Charlotte Royale Recipe
In coming up with this recipe I borrowed liberally from Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat’s The Art of the Cake. I liked the details they added (especially the finishing sauce) which I’m sure will produce a superior Charlotte. Or at least I’m pretty sure…so don’t try this until I’ve done it, K?
For the jelly roll:
1/2 recipe joconde
2-3 ounces heavy syrup
1 1/2 cups orange marmalade, melted and strained
For the filling:
1 recipe mango mousse
For the rum syrup:
1 tablespoon heavy syrup
1 tablespoon light rum
For the glaze:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 ounces (1/4 cup) cold water
2 ounces (1/4 cup) strained orange juice
1 3/4 ounces (1/4 cup) sugar
To serve:
1 recipe crème anglaise spiked with two tablespoons light rum.
Prepare the joconde according to directions, except you’ll be using only half the batter to cover the same size (13″ x 18″) pan. The reason for this? Because you want a tighter roll and that means a thinner joconde sheet. Keep in mind that it’ll bake up in less time, about 8 minutes.
When the sheet has cooled, transfer it to a sheet of waxed paper or parchment. Trim the edges with a serrated knife. You’ll have to judge for yourself if the sheet is flexible enough to roll as it is. If it seems rigid, brush on some of the heavy syrup to give it flexibility.
Cut the joconde in two and apply the marmalade to half of the sheet. Then roll up the marmalade-covered half like a jelly roll, being sure to keep the roll tight. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. Cut a bottom layer out of the remaining half and keep it in the freezer.
To assemble, slice the piece of frozen jelly roll into 1/4″ to 3/8″ (1 cm) pieces. You should have about 24 of them. Line a domed Charlotte mold (8″ across) or round-bottomed bowl in plastic wrap, then with the slices. Paint the slices with the rum syrup. Insert the mold into the fridge while you prepare the mango mousse.
When you’ve got the mousse ready, spoon it into the mold, apply the joconde bottom along with an 8″ cake circle, and insert the mold into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. A few hours before serving, de=pan the Charlotte by turning it upside-down and removing the mold and the plastic.
Now prepare the glaze. Stir the gelatin and cold water together and let the gelatin soften. Warm the orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar melts. Add the gelatin mixture and stir until it dissolves. Pour the mixture into a small bowl and insert the bowl into an ice bath. Just as it’s starting to thicken, remove the glaze from the bath and use.
Glazed, the Charlotte can be eaten immediately or held in the fridge for several hours.
Joe,
Are you covering the top of the mold (bottom of the pastry/dessert/confection), with more slices of jelly roll, or are you leaving the mousse exposed? When we make these in the bakery, or back in school, we made a whole recipe of sponge, in a full commercial sheet pan and used half for the jelly roll and half for the bottom, with extras to use for other purposes. OR we made a crisp meringue disc to finish the bottom off with.
While I don’t think the extra cake added much in the way of flavor, it surely made it easier to serve.
That’s true…a bottom layer does make a difference on these. Maybe that’s a better use for the other half of the joconde…
Thanks!
– J
Joe,Are you covering the top of the mold (bottom of the patrsy/dessert/confection), with more slices of jelly roll, or are you leaving the mousse exposed? When we make these in the bakery, or back in school, we made a whole recipe of sponge, in a full commercial sheet pan and used half for the jelly roll and half for the bottom, with extras to use for other purposes. OR we made a crisp meringue disc to finish the bottom off with. While I don’t think the extra cake added much in the way of flavor, it surely made it easier to serve.
Hey Raniele!
I have a circle of sponge on the bottom, though I have heard of people using meringue as well. As you say, it’s a heck of a lot easier to serve when there’s cake on the bottom!
Cheers,
– Joe
As an up incoming pastry chef this recipe really caught my attention. I have never heard of a Charlotte Royale before and reading through this recipe makes me want to hop in a kitchen and try it out. I have just finished entremets class and all of these recipes are fresh in my mind so seeing other applications for them such as the joconde is interesting. Throughout entreat class I was informed to hold off on making the mousse until the molds are set is that the same technique here, would it be best for me to wait to make the mousse until all of the other parts of recipe are in place and/or baked off? I was also taught a trick to keeping that joconde soft and pliable; remove it from the hot sheet pan and place it onto a cool one then seal the sheet pan with plastic wrap to keep in the moisture so the cake does not get hard as it is sitting out.
Hey Devin!
Yes I’m a big proponent of making components ahead where possible and leaving the most delicate/sensitive ones until the assembly stage. So I would agree with that. And great tip in the joconde! Thanks!
– Joe