Charlotte Royale Aka Brain Cake Recipes

CHARLOTTE ROYALE CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare your pans: Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment, and spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray. Spray a 12x18-inch rimmed baking sheet (half sheet size) with nonstick cooking spray. Line it with parchment, spray the parchment, and dust it with a light layer of flour. Don't skip this step or you won't be able to roll the cake properly!
• Preheat the oven to 325 F.
• In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the cake flour, ¾ cup (5.25 oz) granulated sugar, the baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, water, yolks, and vanilla extract.
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin to whip them on medium speed. When the whites are frothy, add the cream of tartar and continue whipping.
• Once they start to hold soft peaks, slowly add the remaining ¼ cup sugar, a spoonful or two at a time, until it's all added. Beat the whites on medium-high speed until they're glossy and hold firm peaks.
• Add the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir them together with a spatula until smooth.
• Gently fold a third of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter, trying not to over-mix and deflate the whites. Add the rest of the whites in two batches, stirring delicately.
• Scoop 1 1/2 cups of batter (6 oz) into the 9-inch round pan, and spread it into an even layer. Pour the rest of the cake batter into the sheet pan and gently smooth it into an even layer.
• Bake the cakes at 325 F for 14-16 minutes, until they are a light golden brown and the cake springs back when lightly pressed. The two cakes might be done at different times, so watch them both carefully. Cool the cakes on a wire rack until they are at room temperature.
• Once cool, spread the strawberry jam in a thin layer on top of the entire surface of the sheet cake.
• Beginning at the long end nearest to you, start rolling the cake into a spiral, peeling the parchment off the back as you roll. Once it is a tight spiral, wrap cling wrap around the roll and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours. This chilling time will make the cake much easier to cut and will give you cleaner slices. The cake can be refrigerated overnight if desired.
• To assemble this recipe, you'll need a 3 or 4 quart round bowl. The exact size of every bowl will vary, so it helps if you're flexible during the assembly process! Line the bowl with plastic wrap, extending up and over the sides of the bowl.
• Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the Swiss roll into slices between 1/2 inch-1 inch thick. If you're using a smaller bowl, you can make thicker slices, but if you're using a larger bowl, you'll need more pieces so you should err on the side of thinner cake slices. My bowl is about 3 1/2 quarts and my slices were about 3/4-inch thick.
• Press the slices into the bowl, right up next to each other, covering the bottom and sides of the bowl. The cake slices can be squished together to get the most even coverage-the goal is to have as few gaps between cake slices as possible! When you get to the top of the bowl, you can cut the slices to fit the top of the bowl, re-roll them so they're smaller, or otherwise manipulate them to get an even layer at the top of the bowl.
• To make the filling, whip the cream and powdered sugar together until they form firm peaks. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on the inside of the bowl-this will keep any of the filling from leaking through to the outside of the cake, since it's fairly liquid when you pour it in before it sets. Refrigerate the remaining whipped cream and the cake bowl.
• Combine the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl, and whisk them together. Let the gelatin sit and absorb the water, for about 5 minutes, then microwave for 15-20 seconds, until melted and liquid.
• Combine the milk, almond meal, and granulated sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer, stirring while the sugar dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the melted gelatin.
• Fill a bowl or sink with ice water, and place the bottom of the saucepan in the cold water. Whisk while the milk cools until it is no longer warm to the touch. You want it to remain liquid, so don't cool it so much that it starts jelling together, but it should be fairly cool to the touch when you're done. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, if using, and stir well.
• Fold the remaining whipped cream into the cool milk mixture. Stir in the freeze-dried strawberries, then pour the filling into the cake bowl-it will be fairly liquidy at this point.
• If there's a large gap between the top of the filling and the top of the cake along the sides, you can either trim the sides of the cake, or fill the gap with more sweetened whipped cream.
• Finally, press the 9-inch round of cake on top of the filling, trimming it if necessary. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours, or overnight, to set the filling.
• To serve the cake, remove the plastic wrap from the top. Place a plate upside-down on top of the bowl, then invert the bowl so the cake rests on the plate. Gently lift the bowl up, and peel the plastic wrap from the top of the cake. This cake is best serve chilled, and it can be kept in the refrigerator, well-wrapped, for up to a week.

