Strawberry Charlotte

• 8 servings
• 30 minutes to prepare

Instructions

Method

1. Blend 350g of strawberries with 80g of caster sugar and lemon juice until a smooth purée.
2. Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft.
3. Mix 20ml of warm water with the remaining 100g of caster sugar and set aside.
4. Warm a third of the strawberry purée in a small pan, add the gelatine and stir until the gelatine has fully dissolved and remove from the heat and add it back to the rest of the strawberry purée.
5. Whip the cream and vanilla to soft peaks and slowly fold in the strawberry purée being careful not to lose all the air.
6. Dip each sponge finger in the sugar-water mix and press them into the base of a small, parchment-lined spring base tin.
7. Stick the remaining sponge fingers to the inside of the tin and pour in half of the strawberry mix.
8. Top with 8 halved strawberries and then pour in the remaining mix and flatten the top with a palette knife.
9. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours and then remove from the tin.
10. Top with the remaining strawberries and mint leaves and serve with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.

Chef’s Tip:

Follow the seasons with the fruit: raspberries, blackberries, figs, oranges and passionfruit work for this recipe.