No-Bake Charlotte Cake Recipe: 4 Types of Charlotte Cakes

A charlotte cake is a molded French dessert consisting of flavored cream bound by a lining of ladyfinger cookies or sponge cake. While early versions of the traditional trifle featured apples cooked in stale bread soaked in milk and butter, modern recipes use sponge cake and ladyfinger cookies to contain the various flavors of cream, fruit, or chocolate mousse.

There are a few types of charlotte cakes, including fruit charlottes, chocolate charlottes, and the charlotte russe, a popular Bavarian cream-filled variation. You can bake a charlotte cake in the oven or prepare a chilled no-bake version with ice cream. Popular charlotte toppings include whipped cream, mascarpone, fresh fruit (like strawberries or raspberries), caramelized apples, or chocolate drizzles.

First popularized by French chef Marie-Antoine Carême, who claimed to have invented the “charlotte à la Parisienne” at his shop in the early 1800s, the timeline of the dessert’s creation is heavily debated. Some legends have it that Carême created the dessert and its spin-off, the charlotte russe, during his time working for English and Russian royalty. According to others, the term “charlotte à la russe” may have predated “charlotte à la Parisienne.”

Whether the cake was named after various royals named Charlotte or merely a popular style, by the mid-1800s, charlottes were a common sight at formal dinner parties.

Styles of charlotte cakes vary both by format and star ingredient.

1. 1. Charlotte russe. Perhaps the most famous type of charlotte, the charlotte russe features a filling of Bavarian cream (a blend of custard and whipped cream), set into a mold lined with ladyfingers and garnished with maraschino cherries. Single servings of charlotte russe were a popular no-bake dessert at New York’s lunch counters throughout the mid-twentieth century.
2. 2. Charlotte royale. A charlotte royale is a dome-shaped molded cake featuring an outer layer of sliced Swiss roll—sponge cake and jam, rolled and sliced crosswise into spirals—and a filling of set mousse. This charlotte recipe omits the ladyfingers.
   
3. 3. Chocolate charlotte. This variation incorporates more chocolate than any standard charlotte: the sponge cake, ladyfingers, and cream are all chocolate-based in this recipe. Popular garnishes for the chocolate charlotte include decorative chocolate shavings or curls.
4. 4. Fruit charlottes. Fruit charlottes incorporate fruit in several ways: with the cream, as a garnish, as a layer of purée or compote, or as a flavoring for a mousse filling. Slow-cooked apple was the original fruit featured in early charlottes; modern creations include everything from delicate pears to jammy raspberries or strawberries.

Since a charlotte cake features so few ingredients, attention to detail is key.

1. 1. Use a springform cake pan. While bakers traditionally assemble charlottes in clear glass bowls, specially made charlotte molds, or individual serving glasses, you can also use a springform pan as a foolproof serving vessel. Typically used to bake cheesecake, this unique pan can hold the charlotte in place as it sets and reveal its final shape and spare you from the struggle of inverting a mold or keeping the ladyfingers upright.
2. 2. Take the time to set the filling. The trick with all trifles is patience: The mousse or cream needs time to set properly and join together with the cookies around the edges. A charlotte should melt in your mouth, but hold its shape right up until the moment you take a bite.
3. 3. Incorporating flavors. You can include various flavors in a charlotte cake recipe, including a splash of your favorite liqueur or fresh citrus zest whisked directly into the cream. Get creative with complementary flavors and garnishes, like amaretto and orange zest or lavender extract and Meyer lemon.
4. 4. Making the custard. For best results when making the custard for the Bavarian cream filling, use a double-boiler, or set the mixing bowl directly over a pot of simmering water. Indirect heat allows for a gentler cooking process and prevents the eggs from coagulating into a scrambled egg pudding.