High Altitude Charlotte Cake

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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