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Charlotte with pears

One of my sweet dessert recipes that was on the Bistro menu a few years ago

Charlotte with pears

Charlotte with pears

  • 1 kg pears
  • 8 sheets of gelatine
  • 50 cl milk
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 750 g caster sugar
  • 1 small pear liqueur glass
  • 50 cl fresh cream
  • 175g icing sugar
  • 12 spoon cookies
  • 500 g raspberries
  • 1 lemon
  1. Put the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water to soften them. Drain them, spin them and reserve them. Prepare a custard. Boil the milk with the split vanilla pod; put the egg yolks in a terrine and work them with 250 g of sugar, then pour the hot milk on top and then cook the cream over moderate heat without letting it boil.
  2. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly then stir in the gelatin. Let cool completely and add liqueur.
  3. In addition, whip the fresh cream with 50 g of icing sugar. Also add it to the gelatin custard. Book cool. Peel the pears and poach them in a syrup prepared with 25 cl of water and 500 g of caster sugar. Drain them when they are very tender, then cut them into thick slices.
  4. Line a charlotte mold with the lady fingers. Cut a few into halves or thirds to garnish the bottom as well. Fill the cookie-lined pan with alternating layers of pear slices and cream. Finally cover with biscuits and put the mold in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.
  5. Prepare a raspberry coulis by blending the fruit in a blender and adding the lemon juice and the rest of the icing sugar. Mix thoroughly.
  6. Remove the charlotte from the refrigerator and carefully turn it out onto a round dish.
  7. Coat it with the coulis and pour it all around, serve immediately.

Refinement and elegance, these are the two assets of this dessert that has become a classic to end a festive meal. The superb Angevin pears are essential for its success.