Cold Green Apple Charlotte with Red Currant Sorbet

I think that this is my least favorite plated dessert. I'm not a big fan of cold charlottes to start and this did nothing to persuade me to change my mind. The bavarian cream was a bit lumpy--that's not quite the right word, maybe grainy works better--due to the slightly odd texture of the green apple puree we used as a base. The red currant sorbet was a bit unimpressive. That's not to say it wasn't good, it was, but it just wasn't as good as other things we've made in this unit. The red currant coulis was nice but the clear vanilla sauce was a bit grainy--to match the bavarian, I guess. The lady fingers on the outside of the charlotte were nice, but we've made them before, so they aren't anything new or all that impressive. The best part was the apple chip, which I could eat a ton of and be incredibly happy. They fool you into thinking you are eating something healthy (they are apple after all), but they are really crisp sugary slices of goodness that only vaguely resemble the apple them came from. Oh gosh they are nice!

Charlotte Royale

A charlotte royale is also known as a brain cake due to it's appearance (it's apricot jelly rolls) and the fact that the center is gelatinous (it's filled with vanilla bavarian). This wasn't my favorite cake. It was a bit too sweet and I don't tend to be a fan of gelatinous things. Overall though, I think it is a very impressive looking cake and it's tasty.

Pear Charlotte Russe

This charlotte russe was made with pear Bavarian cream and topped with a poached pear and whipped cream. The outside is made of homemade ladyfingers and a layer of genoise serves as the bottom.  I don't know how it turned out taste-wise, because we only made one per team and it was my partner's birthday so I let her have my half. I'm not a huge Bavarian fan and it didn't seem like it would last the trip home cut in half, plus it was her birthday!

Chocolate Bavarois Tart

A bavarois or bavarian cream is made of three main components: a crème anglais (or fruit puree) base, gelatin, and whipped cream. You can add flavoring to it; in this case we added chocolate, which we melted into the crème anglais. While not officially a mousse (after all it's a bavarian cream) it is quite similar in taste and texture, though because of the gelatin this is somewhat denser and smoother while still being light and airy. We spread the cream into a full baked tart shell, decorated the top with chocolate shavings and sweetened whipped cream, and voilà an incredible, light, delicious, chocolate tart. Yum!

I actually bought a plain white plate so that the food shows
up better in photos. I think it worked well!