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Dessert

Apricot Charlotte

A chilled dessert of apricot gelée layered with cream, ladyfingers, chocolate, jam, whipped cream, and candied fruit.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Apricot Charlotte

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the apricot mixture

  1. Soak the gelatin in a little cold water.

  2. Rub the ripe apricots through a sieve.

  3. Mix the sieved apricots with powdered sugar.

  4. Beat the double cream to a firm froth.

  5. Dissolve the gelatin over low heat.

  6. Add the dissolved gelatin to the crushed apricots.

  7. Stir the mixture on ice until it begins to set.

Mould and decorate

  1. Layer the mixture in molds, alternating colors.

  2. Turn the mixture out of the molds.

  3. Decorate the sides with ladyfingers and iced chocolate.

  4. Use firm jam to fasten the decorations around the cream.

  5. Dress a border of whipped cream around the base.

  6. Intersperse the border with candied fruit.

Set and serve

  1. Set the dessert on ice until firm.

  2. Serve decorated with whipped cream and ripe apricots.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  2. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Gelatin
Sets the apricot mixture so it holds its shape when turned out of the molds.
Ripe apricots
Provide the main fruit flavour and the body of the apricot mixture.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the apricot mixture.
Double cream
Adds richness and a light, airy texture when beaten to a firm froth.
Firm jam
Acts as a sticky glue that fastens the decorations to the cream.

The step that matters

Stir the mixture on ice until it begins to set. Gelatin must be cooled to a partly set state before moulding. If it is still liquid it will not hold its shape, and if it sets too far it will not layer evenly or blend with the cream.

Swap the apricot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gelatin, sugar, cream, chocolate):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Strawberryfits better
  4. Apricotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against gelatin, sugar, cream, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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