Recipe: Chocolate Charlotte

Name: Chocolate Charlotte
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 7 oz (200 g) dark chocolate (50% minimum); 4 egg yolks; 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 6 egg whites; 5.25 oz (150 g) caster sugar; 12.25 oz (350 g) ladyfinger biscuits or pink Champagne biscuits; 0.4 cup (10 cl) strong coffee

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (24 reviews) · 🍳 9 made it

Recipe Chocolate Charlotte - Chef Patrick Asfaux — Photo: Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 45 min

Cook 5 min

Total 50 min

Servings 6 serv.

200 g of dark chocolate at 50% minimum, 6 egg whites whipped into peaks, 3 hours minimum resting time in the fridge. A chocolate charlotte is tempered chocolate that gains stability with the egg whites, all held together by biscuits soaked in cold coffee.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

7 oz (200 g) dark chocolate (50% minimum)
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream
6 egg whites
5.25 oz (150 g) caster sugar
12.25 oz (350 g) ladyfinger biscuits or pink Champagne biscuits
0.4 cup (10 cl) strong coffee

Step-by-step directions

1 First, cut the ends off your biscuits on one side so they stand upright in the mold. Cut others in half on the bias and shape them into hearts, and do a test at the bottom of your mold to create a rosette pattern. On a large plate, line up your biscuits with the rounded side down and, using a pastry brush, soak them thoroughly with cold coffee. Reserve in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2 Over a bain-marie, quickly melt the chocolate until it's just warm. Smooth it with a whisk and add your 4 egg yolks, then your 2 tablespoons of cream and put in the fridge while you whip the egg whites into peaks. Just at the end, tighten them (beat harder) with the sugar. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate using a wooden spatula, lifting and cutting carefully, then reserve in the fridge.

3 Assembling the charlotte. Put your rosette at the bottom, rounded side facing out, and arrange your ladyfinger biscuits all around with the cut end at the bottom and the rounded side facing out. Then, using a knife, trim the excess height of the biscuits. Keep all these small trimmings and the remaining biscuits, cut them into small cubes and let them soak in the remaining coffee.

4 Pour 3 cm of your chocolate cream, then a pinch of trimmings. Continue this way until you reach the top of the mold, then put in the refrigerator (minimum 3 hours).

5 Unmold your chocolate charlotte onto a nice round plate with a beautiful ribbon around it and dust with a mixture of cocoa and icing sugar. Serve for example with English vanilla custard with roasted hazelnut pieces. You can also be creative by replacing the ladyfinger biscuits with pink Reims biscuits or cat's tongue biscuits. Try this chocolate charlotte and tell us about your guests' reactions! For this recipe, I used an exceptional chocolate. As usual, my friend Sophie sent me an fair trade chocolate from the Tumaco province in Colombia, 65%, with very smooth flavors and no bitterness whatsoever, a real treat. www.casaluker.com, contact@casaluker.fr

A chef's advice

In Belgium, ladyfinger biscuits are often replaced with pink Reims biscuits or cat's tongue biscuits, to break up the sweetness of the chocolate a bit with something crispy that holds up better to the moisture of the coffee. Some pastry chefs from Antwerp even add a splash of cherry brandy to the coffee for soaking. A variation that changes everything.