Meet Little Strawberry Charlotte. She brings romance with her wherever she goes. Whether it’s a tea party, a birthday celebration or a romantic dinner, you’ll gaze at her beauty and sigh. This lovely Charlotte has luscious strawberry mascarpone cream filling layered with lady fingers and topped with fresh strawberries. I used store bought lady fingers to make life easier but you can certainly bake your own if you wish. I typically make this in spring or summer when the weather is warm and strawberries are plentiful. But since my local stores start carrying an abundance of strawberries around Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be a perfect time to make this pretty little Charlotte.
Little Strawberry Charlotte
A pretty no-bake dessert layered with strawberry mascarpone cream filling and lady fingers and topped with fresh strawberries.
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- â…“ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- â…“ cup (78ml) water
- ½ teaspoon strawberry or vanilla extract
Strawberry Charlottte
- 12 ounces (340g) strawberries, hulled and sliced about 2 cups after slicing
- Âľ cup (150g)) granulated sugar
- ÂĽ cup (59ml) cold water
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened gelatin powder
- 1 teaspoon pure strawberry extract
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Âľ cups (397g) mascarpone cheese, softened
- â…” cup (156ml) cold heavy whipping cream
- 28 ladyfingers
- 10-12 fresh strawberries for garnish
- Clean pesticide free rose for garnish optional
- Clean ribbon for garnish
Instructions
Simple Syrup
- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Do not boil.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a small shallow bowl or dish wide enough to dip the ladyfingers. Stir in the extract.
Strawberry Charlotte
- In a blender or food processor, purée the strawberries. Pass through a mesh sieve to strain out the seeds.
- In a medium-size saucepan, combine the strawberry puree and sugar. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside two tablespoons of the strawberry purée mixture then cover it and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin powder. Whisk together and let sit until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture to the warm strawberry purée mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with an electric mixer on low speed, until smooth. Add the strawberry purée mixture and the extracts. Beat just until well combined.
- In a separate large bowl, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, being careful not to over whip. Fold the whipped cream into mascarpone mixture.
- Slice one round end off of 16 ladyfingers. Dunk them briefly in the simple syrup then line them up along the inner sides of a 7-inch by 3 inch deep springform pan.* Typically you would line them smooth side in facing the filling, but I placed mine smooth side out which gives a smooth look on the outside and it makes removal from the pan easier. (You can also line the bottom of the pan with a cake board** if you don't want to serve the dessert from the base.)
- Line the bottom snuggly with ladyfingers, cutting to fit where necessary. Top with half of the filling, about 2 cups. Then top with a layer of ladyfingers, cutting to fit. Top with the remaining filling. Smooth the top with a small offset spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours.
- Carefully remove the springform pan ring from the base. Separate the base from the cake board, if using. Garnish with fresh strawberries. Brush the strawberries with reserved strawberry purée mixture. Tie the ribbon around the finished Charlotte.
Notes
*To find a 7-inch springform pan, click here.
**To find a 7-inch cake board, click here.