Apple Roll, or Charlotte Reimagined

A viral reels recipe — some call it "the prime era of charlotte". I wouldn't put it that way: apple pie deserves better, and I'd say the two are equals.

I went through several versions and dropped the milk, butter and water that some recipes add to the sponge. Then I tested it: how does it turn out? Will it crack? And why does everyone praise it so much?

Made carefully, the roll came out perfect — not a single crack. As my husband said: "with cream instead of apples it would be good too... but you can't eat that much cream." There's your review.

Honestly, the filling is great. Still, I would add some pastry cream or a light caramel praline cream. There's plenty of room to improve — but first, the base recipe.

180 °C, top and bottom heat, no fan · 20 minutes baking · One baking tray

Ingredients

For the filling

• seasonal garden apples — 1.5 kg
• sugar — 3 tbsp
• butter — 50 g
• cornstarch — 1 tbsp
• cinnamon — to taste
• nutmeg — to taste

For the sponge

• eggs — 5
• sugar — 150 g
• flour — 150 g
• salt — 1 pinch

Method

1. Grate the apples. I didn't even peel them.
2. Melt the butter in a pan, add the apples, sugar and spices. Cook for 10–15 minutes over medium heat until the excess juice evaporates. At the end, dissolve the cornstarch in water, pour it in and stir. The filling should thicken.
3. Heat the oven to 180 °C, top and bottom heat, no fan. Line a baking tray with parchment.
4. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt for 7–10 minutes, until pale and thick enough to hold the trace of the whisk.
5. Sift the flour and fold it in gently with a spatula, lifting from the bottom up.
6. The main trick: spread the apple filling evenly over the parchment, then pour the batter on top. Yes, in that order — the filling ends up inside the roll on its own.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, until the sponge is done.
8. While still hot (really hot!), cover with a second sheet of parchment, flip it over, peel off the top sheet and roll it up carefully.
9. Let it cool completely rolled up.

Tips

• The key is whisking the eggs and sugar really well — 7 to 10 minutes.
• Roll it while hot, or it will crack.
• Works well with pastry cream or a light caramel praline cream.