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Pies and Tarts
apple charlotte
Apple, pear or peach charlotte (with rum, wine, brown sugar and bread)
Originated from: Italy
Occasion: Special times
Contributed by: Taken from "Italian Cooking" by Dorothy Daly

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Ingredients

2 lbs cooking apples, pears or peaches that not over ripe
Grated rind of a lemon
1 wineglassful rum
4 ozs brown sugar
1 tablespoon cold water
1 oz butter
1 wineglassful white white
Thin slices of bread and butter with crusts removed



Directions

"Prepare the fruit by peeling and coring (or in the case of peaches, removing the stones) put them in a stewpan with the sugar, the water and the white whine and cook until tender, when the fruit is reduced to a pulp, add the butter and the grated lemon rind, and if not sufficiently sweet add a little more sugar. Meanwhile grease a souffle mould, and line it entirely well buttered slices of this bread. Pour in the fruit pulp and over the top lace a layer of thinly sliced and buttered bread. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a moderate oven for half an d hour and just before serving, pour over the rum and light so that the dish is carried flaming to the table. This final touch may be omitted if preferred."


Notes

This recipe was taken from "Italian Cooking" by Dorothy Daly. It was published by Spring Books in Great Britain. For the complete copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org. A variety of recipes can also be found on this website.... P.S. I tried this recipe (though I simplified it a bit) and found the results O.K. but not newsworthy. To get this recipe right one really has to have a very large Italian-country style bread that can be cut to the dimensions of the pan. That will make the look of the pie (Or is it a cake?) look nicer. Nowadays, apple pies are rarely made with bread slices and that's great I guess for those who want to avoid using pie pastry dough, but honestly it does not enhance the flavor of the apples at all. North American modern-day recipes for similar recipes generally use breadcrumbs rather than bread slices, and the end result is more pleasing than this particular recipe. Possibly, in the hands of a professional chef Daly's recipe could be delightful, but that's neither here or there as I am not one.... Photo and notes: Mary Melfi.

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