Individual charlottes with morello cherries

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 8 people, you will need:

• 1 2 sheets gelatin
• 2 350 g Real custard sauce (crème anglaise)
• 3 250 g Chantilly cream
• 4 1 teaspoon Vanilla sugar
• 5 200 ml Sugar syrup
• 6 2 tablespoons Kirsch
• 7 20 Fingers biscuits
• 8 200 g Griottine cherries
• Total weight: 1,440 grams

Times:

Preparation	Resting	Start to finish
1 hour 50 min.	3 hours	4 hours 50 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Soak 2 sheets gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Prepare 350 g Real custard sauce (crème anglaise), and as soon as it's ready, drain and add the softened gelatin sheets. Stir until completely melted. Put the pan into cold water to cool and leave for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2	Prepare 250 g Chantilly cream, and sweeten just a little with 1 teaspoon Vanilla sugar.
3	When custard has cooled to room temperature, add whipped cream...
4	...and incorporate by folding in gently with the bowl tipped over on its side. Another method: transfer a few spoonfuls of custard into the cream, mix gently, then pour this cream mixture into the remaining custard and fold in. gently. Keep this charlotte mixture at room temperature.
5	Cut circles of cooking parchment or greaseproof paper to the size of the bottom of the moulds or glasses in which you are going to make the charlottes.
6	Prepare syrup for soaking by mixing 200 ml Sugar syrup and 2 tablespoons Kirsch. Cut biscuits to height of glass or mould, then put to soak in syrup.
7	Take a glass and place a paper circle in the bottom (for ease of turning out), then arrange soaked biscuits all round the side. You can put the curved side of the biscuits against the glass to give a fluted look to your charlotte, or the flat side to make the outside smoother.
8	Put a layer of charlotte mixture in the bottom.
9	Arrange a layer of cherries on top.
10	Then add a second layer of charlotte mixture.
11	If necessary, even up the height of the biscuits. Continue filling all the glasses, then leave in the fridge overnight, or at least 3 hours, covered with plastic film.
12	Shortly before serving, turn out each charlotte onto a dessert plate or dish (you will find that this is easy thanks to the paper circle), and remove paper.
13	Decorate with a cherry on top, and pour over a little cherry syrup (from the jar). Serve the charlottes cool, but not too cold, ideally kept at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Remarks

Griottines are a product of Fougerolles in Haute-Saône, eastern France. If you can't find them (or morello cherries), you can use normal fresh cherries cut in two and stoned. In which case, replace the syrup poured over before serving with cherry juice mixed with a little sugar syrup, or simply a little custard (crème anglaise).
As for all charlottes, finger biscuits are the usual choice, but the best for this recipe are Montbozon biscuits, not only delicious but small, which suits these individual desserts.
Using this recipe you can make charlottes of pretty well anything you like: fruit, chocolate, etc.

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