Strawberry & raspberry Charlotte Royale
Charlotte Royale is one of two classic desserts that are made in a similar way: Charlotte Russe uses the same mousse filling, but is lined with sponge fingers rather than Swiss roll. Either would make a great dessert to eat sat by a riverbank in Oxford.
SERVES 8 PREP 30min, plus cooling and chilling COOK 10min
• 1tsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 3 x 20cm ready-made Swiss roll cakes, each cut into 5mm slices
• 200g raspberries
FOR THE MOUSSE
• 16 gelatine leaves
• 500ml good-quality fresh custard
• 300ml good-quality strawberry or raspberry sauce
• 6 egg whites*
• 600ml double cream
TO SERVE
• 200g mixed summer fruit (strawberries, raspberries and redcurrants)
• A few sprigs of fresh mint
1 Put the gelatine leaves for the mousse into a bowl of cold water and leave to soak for 5min.
2 Meanwhile, brush the oil all over the inside of a 3-litre glass bowl, then line with clingfilm, smoothing it out and pressing right to the edges.
Arrange the slices of Swiss roll inside the bowl, so they cover the sides completely. Set aside.
3 Back to the mousse. In a medium saucepan, gently warm the custard over a low heat. Lift the gelatine out of the bowl and squeeze out any excess water, then add to the pan of warmed custard. Add the strawberry or raspberry sauce and continue to gently heat, stirring until the gelatine has completely dissolved. Remove the
pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
4 Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl to stiff peaks. Whip the double cream in a separate bowl.
5 When the custard mixture is cool, fold in the cream with a large metal spoon, then fold in the egg whites, mixing carefully until you have a smooth mousse.
6 Fill the bottom of the sponge-lined bowl with the raspberries, then spoon over the mousse and level the top.
Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 4hr and up to 24hr.
7 When ready to serve, upturn the bowl onto a large platter or cake stand. Lift off the bowl and remove the clingfilm, then decorate with the strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants and mint sprigs.