Eastern Home Kitchen

Baking & Desserts

Apple and Peach Charlotte

Five eggs whipped with sugar, a cup of flour folded in, and as much fruit as the tin will take. No butter, no baking powder, forty minutes.

A slice of apple and peach charlotte dusted with icing sugar and coconut

https://easternhomekitchen.com/recipes/apple-and-peach-charlotte/

Prep
15 mins
Cook
30 mins
Total
45 mins
Yield
8 servings
Cuisine
Eastern European

Charlotte here does not mean the moulded French dessert — it means the everyday fruit sponge that gets made whenever there are too many apples. There is no fat in the batter and no raising agent: all the lift comes from eggs beaten until they hold a ribbon.

That is also the one place it can go wrong. Underbeaten eggs give you a flat, damp layer under the fruit. Beat until the mixture is pale, thick and roughly tripled, and do not open the oven while it bakes.

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

  • 5 eggs, at room temperature
  • 200 g1 cup granulated sugar
  • 125 g1 cup plain flour, sifted
  • 500 g1 lb apples and peaches, roughly half and half
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar
  • cinnamon, icing sugar and desiccated coconut, to finish, to taste
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil, for the tin

Instructions

  1. Set out the eggs, sugar, flour and fruit. Take the eggs out of the fridge early — cold eggs will not whip to volume.

    Eggs, sugar, flour, apples and peaches laid out

  2. Cut the apples and peaches into slices about 1 cm thick. No need to peel the apples unless the skins are tough.

    Apples and peaches cut into thick slices

  3. Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale, thick and roughly tripled in volume — five to seven minutes with an electric whisk. Sift in the flour and vanilla sugar and fold gently until just combined. Oil a 24 cm tin, lay the apples over the base, pour over half the batter, add the peaches and cover with the rest. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes without opening the door.

    Whisked egg and sugar batter poured over sliced fruit in a tin

  4. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then finish with cinnamon, icing sugar and coconut.

    The finished charlotte, dusted and sliced

Notes & tips

  • There is no baking powder in this. The eggs are the raising agent, so beat them properly and fold the flour in gently.
  • Do not open the oven before 25 minutes. The structure is set by steam and it will drop.
  • Very juicy fruit makes a wet layer at the bottom. Toss the slices in a spoonful of the flour first if the peaches are ripe.

Substitutions

  • Peaches — Plums, apricots, pears or frozen cherries — anything that holds its shape. Frozen fruit goes in still frozen.
  • Plain flour — Half flour, half fine semolina for a slightly firmer, more open crumb.
  • Sugar — Reduce to 150 g if the fruit is very sweet; below that the sponge loses structure.

Storage & freezing

In the fridge
Up to 3 days, covered. The sponge softens as the fruit's moisture spreads through it.
In the freezer
2 months, sliced and wrapped.
Reheating
A few minutes in a low oven brings it back; it is also good cold.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my charlotte sink in the middle?

Either the oven was opened too early or the eggs were not beaten to full volume. There is no chemical raising agent here, so all the structure comes from the air whisked into the eggs and it collapses if it cools suddenly.

Can I use frozen fruit?

Yes, and it works well. Use it straight from the freezer without thawing, and add 5 minutes to the bake.

Do I need to peel the apples?

No. The skins soften completely in 30 minutes and hold the slices together. Peel them only if they are thick and waxy.