Charlotte Royale Cake Recipe

Take a bite out of summer and make this stunning cake - raspberry Charlotte Royale. Lined with a rolled biscuit and filled with silky Bavarian cream and fresh raspberries, the dessert looks astonishing. Rich, sweet, and delicious - you will surely get back for more!

After a pretty-in-pink Lychee Cake, here is another gorgeous dessert - Charlotte Royale! 

It seems there is something so irresistible about Charlotte cakes that takes my attention. I think it is their external beauty, a combination of flavors and beautiful slices.

Charlotte cake history

There are different versions of the Charlotte cake origin, but the most common one is that the cake originated in Britain, probably in the late 1700s.

The dessert took its name from Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III.

On those days, the Charlotte was filled with apple compote and topped with bread crumbs.

Later, the legendary French chef Marie-Antonin Carême created a no-bake cream-filled dessert that it is known today.

What is Charlotte Royale?

Charlotte Royale is a molded dessert made from slices of raspberry jam roll cake to line up a mold filled with Bavarian cream.

As per Joe Pastry,

 Charlotte Royale is ... a dressed up version of Charlotte russe.

Yes, Charlotte Royale and Charlotte Russe have the same mousse filling, but the Charlotte Russe's ladyfinger lining is replaced with Swiss roll slices in the Royal version.

Charlotte Royale cake recipe

This charlotte Royale recipe is an adapted version of the recipe created by a food critic, blogger, and TV presenter Madam Mercotte. It is her stage name; her real name is Jaqueline Mercorelli.

She became famous due to a French culinary reality show, Le Meilleur Pâtissier ("The Best Baker" in English), which started in 2012.

The jury consists of the "culinary tandem": M^me Mercotte and one of the talented French chefs, Cyrill Lignac.

The cake is of medium difficulty level. Although sometimes it appears as a technical challenge at some baking shows, I would like to assure you that you can make it.

I have already made Charlotte Royale a few times and learned from my mistakes.

I will guide you through with step by step photographed explanations to succeed with this cake.

Charlotte Royale variations

Yes, everyone loves classic Charlotte Royale, but if you are ready to add a modern twist on tradition, try to experiment with new additions to the classic recipe.

Traditionally, the cake is made in a mold or a glass bowl and has a half-sphere shape, but you can make it in a classic cake mold.

As per fruit use, most of the time, this Charlotte cake is made with raspberries and called raspberry Charlotte Royale.

But you are free to use strawberries and even blueberries or cherries as other fruit variations.

Again, traditionally the Royale version of the cake is made with a classic Swiss roll, but you can try to use chocolate rolled cake.

Bavarian vanilla or raspberry cream is classic for making the Charlotte Royale, while strawberry or chocolate cream is something for you to give a try.

And if you ask me whether you can use another fruit jam, fresh fruit, or even mousse instead of Bavarian cream, my answer will be 'Yes!"

The modern twists on a classic are always welcomed.

How to make geometric stacked Charlotte

If you want to challenge yourself more, you can make Charlotte Royale with a graphic basket pattern.

In this case, you will need to line up mold or a glass bowl with cake squares instead of Swiss roll slices. How to do this?

Make the biscuit dough directed in the recipe below, divide it into two parts, and spread each piece on a silicone sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then bake for 10 minutes.

Once the biscuit is baked, let it cool for a few minutes, flip it onto a parchment sheet, and gently peel the parchment paper from the bottom.

Cut a biscuit circle equal to the diameter of a mold or a glass bowl to be used to assemble the cake: it will be the cake base.

Cut four equal rectangles out of the remaining biscuits. Spread the raspberry jam over three rectangle layers.

Stack them, finishing with the cake layer without jam, and gently press. Wrap in a food plastic and freeze overnight.

To assemble the basket-patterned Charlotte, take the stack of biscuits from the freezer, let thaw a bit at room temperature, and trim the edges using a serrated knife.

Cut into ¾-inch/1 cm thick lengthwise. Then cut the slices back into 1-½-inch/3 cm full squares.

Make sure to wipe the blade of a knife after each cut to make the cake slices neat.

Line a mold or a glass bowl with a plastic film. Place cake squares at the bottom of the mold, alternating the position to obtain a basket pattern gradually rising towards the rim.

Be sure to tighten cake slices, so there is very little space between them. Also, press them against the mold to prevent Bavarian cream from overflowing afterward.

Use a sharp knife to trim the slices even with the rim if it is necessary.

Then pour Bavarian cream, place fresh berries as directed in the recipe below. Finish the Charlotte with a cake disk and gently press.

Cover with a food plastic, cardboard, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.

How to decorate Charlotte Royale

Traditionally, Charlotte Royale cake does not require any additional decoration, except brushing it with a think layer of a cake glaze to make it shiny and prevent it from drying out.

However, if you feel about decorating your Charlotte, you can arrange red fruits and mint sprigs on top of the cake.

You can also whip whipping cream with icing (powdered) sugar, place it in a pastry bag fitted with an open star pastry tip, and pipe a continuous design of scallops around the base of the Charlotte.

Why you should try this recipe

1. Charlotte Royale is a crowd-pleasing classic holiday treat.
2. Served cold, it is mostly a warm-season dessert.
3. Using fresh seasonal raspberries or other red fruits makes the cake one of the best summer favorites.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results. 

Eggs: whether you use whole eggs or just egg yolks, use large eggs.

