A delicious and melting dessert: Chocolate charlotte ! Inside, two chocolate mousses (dark and milk) surrounded by soft sponge fingers and topped with mascarpone whipped cream. An easy recipe for all chocolate lovers...
What you will like about this chocolate charlotte
- flavors : the mixture of two chocolates, dark (light) and milk, topped with whipped cream.
- texture : this chocolate charlotte is delicious and creamy, ideal for the end of a meal. The two mousses are tender and the biscuits soft.
- difficulty level : it's a simple recipe, but it's done in several steps. I advise you to start a little in advance. You will need an adjustable pastry ring to achieve it.
The choice of ingredients
- spoon cookies : take good quality biscuits, not to be confused with boudoirs which are drier. You can make them yourself, but it adds an extra step to the recipe.
- chocolate : for the dark chocolate mousse and the milk mousse, opt for quality pastry chocolate, it will make all the difference when tasting the chocolate charlotte, I promise!
How to make a chocolate charlotte?
- We quickly place one side of the spoon biscuits in the syrup and garnish the circle to form the base of the charlotte to accommodate the mousses.
- We prepare the dark chocolate mousse then we pour it into the bottom, on the spoon biscuits.
- We then place a layer of spoon cookies.
- We prepare the milk chocolate mousse then we place it on top.
- We prepare the mascarpone whipped cream and we pocket it on the charlotte, with chocolate shavings
- We refrigerate chocolate charlotte for 4 hours minimum so that it holds up well when cut.
NB: the complete list of ingredients and the detailed recipe are given at the bottom of the page.
My tips for making your charlotte a success
- squeeze your biscuits tightly against the circle when you start to assemble the chocolate charlotte: this prevents the mousse from flowing down the sides, and gives it a nice, straight structure.
- Beat the whipped cream firmly in each of the mousses, this avoids having too liquid a consistency when filling the mould.
- soak quickly without insisting too much the biscuits around the edges and the filling in the middle, to prevent them from getting soggy.
How to store chocolate charlotte?
This chocolate charlotte is best enjoyed fresh, so it can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If you have an airtight cover or any other box, use it to protect the charlotte from refrigerator odors.
Other recipes to try
If you like this type of "entremets" desserts, I invite you to take a look at these other recipes on the blog:
- Royal Chocolate
- Neapolitan House
- Raspberry charlotte cake
- Dessert 3 chocolates
- Crispy white chocolate raspberry bavarois
- Banoffee pie banana caramel whipped cream
- Chocolate Pear Charlotte
If you make this chocolate charlotte, don't hesitate to rate the recipe below and tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see your beautiful charlottes!
Chocolate Charlotte, The Easy Recipe
Prepare a fondant chocolate charlotte to delight your guests! A very delicious mousse texture, perfect at the end of a meal...
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Ingredients
Cookies and soaking
- 25 spoon cookies
- 100 g water
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 cc natural vanilla extract
Dark chocolate mousse
- 130 g 52% cocoa dark chocolate
- 210 g heavy whipping cream 30%
- 1 gelatin sheet Vahine
Milk chocolate mousse
- 100 g pastry milk chocolate
- 210 g heavy whipping cream 30%
- 1,5 gelatin sheet Vahine
mascarpone whipped cream
- 160 g heavy whipping cream 30% very cold
- 80 g mascarpone very cold
- 25 g icing sugar
Decor chocolate shavings
- 100 g dark chocolate pastry
Prepare in advance
Soak the cookies
- In a saucepan, heat the water and powdered sugar until simmering. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and let the resulting soaking syrup cool down.
- Adjust the pastry ring to 18cm, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or directly on the serving dish).
- Take a spoon biscuit, then dip its flat side in the syrup then place it against the inside of the circle (curved side outwards). Continue with the other cookies to go around. Also line the bottom of the circle. Do not hesitate to cut the biscuits to stick them as much as possible.
