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Historic Background
A Charlotte is a lined, moulded pudding which in this case happens to be baked. Some are not, such as Charlotte (à la) Russe which is lined with lady fingers and filled with layers of glacé fruits and cream. The baked version which is lined with bread seems to be the older recipe of the two. The name of this pudding may have been given in honour of Queen Charlotte (1744–1818), wife of George III. We have made it as a tribute to her at Fort York’s annual Queen Charlotte’s Ball.
The recipe is a combination of two dishes from The Cook and Housewife’s Manual (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd; London: Simpkin and Marshall, 5th edition, 1833) by Mistress Margaret Dods, (Christine Isabel Johnstone, 1781–1857). Mrs Johnstone adopted her pseudonym from the innkeeper in Sir Walter Scott’s novel St. Ronan’s Well (1824). She was an excellent Scots cook, but her affinity for fine French cooking is found throughout her recipes.
Modern Equivalent
| 750 ml | Dry Cake or Rusks, crumbled | 3 cups |
| 155 ml | Whole Milk, warmed | ⅝ cup |
| 12–15 | Cooking Apples, pared and cored | 12–15 |
| 250 ml | White Sugar | 1 cup |
| 60 ml | Water (optional) | ¼ cup |
| 1 | Good Quality Loaf of White Bread | 1 |
| 30 ml | Whole Milk | ⅛ cup |
| 250 ml | Sweet Butter, melted | 1 cup |
| 250 ml | Sweet Butter, softened (approximately) | 1 cup |
Soak the crumbled cake or rusks in the warmed milk for about 5 minutes. Slice the apples thinly. Combine the moistened cake/rusks, sugar, and apples in a large saucepan. Stew gently until the apples soften, about 20 minutes. Add water if apples are not juicy. Let cool before placing into lined 1.25 L (5 cup) pudding mould.
Slice bread into pieces about 1 cm / ½ inch thick and remove the crusts. Cut one piece of bread in a circle to fit the bottom of the mould, four to six pieces into triangles to fit top of mould, and remaining slices into thirds to line the sides of the mould. Soak the triangles for the top in milk and half of the melted butter. Spread the soft butter liberally around the edges and on both side of the thirds. Arrange the buttered bread in the mould, overlapping pieces so as to dovetail compactly and add bottom circle. Press edges lightly together to make them adhere. Fill with the cooled apple pudding mixture. Pour the remaining melted butter over top. Arrange triangles to cover pudding. Weigh down with a buttered plate and weight to press everything together; place a pan underneath to catch the buttery drippings. Bake in a moderate oven 180ºC (350ºF) for about one hour with the plate and weight still in place. Let cool about 10 minutes. Unmould onto a decorative serving plate. Serve with cream or red wine sauce. Yield: approximately 10–12 servings.
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