An impressive old-fashioned British dessert fit for kings and queens! Originally made with berries, we decided to make a tropical flavoured version for this Christmas! It is a bit of an effort, but if you love baking and have someone special to impress, make our Lime & Passionfruit Charlotte Royale! The stunning exterior and delicious flavours make this an excellent lighter alternative to more traditional Christmas desserts!
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Charlotte Royale For Christmas?
Why have we decided to go tropical this Christmas? Two reasons, really. First, it’s been a year like no other and we haven’t gone on holiday anywhere at all. People who know us would testify that there’s nothing more we like than visiting foreign countries, exploring undiscovered cities and treading through the sand on beautiful beaches. So our Lime and Passionfruit Charlotte Royale is meant to bring a little bit of holiday to the end of the year.
The second reason is the success of my Father-in-Law’s tropical Yule Log we had four years ago at the Christmas dinner. As lovely as Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings are, we personally are simply too full for a rich dense cake after a Christmas meal (that’s not to say we won’t devour a couple of them in the lead-up to Christmas and a couple of them after).
I will be honest, with Seb lending a helping hand, it took us about 4 hours to complete this, so it is a bit of an effort to make. But the upside of it is that you can make it two days in advance (or at least 12 hours before serving), so you don’t have to do anything on the day itself.
Are you ready? We are sharing our Lime & Passionfruit Charlotte Royale, and breaking up the recipe into chunks to make it more manageable.
Ingredients
Lime Jelly
You can simply use a shop-bought lime jelly instead of making your own. Just set it in a bowl similar sized to the one you’ll assemble your Passionfruit Charlotte Royale in.
If you are making your own though, you will need the following:
- 2 limes (zested and juiced): I used rather large limes and got approx. 60ml of juice out of them.
- 3 gelatine sheets, soaked in cold water for 5-10 minutes: No matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t get on with powdered gelatine. Leaf gelatine has been a discovery of a decade for me and I couldn’t recommend it enough. I normally use Dr Oatker, and it hasn’t disappointed me yet.
- 100 g caster sugar: caster sugar dissolves quicker than granulated.
- a drop of green food colouring: use just enough to make your jelly a natural lime green colour.
Lime Swiss Rolls
- 6 large eggs: use large eggs to make sure your sponge turns out light and airy. If you have medium eggs, you may want to use 7 instead.
- 150 g caster sugar: Caster sugar dissolves earlier and makes the texture of the sponge lighter, so I would recommend using caster as opposed to coarser granulated sugar.
- 1 tsp vanilla paste (optional): you can use seeds from one vanilla pod instead. My favourite vanilla paste that I use and love is Nielsen Massey (and it’s not an affiliate link, it’s just the best out there, in my opinion)
- 140 g plain flour: just simple plain flour. If you wish, you can use self-raising flour and skip the baking powder.
- 1½ tsp baking powder: as per above, only add if you’re using plain flour, not the self-raising flour.
- 270 g lime curd or lemon curd: both lime and lemon curd work just fine. Make sure you use a room temperature curd, it will be easier to mix with food colouring and spread onto the sponges.
- a drop of green food colouring: you can use any colour you wish, or no colour at all. But your Charlotte Royale will look better if your spirals are visible and you use a colour that is significantly different from the sponge itself.
Passionfruit Bavarois
- 385 ml whole milk: you can use semi-skimmed, but if you are to make a Charlotte Royale, you might as well make it as creamy as you can.
- 5 large egg yolks: or 6 if you’re using smaller eggs.
- 65 g caster sugar: it dissolves so much quicker than granulated sugar.
- 6 gelatine sheets, soaked in cold water for 5-10 minutes: as I mentioned above, I tried to get on with powdered gelatine and I simply couldn’t. I’d use too much, too little or it simply wouldn’t dissolve. Leaf gelatine has been a discovery of a decade for me and couldn’t recommend it enough. I normally use Dr Oatker, and it hasn’t disappointed me yet.
