Guys, today is my birthday! As tradition dictates, a nice cake cannot be missing to celebrate, yes, but I prepare the cake myself, a tailor-made cake! So for once let's avoid calculating calories, fats, sugars and eat a nice piece of cake all together. For my birthday I thought of a charlotte with pistachios and cocoa, or a casket of ladyfingers stuffed with pistachio cream and cocoa cream. Let's run to prepare it.
Video of the Recipe
Problems with playing the video? Reload the video from youtube.
Identity Card of the Recipe
- 178 KCal Calories per serving
-
Ingrediants
For cover and for soaking
- About 250-300 g of ladyfingers
- About 250 ml of milk
For the cocoa cream
- 25 g of bitter cocoa
- 30 g of white flour of type 00
- 400 ml of milk
- 60 g of sugar
For the pistachio cream
- 60 g of pistachios
- 4 g of isinglass
- 50 g of white flour of type 00
- 500 ml of milk
- 1 sachet of vanillin
- 80 g of sugar
- 80 g (4 medium) of egg yolks
Materials Needed
- Knives
- Hinged pan with a diameter of 24 cm
- Baking paper
- Casseroles
- Electric hand mixer
- Whip
- Spoons
- Sieve
- Chopper mixer
- Table spoon
Preparation
- Line the base of a hinged pan (diameter 24 cm) with parchment paper.
- Cut the ladyfingers diagonally and arrange them on the base of the pan in an orderly manner, forming a pattern similar to a flower. Wet the ladyfingers with milk, using a spoon or with the special watering can for cakes.
How to cut the ladyfingers?
This is a somewhat delicate operation, which also requires some time because you have to calculate the right size of the pan to be able to fit the ladyfingers perfectly and to form the characteristic "flower".- After preparing the base, line the edges of the pan with the ladyfingers. For this operation it is necessary to cut the biscuits in half, quickly soak them in milk and arrange them neatly along the walls, leaving the rounded end towards the top and the cut part towards the bottom. It is recommended to refer to the video.
- Prepare the pistachio cream. Chop the pistachios in the mixer for a long time: you will have to obtain a very fine powder.
- Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl full of cold water.
- Now proceed as for the preparation of a simple custard. Pour 4 fresh egg yolks into a bowl or into the container of the electric mixer, add the vanillin and sugar: whip everything for a few minutes, until the mixture is frothy.
- Meanwhile, pour approximately 400 ml of milk into a saucepan.
- Sift the flour, mix it with the chopped pistachios and add everything to the egg mixture, alternating with the remaining 100 ml of milk.
- Pour the pistachio mixture into the boiling milk and, continuing to mix with the whisk, let the cream thicken.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and add the isinglass to obtain a firmer and more compact cream.
- Pour the hot cream into the biscuit box and immediately cover with another round of ladyfingers. Wet the biscuits with a little milk.
The right idea
For an alcoholic version of the dessert, you can dilute the milk with a little rum or with another liqueur of your choice.- Proceed with the preparation of the cocoa cream. Boil the milk in a saucepan, add the sugar and, gradually, the sifted flour and cocoa. Continue to mix with the whisk to avoid lumps or to stick the mixture to the pot.
- Continue to cook the cocoa cream for 2-3 minutes from boiling. Pour the hot cocoa cream over the second layer of soaked ladyfingers.
- Cover with a third (and last) layer of biscuits, taking care to cut them diagonally and to cover all the spaces well.
- Let the charlotte rest at room temperature, then place it in the fridge to solidify for 3-4 hours.
- Turn the cake upside down onto a serving plate and gently remove the opening circle from the springform pan. The charlotte is ready: those who wish can also freeze it and taste it like an ice cream cake.
Alice's comment - PersonalCooker
And this "year is already 25: really true, time flies! Mom always says that these are the best years and to always savor life, moment by moment! I will treasure her words! You too celebrate my birthday with me : let's eat a slice of cake! And we'll think about the calories again.Nutritional values and Health Comment on the recipe
The Birthday Cake - Charlotte with pistachios and chocolate - is a dessert rich in carbohydrates but with contained doses of fats and proteins. It provides a rather important amount of energy but its contextualization in the diet can be facilitated by the moderation of portions and by the occasional frequency of consumption. The average serving of Charlotte with pistachios and chocolate is around 40-60g (70-100kcal).
