An elegant and refined French classic: a dome of ladyfinger biscuits soaked in syrup enveloping a creamy raspberry mousse. This festive dessert combines light texture and intense flavor, perfect for impressing your guests at a special occasion.
⏱️540 min
📊Medium
👥6 servings
🍽️Dessert
vegetarianfestive
Ingredients
400 gfresh raspberries
150 ggranulated sugar
4 feuillesgelatin sheets
300 mlliquid crème fraîche
24 piècesladyfinger biscuits
100 mlwater
2 cuillères à soupefresh lemon juice
100 gwhole raspberries for decoration
Instructions
1PREPARE THE GELATIN: Submerge the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften them. This step, called "blooming," is essential so the gelatin rehydrates uniformly and dissolves perfectly in the mousse. Drain them gently afterward.
2MAKE THE RASPBERRY PURÉE: Pour 350 g of fresh raspberries into a blender with 100 g of sugar and the fresh lemon juice. Blend until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous purée. Pass this purée through a fine sieve to remove the small seeds and achieve a velvety texture. Reserve in the refrigerator.
3PREPARE THE SOAKING SYRUP: In a saucepan, pour 100 ml of water and 50 g of sugar, heat gently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once the syrup is lukewarm, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. This syrup should be fragrant but not too sweet so as not to mask the delicate raspberry flavor. Allow to cool completely.
4CREATE THE RASPBERRY MOUSSE: Heat 3 tablespoons of the raspberry purée over low heat until very hot (approximately 50°C), then pour in the drained gelatin and mix vigorously with a whisk until completely dissolved. Incorporate the rest of the cold purée to cool it slightly. In another bowl, whip the liquid crème fraîche until soft peaks form. Gently pour the raspberry purée into the cream by folding with a spatula, without crushing the air bubbles to preserve the lightness of the mousse.
5ASSEMBLE THE CHARLOTTE: Pour 2 tablespoons of mousse to the bottom of a charlotte mold or round bowl for 6 servings (approximately 15 cm in diameter). Quickly soak each ladyfinger by dipping it a few seconds on each side in the cold syrup, then arrange them vertically all around the mold slightly overlapping, with the rounded side facing outward. Complete the bottom with the remaining biscuits, then pour the raspberry mousse filling the mold to 3/4 of its height. Cover with the remaining soaked biscuits by placing them horizontally.
6REFRIGERATE AND FINISH: Place the charlotte in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (or overnight) so the gelatin sets properly and all flavors develop harmoniously. At serving time, dip the mold a few seconds in lukewarm water and turn it out onto a serving platter. Decorate the top with the remaining whole raspberries and a drizzle of crème fraîche. The charlotte should be very firm but melt in your mouth on tasting, with a beautiful presentation of regular dome shape.