CHARLOTTE ALMONDINE is a variation on the famed "Charlotte Malakoff" dessert. It's a deliciously-decadent thing, a fortress of Cointreau-dipped cookies protecting a soft, almond and chocolate flavored mousse. Shall we make this bit of poetry together?
Charlotte Almondine
The fortress:
1 package margherittes (Stella d'Oro makes these)
1/3 cup orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
2/3 cup water
The mousse:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup super-fine sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 1/4 oz. slivered almonds, pulverized in a food processor along with 2 tablespoons of super-fine sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted in one 1/4 cup strong, hot coffee
2 cups heavy cream, softly whipped
Special equipment - a 4-inch tall, straight-sided dish that will hold 8 cups, OR an 8-cup capacity charlotte mold; a standing mixer; a hand-held electric mixer; parchment paper or wax paper.
First, prepare the almonds. Pour them, along with 2 tablespoons of super-fine sugar, into the bowl of a food processor. Whir them around until they are pulverized to a powder, or at least something approximating a powder. The sugar will keep them from becoming oily.
Pulverized almonds are unconscionably-delicious. Go ahead and taste a spoonful. You'll still have enough left for your Charlotte Almondine.
And by the way, you can prepare the almonds several days in advance. Just store them in an air-tight tub or zip-lock bag.
Next, prepare the chocolate. Pour the semi-sweet chips into a small glass bowl, add the strong, hot coffee, and then cover the bowl. We won't need the chocolate for a minute, so just let it rest.
What's that?
You're not a coffee drinker?
Then just buy a tiny jar of instant coffee. "Taster's Choice" is my choice. Dissolve one tablespoon of the granules in one 1/4 cup of boiling water.
And speaking of Taster's Choice...anyone remember the company's sexy ads from the early 1990s?
Don't pretend you didn't have a crush on the dude who starred in those ads.
Cut out a round of parchment or waxed paper to fit the bottom of the mold. For this recipe, you will not to butter or spray the mold.
Pour water and Cointreau (or whatever orange-liqueur you are using) into a pie plate. Then, one or two at a time, dip the margherites in the liquid. They need only a quick dip -- let them get wet, but not so saturated that they disintegrate.
I should probably mention that margherites are available in most supermarkets. In this country, they are sold by the Stella D'oro company.
Now for the fun part: Line the mold with the margherites, arranging them so their flat side faces the wall of the mold.
As you can see from the above photograph, I arranged my cookies with their flat side facing in.
I hope you'll forgive this minor transgression.
Here's a bird's-eye view of the finished fortress, composed of exactly 18 cookies.
Dip left-over cookies in the liqueur mixture, and then set them on a rack to drain. They'll come in handy in a moment of two.
Now, using a standing mixture outfitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar for 3 minutes.
And be sure to use super-fine sugar, as I recommended earlier. Regular granulated sugar will give the mousse a gritty texture.
Beat in the almond extract...
The Cointreau...
And the pulverized almonds.
Then remove the bowl from the mixer, and set it on your work station.
Remember the chocolate we melted? Smooth it out with a wire whisk. It should be satin-smooth, and free of lumps.
Gradually stir the melted chocolate into the almond mixture.
Using your hand-mixer (or a wire whip) and a medium bowl, beat 2 cups of cream until thick, but not stiff.
The goal here is crème Chantilly-- softly-whipped cream.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the cream into the almond mixture.
I hope you are drooling right about now.
Spoon about a third of the mousse into the cookie-lined mold.
Place 2 of your extra cookies on top of the mousse.
Keep layering mousse and cookies until the mold is filled to the top. The top of the mold should be mousse -- not cookies.
If you have any cookies left over -- I always do -- now would be a great time to eat them.
To help the mousse set properly, weight it down. First cover the mold with a sheet of waxed paper, then top it with a pie plate and a heavy can or a 4-cup measure filled with water. I got the water-filled-measuring-cup idea from Julia Child.
Set the weighted mold in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or up to 3 days.
Yes, this is a dessert you can make waaaay in advance.
When you are ready to unmold the charlotte, run a knife all along the perimeter of the mold...
And then set a platter atop the mold, and invert the two.
Lift the pan up, and Voila! you've got Charlotte Almondine!
See how some of my cookies got mangled? That's because I placed the rounded side against the wall of the mold. Had the cookies been reversed, there would have been no mangling at all.
You can top-dress the charlotte with powdered cocoa...
Or, even nicer, pipe on some stiffly-beaten cream...
And then add some nice-looking raspberries.
Now, I hope I haven't made this recipe seem complicated. Because Charlotte Almondine is actually quite easy to make. And it is out-of-this-world-delicious to eat.
As a matter of fact, it's so delicious that after I tried one tiny slice, I had to immediately get the dessert out of my house, and into the hands of Brenda Johnson. Brenda, as most of you know, is my taste-tester. She was hosting a dinner party that night, and was only too happy to share this chocolatey, almond-y awesomeness with her guests. Hopefully she will leave a review in the comment section below.
Maybe you can drop me a note in the comments field, too. You know how much I love to hear from you.
Here's the copy-and-paste version of the above recipe:
Charlotte Almondine
The fortress:
1 package Margherites (Stella D'oro makes these)
1/3 cup orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
2/3 cup water
The mousse:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup super-fine sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 1/4 oz. slivered almonds, pulverized in a food processor along with 2 tablespoons of super-fine sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted in one 1/4 cup strong, hot coffee
2 cups heavy cream, softly whipped
Special equipment - a 4-inch tall, straight-sided dish that will hold 8 cups, OR an 8-cup capacity charlotte mold, the bottom lined with a round of waxed (or parchment) paper; a standing mixer; a hand-held electric mixer; additional parchment or waxed paper.
Preparing the cookies and lining the mold - Pour the liqueur and water into a pie plate. One or two at a time, quickly dip the cookiesinto the liquid. Then line them up along the wall of the mold, with the flat side of each cookie facing the wall. Place surplus cookies on a rack to drain.
Making the almond mixture - In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes. Then beat in the orange liqueur, the almond extract, and the pulverized almonds. Detach the bowl from the mixer, and set it on your work station.
Adding the melted chocolate - Quickly whisk the melted chocolate to insure there are no lumps. Then slowly fold the melted mass into the almond mixture.
The whipped cream - Using an electric hand-beater or a wire whisk, beat the heavy cream until it becomes thick but not stiff. The goal is crème Chantilly -- softly-whipped cream. Fold the cream into the almond mixture to produce a mousse.
Filling the mold - Scoop or spoon one third of the mousse into the cookie-lined mold. Lay two cookies atop the mousse. Continue layering mousse and cookies until the top of the mold. The top should be mousse -- not cookies. If you have any left over cookies, just eat them.
Weighting and refrigerating the mold - To weight the mousse down, place a sheet of waxed (or parchment) paper over the mold. Then place a heavy can or a 4-cup measure filled water on a pie plate. Set the weighted pie plate over the waxed paper. Refrigerate for 8 hours or up to 3 days.
Unmolding - To unmold, run a knife between the cookies and the wall of the mold. Then set a platter over the mold, and invert the two. If the dessert doesn't release easily, repeat the knife-trick.
Decoration - For a particularly handsome presentation, top the dessert with stiffly-beaten cream, and decorate with blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries.
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