Apple Cinnamon Charlotte – Brioche is stuffed with cinnamon apples, baked and covered in a cinnamon sabayon sauce
Today’s recipe was born from an Instagram trap. I was sucked into a video from Tyler Florence making this intricate dessert with simple flavors. It was something I’ve never made before but it looked fun (and delicious!) so I had to try it.
This Apple Cinnamon Charlotte is simply a “cake” made from brioche that is dipped in a custard and then stuffed with cinnamon apples. Its origin isn’t exactly clear – England or France – but it’s almost always a bready dessert filled with fruit.
This dessert was an incredible hit with my entire family. They loved the textures and that addicting cinnamon sabayon. In fact, the entire dessert is perfectly seasoned with cinnamon – definitely present but not overwhelming. A must try for your next holiday gathering, for sure!
Here is my version of this Apple Cinnamon Charlotte:
Cooking the apples
The Charlottes will not bake for long enough to cook the apples so that they have a tender bite. Therefore, we have to start the cooking process off on our own and then load the softened apples into the Charlottes. This is all done on the stove-top.
One thing I learned from Tyler Florence is that apples take times to cook, get tender, and form a caramel-like sauce. I had always cooked my apples for about 10 minutes and thought they were too watery. So I would drain out the excess water. Rookie mistake. You have to cook that water out, leaving a caramel sauce behind. This can take almost 25 minutes!
Making the brioche vessel
The base of the Charlotte is the brioche that the fruit (apples in this case) will sit in. But how can you possibly do that without the whole thing falling apart? You set it up in a ramekin.
To make the brioche more malleable, it’s dipped in a custard to soften it up and then formed into the ramekin like a shell. The custard is loaded with cinnamon to give the bread a beautiful hue (and flavor!).
Once the shell is formed, it’s loaded with the cooked apples and then topped with another slice of custard-dipped brioche. This is done 3 more times to make a total of 4 Charlottes.
They are then baked until golden and set, about 30 minutes. After cooling outside the oven for 10 minutes, they are flipped onto a plate and served with cinnamon sabayon.
The cinnamon sabayon
Sabayon is a traditional French sauce made from egg yolks. This version takes a sweet turn, adding in brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and my favorite liquor, Amaretto.
To make the sabayon, all you do is whisk the ingredients together over a double boiler. This ensures the yolks cook slowly without scrambling them. Instead, the yolks react with the sugar to fluffy up and turn into a luscious sauce. This cooking process also ensures the sauce is safe to eat.
Tips and Tricks
- Dice apples evenly. Make sure the apples are all the same size to ensure they cook evenly. Otherwise you may have some tender while others are mushy.
- Brioche makes a difference. Brioche is such a rich bread that is slightly sweet so it’s perfect for dessert recipes such as this one. Use it if you can find it. If not, use a butter bread or a white bread instead.
- Lightly dip in batter. Brioche is very delicate so you don’t want to soak it in the batter. Instead, lightly dip it and let the excess batter drip off.
- Constantly whisk the sabayon. The sabayon is more than 50% egg yolks so it will be sensitive to heat. To ensure the yolks don’t scramble, keep whisking them constantly while in the double boiler.
Apple Cinnamon Charlotte
Ingredients
For the apples:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 granny smith apples peeled, cored, and diced
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the brioche vessel:
- 20 slices brioche crust removed
- 4 tablespoons sugar divided
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the cinnamon sabayon:
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup amaretto liquor
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the apples:
- Add butter to a large skillet set over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and foaming, add apples, vanilla bean paste, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and cook until softened but still tender and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 25 minutes. Set aside.
For the brioche vessel:
- Using the top of an 8-ounce ramekin, cut out a circle from one slice of brioche. Repeat another 7 times. These will be the tops and bottoms of your charlottes. Slice the remaining 12 slices in half. These will be formed into the sides of the charlotte.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and sugar 4 8-ounce ramekins. You will use 2 tablespoons of sugar for this. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Make the batter by whisking eggs in a medium bowl with milk, last 2 tablespoons of sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Grab the baking sheet with the ramekins. Dip one circle into the batter quickly and let the excess drip off. Place into the bottom of one greased and sugared ramekin. Repeat with the other 3 ramekins. Next, take one rectangle of brioche and dip into the batter, letting the excess drip off. Lay the rectangle along the side of the ramekin to form the walls. Repeat with 1 or 2 more slices, so that the wall is complete. Repeat with the other 3 ramekins.
- Fill each brioche vessel with about ⅔ cup of cooked apples, making sure to fill to the top. Dip remaining circles of brioche into batter, letting the excess drip off. Place on top of the apples and firm press down to seal them inside. Top brioche with more sugar.
- Bake charlottes in the center of the oven until the tops are toasted, golden brown, and the apple juices are bubbling around the sides, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Slice a knife around the sides to release the charlotte and then flip onto a plate. Serve with cinnamon sabayon (recipe below).
For the cinnamon sabayon:
- Set a double boiler (mixing bowl sitting on top of saucepan of bowling water) over low heat. Add egg yolks, sugar, amaretto, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to the bowl on top of the double boiler. Whisk constantly until mixture starts to lighten, turn fluffy, and double in size. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with baked apple cinnamon charlottes.
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread
Cinnamon Apple Kolaches
Apple Pie Slider Doughnuts
This apple cinnamon charlotte looks absolutely gorgeous! I love how you used a simple batter poured over the apple slices for such an elegant presentation. The combination of warm cinnamon with sweet apples is one of my favorite fall flavors. I made something similar last autumn but yours looks much better with that golden crust. Definitely pinning this to try for my next dinner party dessert!
What a beautiful charlotte! The combination of apples and cinnamon is a classic for a reason, and your presentation is stunning. I love how you layered the ladyfingers with the apple custard filling. This is exactly the kind of elegant yet comforting dessert I want to try for my next dinner party. Thanks for sharing such a detailed recipe with tips along the way!
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Oh my goodness this looks heavenly!!!
Apple cinnamon is just the best! This will be a big hit at home especially during the holidays!
Wow this is incredible! All the ooey gooey apple goodness in one delicious dessert! YUM!
This is such an interesting recipe! I love brioche and cinnamon apple so I’m so excited to try it!
I was majorly craving an apple baked good, and this was so fun to make and really hit the spot! Thanks for a great recipe, will make agin!
What a perfect autumn dessert! This recipe is wonderful, and I could eat a whole batch of the Cinnamon Sabayon by myself!
OMG, this Apple Cinnamon Charlotte looks unreal delicious! I think we might try making it as a sweet brunch this weekend.