Make pear charlotte, a classic French moulded dessert lined with sponge cake or ladyfingers and filled with pear mousse or cream. Learn how to assemble, chill and unmould it cleanly.
Make the Charlotte: Place the yolks and sugar into a bowl and well until the mixture become pale and fluffy. Bring the fruit puré to the boil and place the gelatin sheets in cold water to soften. Remove the gelatin sheets from the water and squeeze dry and add to the hot fruit mixture, stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream to medium peaks. Temper the egg mixture by slowly adding the puré to it while continuously stirring and place over an and cool the mixture to room temperature of 70 °F.
If the mixture cools below this temperature, the gelatin will begin to set and will not fold smoothly into the whipped cream. When the mixture is cooler, fold in the whipped cream and cooked diced pears and mix well to incorporate it.
Finish the charlotte: Line the bottom and side of the prepared charlotte mold with ladyfingers briefly soaked in the reserve simple syrup. Place them sugar side out. Pour over the Charlotte filling, the mold should be filled up to 1/16 inch to the top to leave some room for the . Cover with plastic food wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.
: Unmold the Charlotte over the service plate. Slice the remaining pears in syrup, and arrange them over the cake. Keep refrigerated until service.
This recipe is one of 320 in the OCS library — structured into 38 courses through the OCRS™ learning system. Pick a course and learn the technique behind it.
Watch your eggs closely near the end — a few extra seconds is the difference between silky and overcooked. You'll find techniques like this one across our full course library.
If you'd ever like hands-on guidance for your own kitchen or restaurant, I also offer 1-on-1 coaching through OCS, or you can reach me directly for consulting at 911ChefEric.com.
Recipes come out right when you understand the method. Chef Eric’s courses teach the foundations step by step — knife skills, stocks, soups and classic French technique — with video lessons and short quizzes. Not sure where to start? OCRS™ will build your roadmap in five questions.
