Once an iconic New York City street food, the Charlotte Russe is a Push Pop–style confection encased in a cardboard shell with a movable bottom. Inside, a disc of sponge cake is topped with a dollop of jam and crowned with spirals of whipped cream and a nut-dusted Maraschinocherry. As you eat it, you push the bottom up with your thumb, permitting access to the pastry’s deeper layers.
My search for the elusive treat led me to Holtermann’s Bakery, reportedly the only place in the five boroughs to make Charlotte Russes today (until a few years ago, Bay Ridge's Leske's sold a delicious version available by pre-order). Founded in 1878, Holtermann’s is the oldest family-owned bakery on Staten Island.
The pastry, however, receives no fanfare at Holtermann’s: there’s no banner proclaiming the shop the last bastion of Charlotte Russes in New York; the little turbaned pastries are not set apart on a golden tray. In fact, they sit in a corner of the display case on a plastic tray alongside their pastry peers. While I'd raced across the Verrazano, afraid they'd sell out, on the day of my visit the other customers were buying rye bread, doughnuts, and apple cake.
According to an article on the lost foods of New York, the Charlotte Russe—reportedly pronounced “Charley Roosh” and nicknamed “the Brooklyn Ambrosia”—was sold in the early to mid-1900s from street carts, candy stores, and bakeries as a quick after-school treat. Kids loved the novelty of pushing the cake upward, licking their way through the layers of cream, jam, and cake, and the challenge of achieving the right proportions of each in a single bite.
Though it looks heavy, the Charlotte Russe is actually airy. Removing the cherry—and savoring its waxy, syrupy, one-bite burst—reveals the enticing hole at the center of the cream spiral. The only way to eat the cream is to scoop at it with one’s top lip, rotating the cardboard shell as you go. Once the cream has leveled out with the scalloped top of the cardboard (which can be licked clean later), you start to crave a new texture. It’s time to start pushing it!
You position yourthumb at the center of the bottom of the shell and urge the pastry upward. With a squeaky rasp of waxed cardboard, the concoction rises like an elevator, revealing the golden coin of cake and leaving the Swiss-dotted cardboard behind like a discarded pinafore.
After conquering the pastry’s crown, the real joy of the Charlotte Russe begins: the contrast of textures between the cloud of cream; the cool, sticky dab of jam; and the spongy, grainy cake. As one schoolchild I know observed, it’s not unlike a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the Charlotte Russe’s successor in the realm of after-school treats: sweet and salty; smooth and crumbly; creamy and acidic. No matter how many times we’ve eaten it, it always surprised and delights us with its symphony of contrasts—not unlike New York City itself.
FAQs
So what is a Charlotte Russe? Charlottes are a category of chilled desserts made by pouring some type of mousse into a flat-bottomed mold lined with cake strips or often ladyfingers. A Charlotte Russe features a whipped cream mousse set with gelatin that's known as Bavarian cream.
Why is it called Charlotte Russe? ›
Borrowed from French charlotte russe (literally “Russian charlotte”). The origin of the term is obscure; one theory is that the dish was created by French chef Marie-Antoine Carême (1784–1833) and named in honour of his employer Alexander I of Russia.
What is Charlotte Russe dessert in Once Upon a Time in America? ›
Charlotte russe was also a dessert or on-the-go treat popular during 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. It was sold in candy stores and luncheonettes throughout the five boroughs of New York. It consisted of a paper cup filled with yellow cake and whipped cream topped with half a maraschino cherry.
What is the lost foods of New York City? ›
Lost Foods of New York City is a column that celebrates the food and drink that once fed the city, but have disappeared.
What is the difference between Charlotte Russe and Charlotte Royale? ›
What is the difference between Charlotte Russe and Charlotte Royale? The Charlotte Royale and Charlotte Russe share a common mousse filling. However, the Charlotte Royale uses Swiss roll slices in lieu of the classic ladyfinger lining featured in the Charlotte Russe.
Why are charlotte cakes called that? ›
They can be served baked or unbaked. The most famous baked version is an apple charlotte, which incorporates buttered bread, stewed apples and a breadcrumb topping. The name charlotte is thought to be in honor of Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III of England. Charlotte russe came a few years later.
What is the difference between a cold and hot charlotte? ›
Fruit charlotte typically is served warm, often with a sauce. For cold charlotte, the mold is lined with ladyfingers (sticks of spongecake) or cookies and filled with ice cream, whipped cream, or most commonly, Bavarian cream.
What happened with Charlotte Russe? ›
It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 4, 2019. In April 2019 the brand was bought by Toronto-based YM Inc., according to a press release.
What is Charlotte cake made of? ›
What is a charlotte cake? It is a French molded dessert. It can be served hot or cold. Also referred to as an “icebox cake” where bread, sponge cake or cookies are used to line a mold, which is then filled with fruit puree, mousse, or custard.
What dessert does Queen Elizabeth eat? ›
chocolate biscuit cake from the British royal kitchen
Chocolate biscuit cake is Queen Elizabeth's favorite cake ~ she would take a small slice every day with her tea, until the cake was finished, and then she'd start on a fresh one!
The Bombe Glacée Royale
It's long been known that the Queen has a sweet tooth, particularly when it comes to chocolate, so it's no surprise that her go-to dessert is a rich, mint and chocolatey delight known as a Bombe Glacée Royale.
What was Dolley Madison's favorite dessert? ›
Dolley preferred oyster ice cream. She used small, sweet oysters from the Potomac River near her home to churn up an interesting dessert. In 18th century cookbooks, chefs didn't stick to the basics.
What is New York's number one food? ›
New York-Style Pizza
You can't think of New York food without one thing coming to mind: pizza! The first pizzeria in the country, Lombardi's, was opened in Manhattan's Little Italy in 1905. It's been a Big Apple staple ever since.
What was a popular street food item in New York City? ›
Hot Dogs. When you think of New York street food, you immediately picture a hot dog stand in the middle of 5th Avenue. Hot dogs are to New York what croissants are to Paris and what pizza is to Napoles.
What are mini charlottes made of? ›
Today it is filled with a fruit mousse, cream, or sometimes even ice cream. Most often, it is made using sponge fingers and sometimes bread, brioche or genoise can be used on the outside. For these mini Pink Lady® charlottes, we suggest a combination of a light apple and almond mousse with diced apple.
What is a Charlotte Royale dessert? ›
A Charlotte royale is a combination of light sponge, fresh raspberry mousse studded with tiny strawberries, and whipped cream – exquisitely decorated of course!
What is the age range for Charlotte Russe? ›
Designed for ages fifteen to thirty-five, Charlotte Russe is for women who want the hottest trends and fashions without breaking the bank.
