Charlotte with vanilla cream and fruit — a ladyfinger crown cake

Set a cake ring or the side of a springform pan, measuring 20 cm internally and at least 8 cm high, on a flat plate. Line the inside with an acetate cake collar intended for food contact. Weigh 400 g washed, hulled and thoroughly dried strawberries. Divide into 250 g for the filling and 150 g for the top; keep both portions covered in the refrigerator. Do not add other fruit or decorations.

Heat 50 g water with 20 g sugar in a small saucepan, stirring only until fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave about 10–15 minutes to cool; do not boil at length and do not reduce to a thick syrup. All of it will be used for the ladyfingers. Do not add alcohol, juice or extra water. Any water used to cool the container stays outside the syrup.

Trim one end of about 20 ladyfingers to a height of 7 cm and stand them snugly upright against the ring, rounded ends facing up. Fit the four remaining ladyfingers and all trimmed ends into the base, filling gaps with small pieces. Use all 200 g, including crumbs. Brush about one third of the cool syrup onto the inside of the crown and the rest onto the base. Refrigerate.

Sprinkle 8 g powdered gelatin into 40 g cold water in a small bowl. Stir and leave about 10 minutes to swell. Use plain food gelatin, not flavored gelatin dessert mix or a product requiring a different method. Do not drain the water and do not squeeze the gelatin: the entire bloomed portion will go into the hot custard after it comes off the heat.

In a bowl, mix 60 g raw egg yolks with 50 g sugar and 16 g real vanilla sugar, without prolonged whipping. Heat the weighed 250 g milk in a saucepan until strongly steaming. Slowly pour about half the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly, then pour everything back into the remaining milk. The whites and shells are not included in the weighed 60 g.

Heat on low about 5–7 minutes, stirring constantly with a spatula across the base and sides, until the custard clearly coats it. Drawing a line through the coating on the removed spatula should leave a clean path. Do not bring to a boil and do not wait for a starch-pudding thickness. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add all the bloomed gelatin and its water, and stir thoroughly until dissolved, without boiling again.

Pour the custard into a wide bowl and set it in a larger container of cool water, without letting water enter the bowl. Stir occasionally for about 15–25 minutes. The custard should no longer feel warm but must still flow freely from the spatula, without jelly-like strands. Do not put it in the refrigerator to set. The prepared ladyfinger crown should already be waiting to be filled.

Whip 300 g cold cream to soft peaks that gently droop; do not whip to a stiff, grainy texture. Stir two or three tablespoons of whipped cream into the cool, still-fluid vanilla base. Add the remaining whipped cream in two portions, gently folding from the bottom with a spatula. Use all of it and start assembling immediately, before the gelatin begins to set the filling.

Cut the 250 g strawberries reserved for the filling into small pieces. Spread half of all the cream over the ladyfinger base, add these strawberries with the little juice released while cutting, and cover with the remaining cream. Scrape the mixture from the bowl and level the top below the ladyfinger ends. Do not add a separate middle cookie layer or an extra portion of cream.

Carefully move the entire plate and ring into the refrigerator and cover so the covering does not touch the cream. Chill at least 6 hours, preferably about 8 hours. Do not remove the ring early and do not try to speed this up by freezing. The filling should be clearly set; the time also depends on refrigerator temperature and the gelatin used. Keep the fruit for the top chilled as well.

Once thoroughly chilled, carefully remove the ring and slowly peel away the acetate collar, leaving the cake on the same plate. Cut the remaining 150 g patted-dry strawberries into halves or slices and arrange all of them on top. Do not add gelatin dessert topping, glossy glaze, powdered sugar or herbs. If the cream is still soft and does not hold its shape, leave the cake longer in its ring in the refrigerator.

Use a sharp knife to divide into ten portions, cutting through the entire ladyfinger base and crown. Wipe the blade between cuts; serve edible crumbs with the slices. Take the cake out only briefly for serving, and immediately cover and refrigerate the rest. Store for up to 2 days after preparation. The ladyfingers will gradually soften from the cream and fruit, as is natural for this dessert.