This week the signature challenge hit all the sweet spots (pun intended) of great culinary television: a simple, widely known dish that loans itself to plenty of interpretation and personalization. Done right, a Charlotte almost always looks fantastic, too—one of its hallmarks is the imprint of its decretive mold.
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At its core, the Charlotte is a dessert made in a mold by the same name, using a sponge base, often with softened ladyfingers, as in a tiramisu. From there, the dessert splinters into several different versions: baked ones filled with fruit, like the well-known apple charlotte, and unbaked ones, most commonly known as the cream-filled Charlotte Russe.
