Traditional Baked Rhubarb Charlotte

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A recipe for a fabulous old English pudding, Traditional Baked Rhubarb Charlotte, which is fantastic when served with custard

An Historic 17th Century British Pudding Recipe

I’m sharing a recipe for a fabulous old English pudding today, Traditional Baked Rhubarb Charlotte, which is fantastic when served with custard.

This recipe for baked Charlotte uses forced rhubarb in place of the usual apples, and is very much a late winter to early spring pudding.

The original Charlotte recipe is a 17th century dish – a simple moulded bread pudding, which was filled with stewed apples.

It’s said to be created in honour of, and named after Queen Charlotte, wife of George II. as she was the patron of English apple growers.

My recipe uses early spring forced Yorkshire rhubarb, as well as high quality Yorkshire sliced white bloomer.

I always roast my rhubarb with a little sugar, rather than poaching or stewing it. It keeps its vibrant candy pink and red colour better, and there’s no need to add any water.

This is a truly delectable dessert, which is easy to make, and is a great way of using up stale bread, although I used fresh bread when I made this last.

Some recipes suggest you melt (a lot of) butter, and then dip the bread in butter. However, this is a much healthier version, as you just need to butter one side of the bread.

It’s hard to suggest a weight for bread – I used 7 x large slices of bloomer when I last made this.

You will need to trim the crusts off the bread. I then pop the crusts into a zip-lock bag and freeze them, to make breadcrumbs with later.

I hope you enjoy this historic British pudding, albeit with a twist. And, please do let me know in the comments below, Karen

Culinary Notes

Use stewed apples in place of rhubarb.
Use stewed pears in place of the rhubarb.
Add the grated zest of an orange to the roast rhubarb.
Add finely diced stem ginger to the roast rhubarb.
For an extra crunch, sprinkle the pudding basin with Demerara sugar.

More Rhubarb Recipes

Recipe for Traditional Baked Rhubarb Charlotte

Traditional Baked Rhubarb Charlotte

Yield:
6

Prep Time:
45 minutes

Cook Time:
30 minutes

Total Time:
1 hour 15 minutes

I’m sharing a recipe for a fabulous old English pudding today, Traditional Baked Rhubarb Charlotte, which is fantastic when served with custard.

This recipe for baked Charlotte uses forced rhubarb in place of the usual apples, and is very much a late winter to early spring pudding.

The original Charlotte recipe is a 17th century dish – a simple moulded bread pudding, which was filled with stewed apples.

It’s said to be created in honour of, and named after Queen Charlotte, wife of George II. as she was the patron of English apple growers.

My recipe uses early spring forced Yorkshire rhubarb, as well as high quality Yorkshire sliced white bloomer.

I always roast my rhubarb with a little sugar, rather than poaching or stewing it. It keeps its vibrant candy pink and red colour better, and there’s no need to add any water.

This is a truly delectable dessert, which is easy to make, and is a great way of using up stale bread, although I used fresh bread when I made this last.

Some recipes suggest you melt (a lot of) butter, and then dip the bread in butter. However, this is a much healthier version, as you just need to butter one side of the bread.

It’s hard to suggest a weight for bread – I used 7 x large slices of bloomer when I last made this.

You will need to trim the crusts off the bread. I then pop the crusts into a zip-lock bag and freeze them, to make breadcrumbs with later.

I hope you enjoy this historic British pudding, albeit with a twist. And, please do let me know in the comments below, Karen

Ingredients

750g (about 6 to 7 stalks) forced rhubarb
100g caster sugar, plus extra for the pudding basin
6 to 7 slices of thick white bloomer bread, crusts trimmed
Butter, for spreading and for greasing the pudding basin
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas mark 6. Butter a 2 pint pudding basin (I used an enamel pudding basin) and then sprinkle with sugar to coat.
Cut the rhubarb into small pieces. Tip them in to a baking tray, add the sugar and mix well. Roast in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft but still retains its shape. Allow to cool whilst you line the pudding basin with the bread.
Cut a circle out of one slice of bread to fit the bottom of the pudding basin, butter it and place the buttered side down – use a saucer or small plater as a template. Trim the crusts of the remaining bread, leaving 1 to 2 slices for the lid, and then cut each slice into three.
Buttter the bread fingers and arrange them around the side of the basin, overlapping slightly, buttered side out.
Brush the beaten egg inside the bread lined basin, paying attention to the seams of the bread fingers. (This helps to seal the bread liner and stop the rhubarb from seeping out)
Using a slotted spoon, spoon the roast rhubarb into the bread lined pudding basin.
Trim the remaining slices of bread to fit the top of the pudding, making sure that the buttered side is facing out.
Press down gently to seal the lid. Then bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and crispy.
Run a knife around the bread fingers to loosen it. Invert the pudding basin on to a serving plate, and turn the Charlotte out.
Cut into wedges and serve with custard or cream.