small saucepan- Two mixing bowls and a small bowl
Instant-read thermometer
Fine sieve- Large bowl of ice water
- Electric mixer
- Serrated knife
- Flat serving plate
Instructions
Line the bottom of the springform pan with a round of parchment and clip the ring in place.
Slice one sponge cake layer in half horizontally with the serrated knife. Cut a 7-inch round from each half: one for the bottom, one for the top. Lay one round in the center of the pan, cut side up, and set the other aside.
Cut the second layer into slices about ½ inch thick, then trim them into strips exactly as tall as the pan. Stand the strips upright around the inside of the pan, between the round and the side, each one overlapping the last a little, so there are no gaps. If the strips run short, fill the last gap with a piece cut from the trimmings.
Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk in the saucepan; add the pod. Bring just to a simmer, take off the heat, cover and leave for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in the small bowl, stir once so it is all moistened, and leave it to soften.
Whisk the egg yolks and superfine sugar together in a mixing bowl. Take the pod out of the milk, then whisk the warm milk into the yolks. Pour everything back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring all the time, until the custard thickens slightly and reaches 160°F (71°C). Don’t let it boil.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the softened gelatin until it has dissolved completely. Strain the custard into a clean mixing bowl.
Set the bowl in the ice water and stir until the custard is cold and just beginning to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. Lift it out of the ice.
Whip the heavy cream with the mixer to soft peaks that just hold their shape.
Fold the cream into the custard in three additions, gently, until no streaks remain.
Pour the mixture into the cake-lined pan, stopping about ½ inch below the top of the strips to leave room for the top round, and smooth it. Set any extra cream in a small glass. Lay the reserved cake round on top, inside the wall of strips, cut side down, and press it lightly.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.
To turn it out, set the serving plate upside down on the pan, hold them together and turn them over. Release the ring, lift it off, then lift off the pan base and the parchment.
For the icing, sift the confectioners’ sugar into the small bowl, stir in the lemon extract, then add the lemon juice a little at a time until the icing is thick and spreads slowly.
Spread the icing smoothly over the top of the charlotte and leave it to set for about 15 minutes before serving. Cut with a serrated knife.
Nutrition
425calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- One 8-inch charlotte, 8 servings
- Servings
- 8
Estimated per serving (8 to the charlotte) from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients, less the cake trimmings.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
This is half of Leslie’s charlotte. It fills an 8-inch pan; her full quantity needs a mold about 10 inches across.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the servings.
Leslie’s icing and her glaze for the cake were raw egg white; our version uses neither. Keep the charlotte in the refrigerator and eat it within 2 days. Contains milk, egg and wheat (and almonds if you line it with Lady Cake); the gelatin is not vegetarian.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; pan sizes and cooking times need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
After Eliza Leslie, Directions for Cookery, in Its Various Branches, 11th ed. (Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1840), A Charlotte Russe
Recipe details
- Course
- Dessert
- Dish family
- Desserts & Sweets
- Region
- American
- Era
- 19th century
- Source decade
- 1840s
- Main ingredient
- Milk & cream
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Occasion
- Dinner party