Sugar: use granulated white sugar or caster sugar for this recipe.

Flour: all-purpose flour is what you need here. If you want to make a gluten-free biscuit, replace all-purpose flour with corn starch or rice flour.

Potato starch: you can switch it for corn starch if you prefer.

Raspberry jam: choose to use a homemade or a store-bought raspberry jam. If you are not a fan of seeds, please, use a seedless raspberry jam. You can also replace it with another fruit jam if you desire.

Milk: for the best taste, use whole milk, although you can replace it with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk.

Gelatin sheets: use gelatin sheets with a strength of 200 bloom. To substitute sheet gelatin in the recipe, use 8 g of powdered gelatin and ¼ cup (60 ml) of cold water.

Vanilla bean: use the top quality Madagascar vanilla beans that are the most flavorful.

Whipping cream: use your favorite brand of whipping cream.

Raspberries: use fresh raspberries to make the Charlotte Royale or replace them with other fresh seasonal fruits such as strawberries.

If fresh fruits are out of the season, you can use the remaining rolled biscuit slices as a filling for the Charlotte.

Just use them instead of berries: arrange slices in layers or insert them into the cream randomly.

Another way to make a plain (without fresh fruits) Charlotte is to double the Bavarian cream recipe and add a bit more vanilla to accentuate the taste.

Cake glaze or neutral topping: it is optional, but if you make the cake in advance, you will need to brush the dessert with a cake glaze to prevent it from drying out.

How to make Charlotte Royale

Preheat oven to 390 F/200 C.

To make the rolled biscuit, sift flour, and potato starch in a large bowl and set aside.

Separate the whites from the yolks with an egg separator. Beat the whites at medium speed, gradually adding sugar (photo 1).

Once the meringue is glossy, decrease the mixer speed and add egg yolks whisked as for an omelet.

Beat the mixture for the other 15 seconds till all the ingredients are well incorporated (photo 2).

Add the sifted dry ingredients and gently mix with a rubber spatula (photo 3).

Divide the dough into two parts. Spread the first part of the dough on a Lekue 12 by 16-inch/30 x 40 cm non-spill baking sheet (no need to grease it) or a baking sheet covered with parchment paper up to the thickness of 5 mm and smooth with a bent spatula (photo 4).

Bake for 10 minutes (photo 5). Once the biscuit is ready, take it out of the oven and cover it with a tea towel.

Flip it on top of the cloth and carefully remove the silicone sheet or parchment: gently lift the corners and then the mat or paper's whole surface.

Cover the biscuit with another parchment layer and roll it in to let cool and keep the moisture (photos 6-7).

Repeat the same with the second part of the biscuit dough.

When the biscuit is cooled, unwrap it. Spread a thin layer of the raspberry jam and roll tightly with parchment (photo 8).

Wrap the rolled biscuit in a plastic film (photo 9) and refrigerate for about three to four hours to facilitate cutting.

To make Bavarian cream, soak gelatin sheets in cold water for 10 minutes. Bring whole milk with the scraped vanilla seeds to a boil.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar (photo 10), then pour in the hot milk slowly while continually stirring.

Bring the mixture back to a saucepan and heat over low, and continue whisking.

Once the custard starts thickening, take the pot out of the heat and add the drained gelatin (photo 11).

Transfer the custard to another bowl, let it cool, stirring occasionally.

Once the custard has cooled, whisk whipping cream until soft peaks (photo 12),

and add to the cold custard. Gently mix with the spatula. Let it rest to thicken slightly, occasionally stirring (photo 13).

To assemble the cake, line the bottom and sides of a bowl eight inches/20 cm in diameter with a plastic film. Cut the rolled biscuit into 5 mm thick slices (photo 14)...

and arrange them at the bottom and sides of the bowl, pressing them against each other and the dish (photo 15).

Pour a third of the Bavarian cream in the center and distribute half of the fresh raspberries (photo 16).

Pour another third of the cream again and repeat the layer of raspberries (photo 17).

Finish with the cream. Cover the bottom of the bowl with the remaining rolled biscuit slices (photo 18), place a plastic film on top of the biscuits.

Also, cover it with a cardboard base to pack everything additionally (photo 19). Refrigerate the Charlotte cake for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.

When ready to serve, remove the cardboard and plastic, flip the cake on a serving plate, lift off the bowl, and serve immediately (photo 20).

Or brush the cake with a thin layer of a cake glaze or a neutral topping and refrigerate until serving. 

Expert tips

1. Make two rolled cakes out of the biscuit ingredients provided in the recipe. You will use one or one and a half rolls to cut the beautifully looking slices.
2. Spread a THIN layer of the raspberry jam over the biscuit to get neat slices with cutting.
3. Roll the biscuit from either end: if you roll from the short end, the slices will be larger.
4. Make sure to press the cake slices against the bowl to prevent Bavarian cream from overflowing afterward.
5. Start making Bavarian cream once you are ready to assemble the cake; otherwise, it will thicken earlier than you slice up the Swiss roll.
6. Wait for Bavarian cream to thicken slightly; otherwise, it will leak between cake slices and the bowl. In this case, you will end up with the cake covered by Bavarian cream on top of slices.

Frequently asked questions

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Under no circumstances will Baking Like a Chef be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information. You are solely responsible for all decisions about your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

The recipe was adapted from https://www.mercotte.fr/. It was originally published on June 04, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.