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High Altitude Charlotte Cake

June 15, 2020 by Heather Smoke 2 Comments

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Today’s high altitude Charlotte cake is a soft and moist cake made with coconut milk and almond flour, flavored with almond extract and a bit of freshly grated nutmeg. It’s a simple cake that’s simply delicious on its own, and looks lovely topped with fresh berries. Serve slices of this cake with sweetened whipped cream for a dessert that’s reminiscent of strawberry shortcake.

Looking for more strawberry recipes? You’ll love my strawberry pretzel pie, strawberry cupcakes, strawberry rhubarb jam, and brown butter strawberry cookies.

Charlotte cake topped with fresh berries.

This site contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links.  This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services.  All opinions expressed on this site are my own.

What is a Charlotte Cake?

So a Charlotte Cake, also called a Charlotte Russe Cake, is a classic French molded dessert or trifle. The icebox cake version, which is served cold, is traditionally made of layers of sponge cake or even bread, and filled with other yummy things like fruit, mousse, custard or Bavarian cream, or whipped cream. All of this is encircled with ladyfingers for a beautiful presentation.

The Charlotte Cake Pan replicates the look of a Charlotte cake with its gorgeous molded design. And while it comes with a recipe, you can really use any cake recipe that you like with this pan. For my cake, I created an almond cake recipe that would make just enough batter to fill this lovely little cake pan.

A piece of Charlotte cake topped with berries.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick and Easy. The cake batter is so easy to make. Just whisk it up, pour it into the pan and bake your cake. And you don’t even need to wait long for the cake to cool. After about an hour, you can dig right into a warm, soft slice of cake.

Simple but Stunning. The pretty cake pan does all the hard work for you, and you’ll love how gorgeous your cake looks when you turn it out of the pan.

No Planning Ahead. This is not one of those cakes that you need to plan or prep anything ahead of time. And with the short cooling time after baking, you could bake the cake in the late afternoon, and it will be ready to eat by the time everyone finishes dinner.

Soft and Moist. The texture of this cake is just so good. It’s sturdy but soft, so moist, with a subtle almond flavor.

Charlotte cake topped with fresh berries.

Ingredients

  • Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cake structure and strength.
  • Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
  • Almond Flour. Adds a subtle almond flavor and keeps the cake tender and moist.
  • Baking Soda + Baking Powder. Leavening agent so the cake rises as it bakes.
  • Salt. Enhances the flavors and balances the sweetness.
  • Nutmeg. Complements the flavor of the coconut milk and almond.
  • Eggs. Gives the cake structure and strength.
  • Coconut Milk. For this recipe, you need full-fat, canned coconut milk. The baked cake doesn’t taste like coconut, but the rich, creamy coconut milk creates the most beautiful crumb and texture.
  • Butter. Adds richness and moisture.
  • Almond + Vanilla Extracts. Flavor.
Ingredients for making Charlotte cake.

Instructions

Prep the pan.

  • Make sure to thoroughly grease all the nooks and crannies inside the pan with nonstick baking spray, to ensure your cake releases perfectly.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whisk the cake batter.

  • In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
  • Add the eggs, coconut milk, melted butter, almond extract and vanilla extract, and whisk briefly until the batter is smooth and well combined.  Pour the batter into the pan.
Cake batter in a Charlotte pan.
Just baked Charlotte cake still in the pan.

Bake, cool and unmold the cake.

  • Bake on the center rack of your oven for about 32-35 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched and a cake tester comes out clean.  Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool for exactly 15 minutes.
  • Carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack or a serving plate and lift the pan off the cake. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool for about an hour before serving.
Charlotte cake.

Serve with fresh berries.

  • Serve your cake with any type of fresh berries, stone fruit or fruit compote.
  • If you like, some sweetened whipped cream is also great with the cake.
Charlotte cake topped with fresh berries.

Recipe Variations

One of the things I love about this cake is how versatile it is.  While I spiced my cake with a little nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon or ginger would be great too.  Exchange the almond extract for orange or lemon extract along with some fresh zest.  Try it with fresh blueberries or peaches or cherries.  The combinations are endless.

I’ve even baked a chocolate Charlotte cake, using 1/2 the recipe for my favorite chocolate cake. It was beautiful and delicious.

Chocolate Charlotte cake topped with blueberries and blackberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I substitute for the coconut milk?

If you can’t have coconut milk, you should substitute with something that’s similarly creamy, like half and half. Note that I haven’t tested any substitutions, though.

Can I leave out the almond flour and almond extract?

Yes, you can bake this recipe without the almond flour/extract.

How long does this cake stay soft?

Once the cake cools, store it in an airtight container at room temperature. It should stay soft and moist for about 3 days.

Can I freeze this cake?

Yes. Once the cake cools, wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3-6 months. Let thaw at room temperature.

Will this recipe work in another cake pan?

Yes, you can bake this cake recipe in a standard 8-inch cake pan or loaf pan. You could even double the recipe and bake it in a 12-cup bundt cake pan, but I’d suggest baking at a lower temperature of 325 F.

Charlotte cake with a piece cut.

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Charlotte cake topped with fresh berries.

High Altitude Charlotte Cake

Heather Smoke
A light and moist almond and coconut milk cake, baked in the beautiful Charlotte pan, and topped with fresh berries.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 35 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings8

Equipment

  • Charlotte Cake Pan (6-cup capacity)

Ingredients
 

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup almond flour
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup full-fat, unsweetened canned coconut milk (not a full can)
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 ½ tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • fresh berries, for serving

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Thoroughly grease the Charlotte Cake Pan with non-stick baking spray.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Add the eggs, coconut milk, melted butter, almond extract and vanilla extract, and whisk briefly until the batter is smooth and well combined.  Pour the batter into the pan.
  • Bake on the center rack of your oven for about 32-35 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched and a cake tester comes out clean.  Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes.
  • Carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack or a serving plate and lift the pan off the cake. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool for about an hour before serving.

Notes

  • Canned coconut milk (unsweetened, full-fat) is preferred for this recipe with its high fat content and rich creamy flavor – cartons of coconut milk from the
    dairy aisle will not work as well.  You should whisk together the contents of the can (since the coconut cream separates from the coconut water) first, before measuring out 1 cup.  The baked cake does not taste like coconut, but if you prefer to use another type of milk, I’d suggest replacing with half ‘n’ half.
  • The Charlotte Cake Pan is the perfect size for the amount of batter that this cake recipe makes; if you want to bake the cake in a regular-sized bundt pan instead, you should double the cake recipe for a full bundt cake.
Keyword Charlotte Cake, High Altitude, Strawberry
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    October 11, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    Did your husband buy you the 6 cup Charlotte pan or the 3 cup one?

    Reply
    • Heather Smoke

      October 14, 2018 at 1:29 am

      It has a 6-cup capacity, which is equivalent to a standard 8-inch round cake pan.

      Reply

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