Step 1

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Step 2

Place egg yolks into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on low and sprinkle in your first measurement of sugar.

Step 3

Once it's combined, increase the speed to medium-high and whip it until the mixture triples in volume, is pale in color, and forms a thick ribbon on the surface of the batter when you drizzle it onto itself. This should take 3-4 minutes.

Step 4

Combine your flour and salt together in a bowl.

Step 5

Sift half the flour mixture over the egg mixture and gently fold it in using a spatula.

Step 6

Once it's incorporated, sift in the second half of the flour and continue folding until everything is combined. Set it aside.

Step 7

In a separate mixer bowl, add in your egg whites with your whisk attachment.

Step 8

While mixing on medium speed, sprinkle in the second measurement of sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high.

Step 9

Continue whipping until you reach medium stiff peaks.

Step 10

Fold in ⅓ of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture using a spatula to lighten its density. This might take a few minutes to work all the meringue in but just keep folding.

Step 11

Add in your vanilla extract.

Step 12

Add in the rest of your meringue and continue folding carefully until its homogeneous. Be careful not to over-mix because you will knock out the air inside your batter and your ladyfingers will not rise as much.

Step 13

Place your printed templates under parchment paper on 2 sheet pans (one for rounds and one for fingers).

Step 14

Fit a large piping bag with an 809 piping tip then fill it with the batter.

Step 15

Pipe the batter on top of the circle template while holding the tip about ½" away from the pan so that the batter is not too thick. Stop piping about ¼” away from the outline of the circle because the batter will spread.

Step 16

Place your 8.5”x11” sheet of paper on top of the baking sheet and place some parchment on top.

Step 17

Pipe your batter in 8” long lines, leaving about ⅛” of space in between each line. You will have leftover batter, I suggest piping extra cookies or another tray of lady fingers as a backup just in case you have gaps (like I did).

Step 18

Sift an even layer of powdered sugar over all of the lady fingers including your circular ones and let it soak in for about 2 minutes. Without the powdered sugar the fingers don’t rise as much.

Step 19

Place the tray in a 350ºF oven for 15-18 minutes. Rotate your tray halfway through baking to ensure even browning.

Step 20

Remove the ladyfingers from the oven and let them cool.  Once they have cooled gently remove them from the parchment paper to avoid them sticking and tearing later.

Step 21

Set the lady fingers aside and begin making your Bavarian cream filling.

Step 22

Sprinkle the gelatin over the 3oz of cold milk and set aside to bloom.

Step 23

Pour your first measurement of cream, salt, and half of the sugar into a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Step 24

Scrape the vanilla seeds out of the pod with a small knife and place them into the cream.

Step 25

While the cream is heating, whisk together the egg yolks and the other half of sugar in a separate bowl. Whisk immediate or the sugar will make your yolk lumpy.

Step 26

Once the cream starts boiling, remove it from the heat, then slowly pour ⅓ of your cream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking to prevent the eggs from curdling. This is called tempering your yolks.

Step 27

Pour your egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the remaining cream, and start heating it again on medium heat while stirring constantly or until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon smoothly.

Step 28

Strain the mixture to remove the vanilla pod and fibers (and any cooked bits of egg).

Step 29

While the mixture is still hot, add the bloomed gelatin and stir with a hand whisk until smooth and combined.

Step 30

Set it in the fridge to cool to room temperature. If you are in a hurry you can also cool the mixture over an ice bath.

Step 31

Once the mixture is at room temperature, whip the other measurement of cream in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment until it reaches medium to stiff peaks.

Step 32

Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the cooled egg mixture until combined to lighten the density.

Step 33

Add the remaining whipped cream to the mixture and fold lightly with a spatula until everything is combined. Place it in your fridge until you are ready to use it.

Step 34

Pour your water and sugar in a medium sized pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Step 35

Once the syrup boils, remove from the stove and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Step 36

Infuse the syrup by placing vanilla beans into your container of choice, then pouring the syrup over leaving to infuse a minimum of 30 min. Store at room temperature.

Step 37

Cut the lady fingers in half down the middle evenly.

Step 38

On the back of the lady fingers, brush with a layer of simple syrup.

Step 39

Place the cake ring on the plate that you will be serving it. Line the interior of the ring with the rows of lady fingers. Place the ladyfinger round in the bottom of the ring. Using the trimming from the ladyfingers to fill any gaps around the bottom edge.

Step 40

Brush the bottom with a layer of simple syrup.

Step 41

Spread a thin layer of strawberry reduction on the first layer of cake.

Step 42

Pour half of your Bavarian cream into the cake ring and smooth.

Step 43

Add a layer of sliced strawberries on top of the jam.

Step 44

Place the second round of cake and repeat the process of brushing with simple syrup, reduction, sliced strawberries and the second half of the Bavarian cream, smooth the top.

Step 45

Pipe some Bavarian cream along the wall of the ladyfingers on top.

Step 46

OPTIONAL: To make your strawberries topping extra shiny, mix 1 part water and 1 part apricot jam to make a shiny glaze. You can also buy neutral glaze instead.

Step 47

OPTIONAL: Strain the jam over your bowl of strawberries to get rid of lumps. Mix your strawberries with the jam to make extra shiny.

Step 48

Arrange your remaining strawberries in a pattern in the middle, or pile them high, whatever you choose. Brush the berries with warm apricot glaze to keep them fresh and shiny.

Step 49

Place the Charlotte Cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours to set or overnight. This can be made a day ahead. Keep leftovers covered and refrigerated.

Step 50

When ready to display, gently remove the cake ring by lifting up slowly.

Step 51

Decorate by tying a ribbon around the center of the cake and topping with fresh fruit of your choice. Cut and serve the Charlotte Cake as you would any cake.