CHARLOTTE ROYALE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of a 15-x-10-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
• Place the egg yolks and icing sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip until the yolks have doubled in volume and hold a ribbon when the whip is lifted, about 4 minutes. Whip in the vanilla.
• In a separate, or cleaned bowl, whip the egg whites with the salt first on low speed until foamy, then increase the speed to high and pour in the granulated sugar, whipping until the whites hold a medium peak.
• Sift half of the flour into the yolk mixture and fold in using a whisk, then fold in half of the whipped egg whites. Repeat with the remaining flour, and then change to a spatula to fold in the last of the whites until evenly incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, taking the time to ensure the batter is level.
• Bake the cake for about 12 minutes, until the cake springs back when gently pressed in the centre. Let the cake cool for about 2 minutes on a cooling rack, then loosen the sides with a spatula. Sift a layer of icing sugar over the surface of the cake and cover with a clean tea towel. Place a second cake pan over the towel and quickly invert the cake, removing the pan it was baked in. Peel off the parchment paper and dust this surface with icing sugar. Roll the cake up from the 10-inch side with the towel and let it cool completely (cooling it rolled sets its "memory" so the cake won't crack once filled).
• Stir the raspberry jam to soften. Unroll the cake and spread an even layer of jam over the cake. Roll the cake back up again, dust the top with icing sugar. Cover and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
• The cake can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored, wrapped and unrefrigerated.
• Bring the milk up to a simmer along with the scraped seeds from the vanilla bean (or the vanilla bean paste, if using). In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Slowly pour the hot milk into the yolks while whisking constantly, then return the entire mixture to the pot. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes. Strain the custard into a bowl.
• Stir the gelatin with 1/3 cup of cool water and let it soften for a minute. Whisk this into the custard while it is still hot. Cool the custard completely to room temperature, then chill the custard for about 15 minutes, so that it is cool to the touch but not setting.
• Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold this (using a whisk) into the cool custard mixture. Assemble the charlotte while the custard is still fluid.
• Line a 6-cup bowl or charlotte mold with plastic wrap. Slice the jelly roll into ½ inch slices and line the entire bowl, pressing the jell roll slices together as tightly as possible without altering their shape. Pour the Bavarian cream into the mold and place any remaining jelly roll slices on top. Cover the charlotte with plastic and chill for at least 4 hours to set.
• To serve, invert the charlotte onto the serving plate and peel away the plastic wrap. Slice into wedges to serve.

CHARLOTTE ROYALE (AKA BRAIN CAKE)

Steps:

• Cut the cakes into about 1 1/2cm (half inch) slices.
• Butter a bowl (or mold or springform pan) and place 1 1/2cm slices of jam roll around the sides, fitting them tightly together so that there are no spaces for the custard to seep through. Reserve some slices for placing on top of the Bavarian cream (which will be the bottom of the cake when removed from the mold). Refrigerate until you are ready to fill the mold.
• If using gelatine, soak gelatine in 3 tablespoons cold water.
• Heat milk with vanilla over a medium heat. Add gelatine (or agar-agar) to the milk and bring it gently to the boil, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
• While cooling, whisk together egg yolks, icing sugar and salt until smooth, and pour the yolk mixture into the milk while stirring constantly.
• Stir continuously with whisk over a gentle heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. The mixture must NOT boil. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool, then refrigerate until the custard is cold and just beginning to thicken.
• While the custard is cooling, whip the cream until it just starts to thicken, then add the icing sugar. Continue whipping to soft peaks. Fold in the fruit or purée and/or liqueur if using.
• Fold cream together with the cooled, but not set, custard. (If the custard has cooled and set a bit too fast, use your mixer to make it creamy before blending it with the whipped cream.).
• Pour into the prepared dish, top with reserved slices of sponge roll and chill overnight.
• To unmold, briefly place the bowl into warm water, cover with serving plate and invert. Tap gently and ease the bowl off of the cake. Add whipped cream and fruit as a garnish if you like.
• For vegetarian use agar-agar.