Prune Charlotte
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the prunes
Soak the prunes in cold water for 5 minutes.
Stew the prunes for 1 hour.
Let the prunes cool, then remove the pits and chop them finely.
Assemble and chill
Whip the heavy cream until stiff.
Fold the chopped prunes into the whipped cream.
Line a dish with sponge cake and fill the center with the prune cream.
Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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
What each ingredient does
- Prunes
- Provide the main fruit flavor and sweetness, and soft body once stewed and chopped.
- Heavy cream
- Whipped into air bubbles that give the filling its light, airy structure.
- Sponge cake
- Forms the outer lining of the dish, giving the filling a supporting base.
The step that matters
Whip the cream until stiff, then fold gently. Whipping cream traps air in its fat network, which gives the filling lightness. Overwhipping squeezes out liquid and makes the cream grainy, and heavy stirring deflates the air, so the prunes should be folded in gently.
“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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