- 150 g passionfruit puree: I used this Passionfruit Puree here and it is by far the most amazing passionfruit puree I’ve ever tasted. So fresh, tart and sweet at the same time. Perfect for making the Pornstar Martinis or using in smoothies with the leftovers. You can get something similar in Sainsbury’s (if you’re in the UK) that I’ve used in other recipes. Another option, that may seem a bit silly, is to have a look in the baby food aisle for a tropical fruit baby puree. I’ve used pureed mango from the baby food aisle before and it worked a treat!
- 300 ml double cream: any kind that will whip up to soft peaks will do.
So, here’s the summary of the food items, bowls and utensils that I love and use myself (except for the LSA Lotta Cake Stand, but I just love the look of it and would love to have one myself), in case you’re looking for any of these:
How To Make Charlotte Royale From Scratch?
Step 1: Make Lime Jelly
First, place 3 gelatine sheets in a bowl with cold water and let them soak for 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, zest and juice two large limes.
Place both lime and juice and zest in a small saucepan with 100g of caster sugar and 150ml of water. Heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a quick boil and take off the heat.
Drain the gelatine sheets and squeeze out any excess water. Add them to the lime mixture and stir until the gelatine dissolves. Pour the jelly mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add green food colouring, drip by drip stirring in between until you arrive at a lovely lime green colour.
Line a bowl of a similar size that you will be making your Charlotte in with clingfilm or a silicone mould (it will make it easier to turn it out once set). Let it cool slightly at room temperature, then place it in the fridge for 3-4 hours until completely set.
Step 2: Make Lime Swiss Rolls
Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Line two baking trays (one small and one large, (39cm x 27cm and 24cm x 24cm)) with baking parchment.
Whisk the eggs, a teaspoon of vanilla paste and sugar using an electric whisk, until pale, fluffy and leaves a ribbon trail when lifted out (see photos below). It may take 7-10 minutes of whisking to get to that stage.
Add the sifted flour and fold it in carefully, trying not to knock out too much air. Divide the batter between the two lined trays and level out using a spatula. Make sure the batter gets into all four corners.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. The sponges should be golden brown and slightly risen.
Whilst the sponges are cooking, get two large sheets of baking parchment. Place them on the worktop and sprinkle them with caster sugar, ready for the sponges to be turned out onto.
Spoon lemon or lime curd into a bowl and add some green food colouring. Mix thoroughly. You don’t have to use any colouring, but if you want your spirals to stand out on a finished Charlotte Royal, you need your curd to be a significantly different colour to your sponges.
When the sponges are baked, take them out of the oven and carefully turn them out onto prepared baking parchment sheets (so they are upside down). Peel off the parchment off the top of the sponges slowly and carefully.
Trim the short end of the sponges with a sharp knife to get a sharp edge. Score the sponges on the short end 2 cm from the edge, but don’t cut all the way through. This will help to get the roll started.
When the sponges have cooled slightly (they don’t need to be cooled completely), spread the lime or lemon curd in a thin layer all over the sponges. Starting from the scored end roll the sponges tightly, making sure not to squeeze out too much of the curd. You should now have two swiss rolls: one small and one large. Set them aside to cool completely.
Step 3: Make Passionfruit Bavarois
Place 6 gelatine sheets in a bowl with cold water and soak for 5-10 minutes.
In a pan heat the milk until very hot but not boiling. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and creamy in a large mixing bowl. Pour hot milk over the eggs whisking vigorously to make sure your eggs don’t scramble (reserve the pan for later).
Take the gelatine sheets out and squeeze out any excess moisture. Add them to the egg and milk mixture and mix to dissolve.
Add the custard back to the milk pan and cook on low heat until the custard thickens stirring continuously. You are looking for a consistency of thick cream that coats the back of the spoon. It can take anywhere between 10-20 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a clean bowl and leave to cool down for 5-10 minutes.
When slightly cooled, add your passionfruit puree and mix. Then leave to cool completely.
