There are about a dozen popular legends about the origin of charlotte – tales from royal courts, romantic tragedies of unrequited love, and stories of thrifty townspeople who made pastries from moist bread and rusks. There are many modern variations of this popular dessert, but we've selected the 4 best apple charlotte recipes to bake in the oven!
1. Classic Charlotte
Light batter, as many apples as possible, minimal fuss – everything we love!
You will need: 5 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 7 apples, butter, 0.5 tsp baking soda.
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius – let it warm up;
2. Separate the egg whites and beat them with sugar until stiff peaks form;
3. Add one yolk to the whites, continue beating, and gradually add the remaining yolks;
4. Without stopping beating, add the flour and slaked baking soda until the batter resembles thick sour cream. You can substitute baking soda with a teaspoon of baking powder;
5. Grease a baking dish with butter, pour in half of the batter, arrange the apple slices, and pour the remaining batter over them. It's best to use tart apples for a contrast in flavors;
6. You can arrange a few more apple slices on top or sprinkle with cinnamon for aroma;
7. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top is evenly golden brown;
8. Serve with powdered sugar, caramel, jam, sour cream, ice cream – to your taste.
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2. Charlotte with Sour Cream
The batter turns out a bit denser, but wonderfully soft and tender.
You will need: 3 eggs, 6 tbsp full-fat sour cream, 2 cups sugar and 2 cups flour, 150 g butter, 800 g apples, 0.5 tsp baking soda, vanilla.
Instructions:
1. Beat the eggs with sugar until the mixture turns pale. If you don't like overly sweet batter, reduce the amount of sugar by a third;
2. Quench the baking soda in the sour cream and add the mixture to the eggs;
3. Add a little vanilla and well-sifted flour to the batter to avoid lumps;
4. Finally, fold in the softened butter. The brand and fat content are not important for charlotte;
5. Peel the apples, cut them into large wedges, and place 3/4 of them at the bottom of a greased or parchment-lined baking dish;
6. Pour the batter over the apple layer, and embed the remaining apple wedges into the batter;
7. Bake the charlotte for half an hour at 180 degrees Celsius, but if it's still raw inside after that, reduce the temperature to 150 degrees Celsius and bake for another 10 minutes;
8. Before serving, invert the pie so that the apples are beautifully arranged on top.
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3. Charlotte with Oatmeal and Kefir
This charlotte recipe has fewer calories and significantly more health benefits!
You will need: 3 eggs, 1 cup kefir, 6 apples, 0.5 cup flour and 0.5 cup rolled oats, 3 tsp honey, 1 tsp baking powder.
Instructions:
1. In a deep bowl, mix the oats, flour, 1 egg, honey, and kefir until the batter is smooth. The consistency should be liquid, similar to pancake batter;
2. Separately whisk the whites of the remaining eggs and fold them into the batter. You won't need the yolks;
3. Wait for half an hour for the oats to swell and the mixture to thicken;
4. In the meantime, slice the apples and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius;
5. Add baking powder to the batter and something to your taste: cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa;
6. Arrange the apples in a greased dish, pour the batter over them, and bake for half an hour.
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4. Black Bread Charlotte
Traditional charlotte was made from leftover bread, and we've tried to recreate the recipe!
You will need: 2 slices of black bread, 2 cups sour cream, 1 cup sugar, 12 apples.
Instructions:
1. Take stale bread and grate it on a coarse grater – you'll get approximately 2 cups of breadcrumbs;
2. Peel the apples and slice them, sprinkle lightly with sugar, and let sit for 10 minutes;
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius – let it warm up;
4. Layer breadcrumbs in a baking dish, then apple slices, and sprinkle half of the remaining sugar over them;
5. Repeat once more: breadcrumbs, apples, sugar;
6. Pour sour cream over the charlotte and add the final layer of breadcrumbs;
7. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top layer is noticeably browned.