Dark chocolate mousse
- Soften the gelatin in cold water. In a saucepan, melt the chopped chocolate and 60g of liquid cream over low heat. Off the heat, add the softened and drained gelatin, smooth.
- Whip the rest of the cream (150g) with a mixer to obtain a stiff whipped cream. With a spatula, incorporate the melted chocolate in two batches.
- Place this dark chocolate mousse in the mold, on top of the biscuits, filling up to half the height.
- Soak the biscuits with a spoon then place them on the chocolate mousse, pressing well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Milk chocolate mousse
- Soften the gelatin in cold water. In a saucepan, melt the chopped chocolate and 60g of liquid cream over low heat. Off the heat, add the softened and drained gelatin, smooth.
- Whip the rest of the cream (150g) with a mixer to obtain a stiff whipped cream. With a spatula, incorporate the melted chocolate in two batches.
- Place this milk chocolate mousse in the mold, on top of the biscuits. Smooth and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
mascarpone whipped cream
- Whip the very cold cream into whipped cream. Add the icing sugar and the mascarpone then whisk again to obtain a smooth and creamy texture.
- Fill a piping bag (with fluted tip) and pipe domes on the milk chocolate mousse.
- Refrigerate the charlotte for at least 4 hours before serving, to make cutting easier.
Chocolate shavings decoration (optional)
- Melt the chocolate then smooth on a metal or marble plate. Let cool so that it hardens slightly. With a grater, make long shavings (which roll up on themselves). Decorate the charlotte.
Notes
This chocolate charlotte will keep in the refrigerator for up to approximately 3-4 days.
How to adapt the ingredients to the size of your mold? The volume calculation is mandatory…
This works for logs, cakes, etc.
- Calculate the volume of my mold (dimensions given in my recipe)
- Calculate the volume of your mold
- Divide the volume of your mold by the volume of my mold
Wow! This recipe is killer! Don't count calories. But this charlotte is good! In general opinion, this recipe is validated. I will do it again very very soon. ☆☆☆☆☆
Thank you very much Michelle! See you soon :)
Hello Aurélie,
I would like to make this recipe for 10 people, should I multiply the ingredients by 2 even if it seems like a lot to me?
Should the pastry ring be placed at a maximum of 30cm?
Hello Aline, the portions are high as you can see in my photos, so you can enlarge to 22cm, that's already good. You have to do a volume calculation: you calculate the volume of my mold (X-ray X-ray 3,14) then the volume of your mold. Then you divide the volume of your mold by the volume of my mold = you get the number by which to multiply each ingredient. See you soon :)
Hello Aurelie :)
Your Charlotte was unanimously popular at our table last night :D We had a great time!!
This is the first time I've made one of your desserts.
Your explanations are a valuable help, they really make a difference compared to other recipes which are much less precise.
The end result is exactly what was expected, whether for the presentation or the flavors, everything is there and precisely measured!
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe, which will surely not be the last one I make ;)
Oh thank you Manon for this message! I do indeed try to make my recipes as simple as possible to reproduce, so I am delighted to read that my explanations helped you. I hope you will find other nuggets on my blog :) See you soon
Thank you very much for your feedback Aurélie and your details :D I now have all the cards in hand to make this wonderful Charlotte!
Hello,
Do you think a 70% chocolate/40% chocolate mix (both Valrhona) would work well? Guanaja and Jivara?
Thank you
Hello Muriel, the jivara yes perfect, on the other hand the 70% chocolate will be more full-bodied than the one I used: it's simply a question of taste. Your mousse will be less sweet, more full-bodied, that can work too! See you soon :)
Good evening Lilie,
I am very interested in your recipe and was thinking of turning it into a “Christmas log”.
On the other hand, I would have liked to do without gelatin, do you think that this will greatly affect the appearance of the cake?
