Harland: A right Royal recipe

LAST week, Royal watchers around the world celebrated the safe arrival of a baby girl, the newest member of the British Royal family.

Her parents, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, have named their daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, a choice that honors her late grandmother Princess Diana and her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth.

The baby girl, fourth in line to the throne, will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.

Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, has a long Royal pedigree and became popular in the 18th Century when it was the name of King George III's queen.

In celebration of the birth of the princess, this week I'd like to feature a famous dessert, Apple Charlotte.

Apple Charlotte is a golden-crusted dessert made by baking a thick apple compote in a mold or a basin lined with buttered bread. It can be served hot or cold.

Some historians believe the dessert was invented by legendary French chef Marie-Antoine Carême (1784–1833), who, it's said, named it in honor of his former employer’s only child, Princess Charlotte.

I like this traditional recipe from the English chef, food writer and television presenter, Delia Smith:

Apple Charlotte

Ingredients

500g apples

1 Tbsp caster sugar

110g butter

6 slices bread from a large loaf

(about 1/4 inch thick with crust removed)

1 egg yolk

Method

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Rinse them in cold water and place in a saucepan with the sugar and 25g of the butter. Cook them over a low heat until they are soft enough to beat into a purée. Beat them and leave on one side to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 75g of butter gently, and cut each slice of bread into rectangles. Next brush each piece of bread with melted butter (both sides), being careful not to leave any unbuttered patches, then line a pudding basin (around 570 mL) with approximately three-quarters of the bread (or as much as you need). Don't leave any gaps between the pieces – overlap them and press firmly.

When the apple purée has cooled, beat the egg yolk into it and fill the lined basin with the mixture. Finally seal the top with overlapping slices of the remaining bread. Place a suitably sized ovenproof plate on top of the pudding and weight it down with an ovenproof item weighing around 900g. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

After 30 minutes place the basin (with the weight still on it) in the oven to bake for 35 minutes. Then, with an oven cloth, remove the plate and weight, and bake the pudding for another 10 minutes to brown on top. Leave the pudding to settle in the basin for a minute after removing from the oven, then carefully invert it onto a plate to serve.

Simple and delicious. And who knows, some chefs might soon be renaming this classic dessert Apple Princess Charlotte.

Good cooking and good eating!

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