Apple Charlotte pudding
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Apple Charlotte pudding
Recipe by Sarah Cook
Apple Charlotte (made in a pudding basin, then turned out) is a traditional favourite but a fiddly job to assemble. This family-friendly version captures the flavour and textures of the original, without any associated jeopardy. The only tricky part is deciding whether to go with vanilla ice cream or custard!
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
543Kcal
Fat
22gr
Saturates
13gr
Carbs
80gr
Sugars
61gr
Fibre
4gr
Protein
5gr
Salt
0.6gr
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Ingredients
- 550g Bramley cooking apples (about 2-3 apples)
- 100g golden caster sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- zest of 1 lemon plus the juice of ½
- 300ml apple juice
- 650g crisp eating apples, such as Braeburn or Jazz (about 5 apples)
- 150g unsalted butter
- 150g golden syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 350g extra-thick sliced soft white bread, crusts removed (such as a toastie loaf)
- vanilla ice cream, custard or double cream, to serve
Step by step
Get ahead
The apple filling can be made up to 48 hours ahead and chilled, then the syrupy bread top will sit happily for a few hours at room temperature. If chilled for longer, you risk the bread drying out.
- Start by preparing the apple filling. Peel and core each Bramley in turn, then thinly slice into a pan. Toss with the sugar, cornflour and lemon juice until most of the dusty flour has disappeared, then drizzle in the apple juice. Put over a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples soften into mush. Use a masher or stick blender to purée the apples until smooth.
- Peel, core and dice the eating apples into 2cm chunks, then stir into the Bramley sauce, adding the lemon zest. Cover and cook for another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chunks are semi-soft. Spread into a baking dish (we used a 1.8 litre, 22-24cm diameter pie dish); see our ‘Get ahead’ tip above, if making in advance.
- Up to 4 hours before serving, melt the butter, golden syrup and vanilla together in a frying pan, stirring until combined. Leave to cool a little while you cut each slice of bread into 4 triangles.
- When the buttery syrup is just warm to touch, take one bread triangle at a time and dip briefly on both sides (use tongs if it’s easier). Lift out, shaking off the excess, and arrange on top of the apple filling, overlapping the triangles slightly until the dish is covered. Brush any leftover syrupy butter over the top. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
- Bake on a tray for 25-30 minutes until the topping is really crisp to the touch and dark golden. Eat straight away, with a good dollop of ice cream, custard or double cream for every spoonful of Charlotte.
