One of my sweet dessert recipes that was on the Bistro menu a few years ago
Charlotte with pears
- 1 kg pears
- 8 sheets of gelatine
- 50 cl milk
- 1 vanilla pod
- 8 egg yolks
- 750 g caster sugar
- 1 small pear liqueur glass
- 50 cl fresh cream
- 175g icing sugar
- 12 spoon cookies
- 500 g raspberries
- 1 lemon
- Put the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water to soften them. Drain them, spin them and reserve them. Prepare a custard. Boil the milk with the split vanilla pod; put the egg yolks in a terrine and work them with 250 g of sugar, then pour the hot milk on top and then cook the cream over moderate heat without letting it boil.
- Remove from the heat, let cool slightly then stir in the gelatin. Let cool completely and add liqueur.
- In addition, whip the fresh cream with 50 g of icing sugar. Also add it to the gelatin custard. Book cool. Peel the pears and poach them in a syrup prepared with 25 cl of water and 500 g of caster sugar. Drain them when they are very tender, then cut them into thick slices.
- Line a charlotte mold with the lady fingers. Cut a few into halves or thirds to garnish the bottom as well. Fill the cookie-lined pan with alternating layers of pear slices and cream. Finally cover with biscuits and put the mold in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.
- Prepare a raspberry coulis by blending the fruit in a blender and adding the lemon juice and the rest of the icing sugar. Mix thoroughly.
- Remove the charlotte from the refrigerator and carefully turn it out onto a round dish.
- Coat it with the coulis and pour it all around, serve immediately.
Refinement and elegance, these are the two assets of this dessert that has become a classic to end a festive meal. The superb Angevin pears are essential for its success.