Thank you
Pierre
Hello Pierre, it's very ambitious of you to want to remove the gelatin! Yes, it will change everything in texture... You can reduce it if you want but don't remove it... See you soon :)
Hello, after testing the recipe for the raspberry charlotte with which we enjoyed for Christmas, want to try the chocolate one.
What could I replace the mascarpone with?
Thank you in advance.
Hello Julie, the mascarpone is necessary to make a firm whipped cream: I do not advise you to remove it at all... See you soon ;)
I just made this recipe, it was a treat.
Thank you very much for all these shares
Thank you very much Celia! Glad you like my recipes :)
Hello Lilie, thank you for this magnificent recipe, once again. I discovered you not long ago and am now particularly following you.
Could you tell me the size of the mold please? THANKS
Hello Monica! It's a pleasure to welcome you on my blog :) The size of the circle in which I make my charlotte is 18cm (it's an adjustable circle, very practical: https://amzn.to/3HS6LPM) See you soon !
Hello, thank you for this very well explained recipe. I made it today, tasting planned for tomorrow... I just added chocolate shavings to the milk chocolate mousse.
Thank you Laura, I hope you liked this charlotte! See you soon :)
Hello, I tested it and it was really good!
The only problem was that the dark chocolate mousse was very compact underneath (although it was airy when I poured it into the mold). Do you know how I could fix this? :/
Hello Elodie, thank you for your feedback! Dark chocolate holds better than milk chocolate, due to its composition. Here we want it to be denser at the bottom because the rest of the charlotte holds on top. If you still want to avoid it being too dense, your whipped cream should be beaten a little less firm before adding the melted chocolate. See you soon :)
Hello, I plan to make your recipe for a birthday. I would like to add pieces of pear to the syrup. Do you think this will destabilize the foam, perhaps a rejection of water? Thank you for your advice.
Hello Cécilia, I advise you to take my chocolate pear Charlotte recipe directly here: https://liliebakery.fr/charlotte-poire-chocolat/
Goodbye :)
Hello,
This recipe seems really good to me, I just have one question, do you think I can replace the milk chocolate with praline chocolate?
Thank you for your reply.
Very good day.
Hello Nathalie, if it is a praline baking chocolate yes because it contains milk chocolate and praline in addition. It is therefore worked in the same way. See you soon :)
Hello,
Thank you for this lovely blog that I am discovering! Could you tell me if it is possible to freeze it and then take it out of the freezer the day before for the next day at noon? Thank you :)
Hello Julie, yes it is possible to freeze it in its mold (well wrapped in film and aluminum to counteract humidity). For defrosting it is about 6 hours in the refrigerator. See you soon :)
Hello, do you think it is possible to replace the milk chocolate with white chocolate?
thank you for your reply
Hello Julie, white chocolate being much sweeter, it would be more sickening given the thickness. However, if you want to try, you can base yourself on my other recipe: https://liliebakery.fr/entremets-3-chocolats/
This recipe is a killer and my 7 guests loved it! And for those who are afraid that it might be too chocolatey, there is enough whipped cream left to accompany and counterbalance. Next goal, the raspberry charlotte that I can't wait to taste. All your recipes are delicious, Lilie!
Thank you Raphaëlle for your feedback! I'm really happy that you like it :) See you soon
Recipe made yesterday and followed to the letter, I used extra bitter for the dark chocolate and Tanariva for the milk!
I didn't have any vanilla extract for the syrup, but it didn't matter, it was really excellent! I might do it again, varying the varieties of chocolate, since we are big fans of different dark chocolates of different origins!
Thank you for your feedback Camille! See you soon :)
Hello,
I would like to make this same recipe but in a cake pan! Should I change the proportions of the 2 chocolates?
Thank you
Hello Patricia, to change the mold/mold shape, you need to calculate the volume to know how to adapt your ingredients compared to my basic recipe. 1/ Calculate the volume of my mold (dimensions given in my recipe)
2/ Calculate the volume of your mold
3/ Divide the volume of your mold by the volume of my mold
= you obtain the number by which to multiply each of the ingredients.
