Here’s a dessert to celebrate a victory at war when the French captured a Ukrainian town in 1855. The Charlotte Malakoff has a fortress of ladyfingers protecting a kirsch-flavored almond cream decorated with Chantilly cream and berries. Dessert is worth celebrating; not war. Though I know my Charlotte would not be victorious since I am no pastry chef and took some liberties (well, actually I didn’t follow orders).

My first defeat was with the ladyfingers. Instead of saving the confectioner’s sugar to sprinkle on the piped fingers, I whisked both sugars with the egg whites and then folded in the yolks and flour. But I claim this as a victory since the ladyfingers survived and actually tasted yummy.

Without trouble, I whisked all the syrup ingredients together.

But the almond cream took a beating. Everything was going well at first. I softened the butter in the stand mixer and added the confectioner’s sugar, ground almonds and kirsch. But at this point, I forgot that I needed another ¾ cup of cream that was to be whisked to whipped cream status. Instead I proceeded to make the Chantilly cream and folded that in. So my almond cream had some extra vanilla and sweetness.

I admitted utter defeat when attempting to assemble this Malakoff. I dipped the cut ends of my less-than-perfect ladyfingers into the syrup and formed my weak fortress. I piped in my rogue almond cream (using a Ziploc bag and a fancy tip) and put it in the fridge where I hoped some magic would turn my unsightly Charlotte into a princess.

I surrender.

Recipe for Charlotte Malakoff (Almond Cream Charlotte)

Serves 6


Ladyfingers
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ cup cake flour, sifted
6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Sugar Syrup
2 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons kirsch
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Almond Cream
¼ pound unsalted butter
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
4 oz finely ground almonds (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons kirsch
¾ cup heavy cream

Chantilly Cream
¾ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

You can find the recipe for Charlotte Malakoff (Almond Cream Charlotte) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home.

Tasting Notes
A bit boozy, so next time I would half the kirsch or leave it out. This dessert is definitely best with fresh berries to cut the richness, but the ladyfingers are charming.

More Charlottes
• Whisk: Charlotte aux Pommes, Crème Anglaise au Rhum (Apple Charlotte with Rum-Flavored Crème Anglaise)
• Whisk: Charlotte aux pommes, crème anglaise au Calvados (Apple Charlotte served with Calvados custard sauce)
• Tartelette: Strawberry Tartelette
• Bake or Break: Chocolate Charlotte
• Cannelle et Vanille: Summer Berry Charlotte

Links
Kitchen Simplicity: The Many Flavours of Whipped Cream

Next Time
Crème pâtissière (Pastry cream) in Crêpes Soufflées au Cointreau (Souffléed Crêpes Flamed with Cointreau) page 182

::Whisk Whenever::
I'm baking my way through a cooking school curriculum using the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook. The "classes" are based on the Le Cordon Bleu curriculum found online and used as a guideline. Not all the items in the curriculum are in the cookbook, but most are. Where the items are not in the book, I try to find a suitable substitution.

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