APPLE CHARLOTTE

I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED to make an Apple Charlotte. It isn't very difficult but it does take time. The basic recipe calls for stale bread; you know the French - Europeans in general, actually - they never waste anything! But, I am always tempted to gild the lily. I made a couple of pound cakes (Maida Heatter's Elvis King Pound Cake!) a few months ago and froze them with the express intention of eventually making one of these delectable concoctions with pound cake instead of bread.

I used Julia Child's recipe, which is completely over the top (minimal work but lots of steps). It was, in fact, the first time I ever used my Charlotte mold (fabrique en France). It's a happy occasion indeed when any batterie de cuisine designated for a particular use functions exactly as it should and succeeds. And even though the mold was silver tin, its heart-shaped handles render it rather fetching to the eye.

Funny thing here: Julia's recipe calls for 6 lbs. of apples. I stopped at 9 apples (not even 3 lbs.) and had more than plenty to fill the mold (I had enough left over to fill a jar of apple sauce). Frankly, I got tired of peeling and coring apples and gave up once my pot was almost full!

So to begin:

6 cups apples, cored and peeled and chopped coarsely into

   small pieces

1/4 cup rum

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup apricot jam (strained through a fine sieve)

3 tbl. unsalted butter

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/8 tsp. salt

Place all the apples into a large pot (Le Creuset Dutch Ovens are the best for this or any stainless steel pot with a lid). Cover and cook over moderately low heat for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Apples should soften a bit. Add the sugar, jam, rum, butter, salt and almond extract and cook on relatively high heat. Bring to a boil and stir vigorously and often. (I let it simmer covered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.) After about 45 minutes the apples should have melted somewhat into a kind of apple sauce/paste. You will need to keep stirring until all of the liquid has evaporated and a spoon draws a line on the bottom of the pan when swiped across. You should have a thick paste which when spooned up it one large mass. Turn off heat and cover until ready to use.

1/2 pound clarified butter 

Cut off the crusts of the bread or cake to make even squares and cut into 3 equal rectangular slices. Cut a round piece for the bottom of the mold with varying shapes to fill in the open spaces before lining the mold. You will need to saute the round pieces for the bottom until golden brown. Place in the bottom of a 3 inch high charlotte tin and dip each piece of bread into the clarified butter and line the wall of the mold, overlapping the slices as you go round the entire wall. Make sure you cut the pieces on the top to make everything level. Fill the mold with the apple mixture until you have a mound which is above the surface of the slices (the apples will sink as the charlotte bakes). Top the mold with more slices of buttered bread until it is completely covered. Pour the remaining clarified butter over the mold filling it completely with liquid. Place the mold into a larger pan (a ceramic dish is perfect for this) and place into a 425º over for 30-45 minutes or until the entire charlotte is a dark golden color. Running a knife in between the mold and the charlotte twill indicate if the bread has browned and finished. Let cool for at least 45 minutes before unmolding or refrigerate overnight and un-mold after reheating in a warm 190º oven for 30 minutes.

1/2 cup apricot jam

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup rum

a dash of almond extrac

Place ingredients in a small pan and bring to the boil. Stir to mix thoroughly and pout through a fine sieve. Brush the outside of the unmolded charlotte with the apricot glaze until very shiny and serve.

BON APPETIT!