Gluten Free Charlotte Russe

For this gluten free Charlotte Russe we are giving a huge shout out to Simply Delish for this recipe inspiration! Full disclosure – we joined the Simply Delish affiliate program which essentially entails them sending us a box of their gluten/dairy-free pudding and jel boxed mixes every few months, and us coming up with recipes that involve those boxed mixes as an ingredient every month, so you’ll see a few other Simply Delish-inspired recipes on here once in a while! This one uses their strawberry pudding boxed mix (we are a HUGE fan of any boxed pudding, it was our favorite camping treat when we were kids) and if you’re into it, use our specific link here to go check out their products, and use our 10% discount code SSGPUDDING to get 10% off of whatever you order!

This recipe for gluten free Charlotte Russe, or a Russian Charlotte, is a type of trifle. Bread, sponge cake or cookies are used to line the mold which is then filled with some sort of fruit puree and/or custard. Now, there are different types of Charlottes, and they’re not always made with fruit. However, for the Charlotte Russe it is always made with lady fingers and berries. It was created by French chef Marie-Antoine Carême in the early 1800’s. I would recommend enjoying this dessert in spring or summer months, as it is very light and refreshing!

I first came across this recipe when I was very young. I found it in a children’s international cookbook and thought to myself, “Oooh that looks very fancy”. I never actually tried the dessert until I was an adult, but I agree with my younger self, it does look very fancy. Now, I somewhat recreated this recipe due to our lovely sponsor, Simply Delish, who generously provided both of the mixes used in the cream filling for this gluten free Charlotte Russe. They are a Canadian based company that makes instant pudding and jel dessert mixes. The one thing I am very excited about is that their instant pudding mixes are designed to work with non-dairy milk! As someone who was diagnosed with Lactose Intolerance very young, it was a disappointment to not be able to make instant pudding.

If you liked this recipe and want to try one of our others, please check out our mini gluten free cheesecakes, our kiwi-lime tart, or our pina colada cupcakes!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Charlotte Russe

A French dessert made of cake, cream and lady fingers!

Prep Time2 hours hrs

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Chilling Time4 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: cake, charlotte cake, charlotte russe, cream, ladyfingers, pudding, raspberry, strawberry, trifle

Servings: 12 people

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Kendra Farber

Cost: $35

Equipment

• Springform Pan
• Baking Sheet
• Electric mixer

Ingredients

For the LadyFinger Cookies:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• 2/3 Cup white sugar
• 3/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix
• 1/4 Cup white rice flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tsp baking powder
• 1/4 Cup each of powdered sugar & white sugar used for dusting the cookies

For the Sponge Cake:

• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 Cup white sugar
• 2/3 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix
• 1/4 Tsp baking powder

For the Berry Mousse:

• 1 Box SIMPLY DELISH Strawberry Instant Pudding use code SSGPUDDING for 10% off
• 1 Box SIMPLY DELISH Raspberry Jel Dessert use code SSGPUDDING for 10% off
• 1 1/2 Cups cold milk
• 1/2 Cup water
• 3 Cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 Cup powdered sugar

Instructions

For the LadyFinger Cookies:

• Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer,, whip 2 egg yolks and 1/3 cup of white sugar until increased in volume, pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whip the 3 egg whites to a soft peak and then add the other 1/3 cup of white sugar until you get a stiff-peak meringue. Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites until just incorporated. (Make sure you don't knock out to much air during mixing!)
• Sift the gluten free flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into the egg mixture. Fold everything together until no flour clumps remain, but make sure not to lose too much air during mixing. Transfer the cookie batter into a piping bag with a medium round nozzle (the diameter of the nozzle will determine the thickness of your cookies, so choose appropriately depending on what size of cookies you want), and pipe about 4 inch (10 cm) long lines of batter onto the lines baking sheets. (Make sure to leave about 3/4 inch (2 cm) space between the cookies.)
• Mix together the powdered and granulated sugars and, using a sieve, generously dust the piped ladyfinger cookies. Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300º F (150º C) and bake for another 12 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool fully before using.

For the Sponge Cake:

• Grease an 8" round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350˚ F. In the bowl of your mixer with the whisk attachment on high speed, beat 4 eggs for 1 minute. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar and continue beating on high 7 min until thick and 3 to 4 times in volume.
• Stir together flour and baking powder then sift flour into whipped eggs in 2 additions, folding to incorporate between each addition. Scrape from the bottom to catch any hidden pockets of flour and fold until just incorporated – don't overmix. Bake at 350˚ F for 23-25 minutes or until top is golden and springs back when poked lightly.
• Once it's out of the oven, remove cake from pan by sliding a thin edged spatula around the edges. Transfer to wire rack, peel back parchment and cool to room temp. Then slice cake layers in half horizontally.

For the Berry Mousse:

• In a large bowl beat the SIMPLY DELISH strawberry pudding mix with 1 1/2 cups of cold milk with an electric mixer for 3 – 5 minutes or until thick. Once fully mixed set in fridge to chill until assembly.
• In a small microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup, mix the water and SIMPLY DELISH raspberry jel dessert mix. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Put the thickened mix into the microwave, and heat until it dissolves (only a few seconds!). While that cools, in a separate large bowl, beat together the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until it forms soft peaks. While still beating constantly, pour the liquid raspberry jel into the beating cream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Assembling the Charlotte Russe:

• Line a 9" springform pan with plastic wrap. Place the first layer of sponge cake into the bottom of your springform pan. Trim about 1/2" off of one end of all ladyfingers to make a flat base. Place lady fingers in an upright, tight ring, cut-side-down, around the cake base (like building a wall). Pour 1/2 of the berry mixture over the cake layer and smooth out. Spread half of the whipped cream on top of that. Repeat with the next layer of cake and the second half of the berry mixture and whipped cream. (Save some whipped cream for piping decorating!)
• Top with piped whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Cover carefully with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, pop open the springform pan, the plastic wrap lining will have prevented any sticking to the sides. Serve chilled.

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your charlotte!

Food photography and styling by Kendra Farber