Goodbye :)
A REAL TREAT.
Recipe followed to the letter except that I replaced the gelatin sheet with agar-agar.
This charlotte is all the rage.
A delight for the taste buds.
Many thanks.
Thank you very much Maïté! Glad you like my chocolate charlotte! See you soon for other recipes :)
Very good recipe! A repeat without hesitation
Thank you very much Elodie! See you soon :)
Hello
Thank you for this recipe which I have already made several times.
I have a question: is it possible to freeze it without doing the mascarpone decoration step?
Thanks for your feedback
Hello Sophie, yes it is possible to freeze it in its mold (well wrapped in film and aluminum to counteract humidity). For defrosting it is about 6 hours in the refrigerator. See you soon :)
Hi,
I made this charlotte for my son's birthday, the whole family loved it and I had nothing but compliments ;) Many thanks for your delicious recipes.
Thank you very much Karine! See you soon :)
Hello,
I want to make this recipe for my daughter's birthday.
My pastry circle is 5cm high, is that enough? Your cake looks taller.
Thank you in advance for your answer
Hello Alicia, to answer you, 5cm high is a bit small to contain a charlotte: it is a very high dessert. My circle is 8/9cm high. :) See you soon
I have made this charlotte several times!!
The recipe is just perfect and easy to make!!
Thank you very much!!
Thank you very much Sophie! Glad you like the charlotte! See you soon :)
Good evening Lilie,
Can I add fresh raspberries between two layers of dark chocolate mousse without it altering the texture?
I plan to put half of the dark chocolate mixture on the bottom biscuits, raspberries, then the rest of the mixture before adding the additional layer of biscuits and refrigerating.
Thank you
Hello Caroline, yes you can try it with fresh raspberries only (no frozen). See you soon :)
Hello Lilie,
As a regular at your Charlotte recipes, I would have liked to make it in a dark chocolate and coconut version, with a ganache on top and grated coconut as decoration. Good idea? I'm especially wondering about the coconut mousse... any advice or a recipe to share?
Hello Violaine, so this would be a new recipe in its own right, I'll let you experiment in the kitchen! See you soon :)
Hello, I just made this Charlotte, very good! A small downside, my mousses were a little set, did I not whip my whipped cream enough?
Hello Frédéric, if you want a more airy result, the whipped creams must be more airy at the start. See you soon :)
Great recipe, I made a milk chocolate mousse with white chocolate, just extra
Hello, I made this cake for Easter. They loved it. Everything is well explained and with the photos it's perfect. I'm going to look at all your recipes. Thank you.
Thanks Betty! See you soon :)
A charlotte just the way we like them, a real treat!
Already done twice, it enhances a birthday meal or not.
Thanks for this great recipe.
Thank you Gisèle! See you soon :)
Hello, I tried the recipe and it was perfect :o However, some friends of mine would like a version without gelatin. Is it possible to replace the gelatin in the two mousses with cocoa butter that I have available? If so, how much for each mousse?
Merci :)
Hello Jade, unfortunately I can't help you because I don't know the equivalent with this product. See you soon :)
Perfect, everyone enjoyed it, thank you for this recipe :)
Thank you Claire! See you soon :)
Hello, I would like to make this recipe for 14 people?
What diameter should I make?
Merci à vous
Hello Aurélie, you need to do a volume calculation:
Calculate the volume of my mold (dimensions given in my recipe)
Calculate the volume of your mold
Divide the volume of your mold by the volume of my mold
= you obtain the number by which to multiply each of your ingredients.
This works for logs, cakes, etc.
Wow, delicious, very well explained and quite easy to make.
Thank you Anne! See you soon :)
Hello,
The recipe says to set the ring to 18cm. Can this recipe be made with an 18cm springform pan if you don't have an adjustable ring?
Thank you very much
Hello, yes it is possible. See you soon :)