Apple Charlotte Recipe

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Updated on 05/23/22
Apple Charlotte

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm
Prep: 12 mins
Cook: 48 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 4 puddings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
527 Calories
35g Fat
50g Carbs
6g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 527
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g 45%
Saturated Fat 21g 104%
Cholesterol 100mg 33%
Sodium 261mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 21g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 5mg 26%
Calcium 129mg 10%
Iron 2mg 11%
Potassium 262mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Britain is famous for its hearty filling puddings and apple Charlotte—believed to be named after wife of King George III—is a very popular one.

The Charlotte is made with days-old bread that's slathered in melted butter, filled with stewed apples, then baked. Surprisingly, this is not as heavy as some of the equally famous puddings such as spotted dick or treacle sponge, the real heavyweights of British puddings. The delicious fall dessert is surprisingly light, but still comforting.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound apples

  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons salted clarified butter

  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 6 slices white bread, farmhouse style

  • 1/2 cup custard, or whipped cream, for serving

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

    Apple Charlotte ingredients

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  2. Peel, core, and roughly chop the apples into equal chunks. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar on medium heat in a saucepan large enough to hold the apples. Add the apple pieces, stir, then cook gently for 10 minutes until the apples are starting to soften. Remove from the heat and keep to one side.

    Apple cubes in bowl

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  3. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 6-inch pudding basin. Take one slice of the bread, remove the crusts, and cut to fit the base. Brush clarified butter over both sides of the bread disc and then fit snugly into the base.

    Bowl with bread at the bottom

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  4. Remove the crusts from your remaining slices of bread, keep one slice to one side for the lid and cut the remaining into rectangles approximately 3 x 1 1/2 inch. You will need enough rectangles to line the sides of the pudding basin with a slight overlap and reaching to the upper rim of the bowl. Paint the bread with lots of clarified butter; the bread should be well saturated.

    Bowl lined with bread and brushed with butter

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  5. Fill the bowl with the cooked apples.

    Bread bowl filled with apples

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  6. Cut the last slice of bread into a circle and lay on the top, butter well. If you do not have enough bread to cut a circle, you can use leftovers and cut into triangles; it will still work well. Remember to use lots of butter.

    uncooked Apple Charlotte

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  7. Cut a circle of thick cardboard to fit inside the rim of the bowl. Cover this with foil and lay on top of the Charlotte. The lid now needs to be weighted down. Use a ramekin or small ovenproof dish that will sit comfortably on the top and fill with small stones or pie weights.

    Apple Charlotte with foil lid

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  8. Place the dish on a baking sheet and cook in the center of the preheated oven for 30 minutes until the bread is golden down the sides. You can see this by gently lifting the cardboard lid and seeing if the edges are turning golden brown. Once this happens, remove the cardboard lid and cook for 8 minutes longer to brown the top. It will not go as golden as the sides but don't worry; this will be the base when cooked.

    Apple Charlotte on a plate

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

  9. Remove from the oven, remove the cardboard lid, and cover with a plate. Flip over and the Charlotte should drop neatly onto the plate. Serve immediately with custard or whipped cream.

    Apple Charlotte

    The Spruce / Elaine Lemm