How to bake the perfect charlotte

Basic recipe

There are many variations of charlotte, but the main products are always the same: apples, eggs, flour, butter, sugar and spices – cinnamon, vanilla. If desired, you can add raisins or nuts to the dough, or even all at once.

In fact, a charlotte is a biscuit with apples, the processes of their preparation are similar. It is important to remember a few main subtleties:

– products for the test should be at room temperature;

– the dough with baking powder cannot be whipped and mixed for too long, otherwise it will rise poorly and turn out to be tough;

– it is better to choose sour apples, for example, granny smith, otherwise the branded sourness in the pie will not work;

– if you decide to add raisins or other dried fruits to the dough, cut back on the amount of sugar;

– do not open the oven during cooking so that the charlotte does not fall off.

We have collected for you some especially winter, fragrant charlotte recipes. Try it – maybe one of them will become your signature dish.

Charlotte on yogurt

Ingredients: a large apple, 2 eggs, 140 g of sugar (preferably brown), 220 g of flour, 1,5 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. soda, salt on the tip of a knife, 240 ml of natural yogurt, 60 ml of vegetable oil, a pinch of vanillin.

How to cook: Sift flour together with baking powder, soda and salt. Mix separately yogurt, sugar, eggs, butter, vanillin. Peel the apple, cut into thin slices and sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour the egg-yogurt mixture into the flour, mix – you don’t need to break the lumps, the main thing is that the flour absorbs the liquid. We transfer the dough to a heat-resistant form, lightly oiled. Top with apple slices and lightly sprinkle with sugar. We bake at 180 degrees for about an hour. Brush the hot pie with syrup. Best served warm.

Apple & Ginger Pie by Tiffani Thiessen

Tiffani Thiessen is an actress, star of the cult TV series “Beverly Hills, 90210” and a talented culinary specialist. She shares her recipes in the “Dinner at Tiffany’s” program, which is broadcast on weekdays at 13:40 on the TLC channel. One of them is winter apple pie.

Ingredients: for the dough: 2,5 cups flour, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, ¾ tsp. salt, 225 g butter, ¼ cup chilled water, an egg and 2 tbsp. water for lubrication. For the filling: 3 sour and sweet and sour apples, 2 tbsp. l. cornstarch, 2 tbsp. l. candied ginger, 1 tsp each ground cinnamon, freshly squeezed lemon juice and vanilla sugar, a pinch of salt.

How to cook: Place flour, sugar and salt in a food processor bowl and toss with a dough attachment. Cut the butter into cubes (1-1,5 cm), add to a bowl and stir again until smooth. Add well-chilled water in several steps (the temperature should be close to zero): at one time you need to pour 2-3 tablespoons and stir each time. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, each forming a disk. Wrap the discs individually with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Peel and chop the apples. In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, starch, chopped candied ginger, cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla sugar, and salt.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. We take out the first disc from the refrigerator, roll it into a cake with a diameter of about 30 cm and a thickness of 5 mm. We put it in a mold with a diameter of 22-23 cm, sprinkled with flour, and gently press it so that there are no voids between the mold and the dough. Pull the dough out to form a sidewall that is about 1,5 cm high.

Roll out the second disc in the same way as the first. Put the filling in the mold, cover on top with the second rolled flat cake so that the side edges of the two flat cakes overlap by 1,5 cm: the edges of the upper one should be above the edges of the lower one. After that, squeeze the sides to mold the top and bottom. Make six thin cuts on top with a knife.

Shake the egg with 2 tbsp. l. water, brush the cake with the mixture. Use aluminum foil to create a “collar” around the cake so it doesn’t brown too quickly.

Bake for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 175 degrees and bake until golden brown for about an hour. Remove the collar 10-15 minutes before the end of baking. Cool the finished cake and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Swedish apple pie

Ingredients: 3-4 medium apples, a glass of flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, large egg, 130 g sugar, 70 g butter, 60 ml vegetable oil, 3/4 cup walnuts (calcined and chopped), 1/4 tsp. salt, a pinch of vanillin, 1 tsp. cinnamon, juice and zest of half a lemon.

How to cook: clean the apples, cut them into slices, pour with lemon juice, sprinkle with sugar (about a tablespoon) and cinnamon, mix. Grease the heat-resistant form with oil, put the apples on the bottom.

Melt the butter, add vegetable oil, sugar and an egg to it, mix, add vanilla and grated lemon zest, mix thoroughly.

Sift the flour with salt and baking powder into the egg mixture, add the nuts and mix. We spread the dough on the apples, level and bake for 50-60 minutes at 180 degrees. If the top is browning too quickly, cover the cake with foil.

Cool the finished pie, cut it right in the form. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.