Strawberry Charlotte, or a Slightly Different Strawberry Cheesecake

What is a charlotte? It is a type of dessert dating from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its main feature is an outer shell, made of, say, sponge cake or shortcrust pastry, that hides a creamy center, usually made of cream with gelatin and additions such as fruit.

Strawberry charlotte

For me, a charlotte is simply a really good cake. Something that delights everyone who tastes it, not only with its looks but also with its flavor, although I won't hide the fact that the visual effect is probably the most important thing here. To me it is also a kind of cheesecake. The charlotte I'm presenting here especially is one, because its filling is made with quark, among other things. Since strawberry season has just started, it was the perfect choice for a weekend cake. It will be delicious with other fruit, too, though.

I highly recommend it!

Strawberry charlotte

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

Melt the butter and take it off the heat. Meanwhile, separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat the yolks with the sugar until fluffy, almost white, and beat the whites until stiff. Sift the flours and baking powder together and fold them into the yolks, alternating with the beaten whites. Then, in a small bowl, mix a little of the batter with the melted butter and fold it into the rest of the batter.

Line a pan of about 20x30 cm with parchment paper, pour in the batter, level it and bake for 12-14 minutes. Heat the jam in a saucepan.

Take the cake out of the oven while it's still hot. Dust a clean kitchen towel with powdered sugar and turn the sponge out onto it, paper side up. Then gently peel off the paper, being careful not to tear the cake.

Spread the cake with the jam and, while it's still hot, roll it up tightly into a roulade using the towel. Set aside to cool.

Wash and clean the fruit. Blend 350 g of the fruit into a puree and cut the rest into pieces of any size (I cut the strawberries into quarters). Soak the gelatin in cold water.

Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla seeds to the fruit puree. When the gelatin has softened, put it in a small pot and heat it over low heat, stirring. Add 2 tbsp of the fruit puree, mix, then add the remaining puree and mix thoroughly. Add the quark, mix well and set aside in a cool place to cool down. When the mixture starts to set, whip the cream until almost stiff. Fold it into the thickening mixture and finally add the cut-up fruit as well.

Line a round-bottomed bowl with plastic wrap. Cut the roulade into 1 cm slices and use them to line the bottom and sides of the bowl, leaving some for the top (which will later become the bottom) of the cake. Pour in the quark filling, level it and cover with the remaining roulade slices. Then put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably longer). Take it out of the fridge and gently turn the cake out onto a springform pan by flipping the bowl upside down. Remove the plastic wrap, decorate with fruit if you like, and serve.

Enjoy!

Additional information:

1 serving contains about 370 kcal, 13 g protein, 15 g fat, 44 g carbohydrates

Source: "Lisa Kochen und backen – Sweet dreams" 03-05/2012, with small modifications in the method.