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Dessert

Charlotte Russe

A chilled dessert of whipped cream and gelatine set in a mould lined with sponge cake.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Sterrett, Laura C · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 38 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Charlotte Russe

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mould

  1. Cut stale sponge cake into slices about half an inch thick.

  2. Line three moulds with the slices, leaving a space of half an inch between the slices.

  3. Set the moulds where they will not be disturbed until the filling is ready.

  4. Fill a deep tin pan about one-third full of snow or pounded ice.

  5. Set another pan that will hold at least four quarts into the ice-filled pan.

Whip the cream

  1. Put one and a half pints of cream into a deep bowl or pail (a whip-churn is better); if the cream is thick, use one pint of cream and a half pint of milk.

  2. Whip to a froth.

  3. When the bowl is full, skim the froth into the pan standing on the ice, and repeat until the cream is all froth.

  4. Draw the froth to one side with the spoon, turn the milk-like cream back into the bowl, and whip again.

  5. Have the cream ice-cold when beginning to whip it; put a lump of ice into the cream while whipping.

Make the filling and set

  1. When the cream is all whipped, stir in two-thirds cup powdered sugar, one teaspoon vanilla, and half a box of gelatine soaked in cold water for one hour and dissolved in boiling water (about half a cup).

  2. Stir from the bottom of the pan until the mixture begins to grow stiff.

  3. Fill the moulds and set them on the ice in the pan for one hour, or until sent to the table.

  4. When ready to dish, loosen lightly at the sides and turn out on a flat dish.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

351Calories
15 gProtein
19 gFat
30 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Waternot in our table0
Fruitnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Sterrett, Laura C. 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. See the original page.

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. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Coffee + teatop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methyl-3-(methyldithio)furan (thiamin, meat).

  3. Tea + lemontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together610 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Coffee + vanillatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,391 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Cream
Whipped into a light foam that gives the charlotte its airy, light texture.
Gelatine
Sets the whipped cream so the filling holds its shape when turned out.
Eggs
Yolks thicken the custard and whites add lightness through their foam.
Sponge cake (in the method)
Forms the sturdy outer shell that holds the cream filling in shape.
Sugar
Sweetens the filling and balances the richness of the cream.

The step that matters

Keeping the cream ice-cold while whipping. Cold cream holds air far better than warm cream, so the froth stays stiff and the filling sets light instead of collapsing or turning heavy.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, milk, sugar, coffee, tea, vanilla, egg):

  1. Peachfits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Strawberryfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream, milk, sugar, coffee, tea, vanilla, egg. 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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