In a separate bowl, whisk the double cream to soft peaks and fold it into a cooled passionfruit bavarois (make sure it’s cold before you fold the cream in!)
Step 4: Assemble and Chill your Lime & Passionfruit Charlotte Royale
Line a deep 2.3-2.5l bowl with cling film all the way up the sides. This will help to turn Charlotte Royale out.
Slice the swiss rolls into 1cm thick rounds. Use the small rounds to cover the base of the bowl, then use the large ones to cover the sides. Make sure they are snug so that the filling can’t seep through to the surface. Reserve enough slices to cover the base, including the edge slices.
Carefully turn out the lime felly onto a plate and peel the cling film off. Then tip the jelly inside your swiss roll-lined bowl domes side down. Don’t worry if the jelly breaks up a little. press it in so it more or less covers the base.
Spoon the passionfruit bavarois on top, making sure you leave no air pockets. Cover with the reserved swiss roll slices. Press down very lightly, then clingfilm the bowl and leave to set in the fridge overnight.
When you’re ready to serve, turn the Charlotte out onto a serving plate or a cake stand. You can decorate with tropical fruit or whipped cream if you like.
Recipe FAQs
Your Lime and Passionfruit Charlotte Royale will keep in the fridge for three days. Make sure you cover it – you can use cling film, or simply place an upside-down bowl over it.
You can make a range of different versions of this delicious cake dessert, but our favourite flavours in it are Traditional Strawberry, Pineapple and Coconut or Cherry and Dark Chocolate.
Other Dessert and Cake Recipes
If you’re not a fan of our Lime & Passionfruit Charlotte Royale Cake, we have lots of other ideas for you to explore. For other festive cakes and desserts, have a look at our collection here, including:
- Gluten-Free Chocolate & Pear Almond Cake
- Pecan Praline & Banana Parfait
- All-American Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan & Pretzel Crumble Top
- Orange & White Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding
Recipe Card
Lime and Passionfruit Charlotte Royale
Equipment
- 2 Baking Trays (39cm x 27cm) and (24cm x 24cm)
- 2.3-2.5l deep bowl
Ingredients
For the Lime Jelly:
- 2 limes zested and juiced
- 3 gelatine sheets soaked in cold water for 5-10 minutes
- 100 g caster sugar
- a drop of green food colouring
For Lime Swiss Rolls:
- 6 large eggs
- 150 g caster sugar + extra for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste optional
- 140 g plain flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 270 g lime curd or lemon curd
- a drop of green food colouring
For the Passionfruit Bavarois:
- 385 ml whole milk
- 5 large egg yolks
- 65 g caster sugar
- 6 gelatine sheets soaked in cold water for 5-10 minutes
- 150 g passionfruit puree (see text above for details)
- 300 ml double cream
Instructions
Make Lime Jelly:
- First, place 3 gelatine sheets in a bowl with cold water and let them soak for 5-10 minutes.
- In the meantime, zest and juice 2 large limes, and place both in a small saucepan with 100g of caster sugar and 150ml of water. Heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil and take off the heat.
- Drain the gelatine sheets and squeeze out any excess water. Add them to the lime mixture and stir until gelatine dissolves. Pour the jelly mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl.
- Add green food colouring, drip by drip stirring in between until you arrive at a lovely lime green colour.
- Line a bowl of a similar size that you will be making your Charlotte in with clingfilm (it will make it easier to turn it out once set) or use a silicone mould. Let it cool slightly at room temperature, then place in the fridge for 3-4 hours until completely set.
Make Swiss Rolls:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Line two baking trays (one small and one large, see equipment list above) with baking parchment.
- Whisk the eggs, vanilla paste and sugar using an elecric whisk, until pale, fluffy and leaves a ribbon trail when lifted out (see photos above). It may take 7-10 minutes of whisking to get to that stage.
- Add the sifted flour and fold it in carefully, trying not to knock out too much air.
- Divide the batter between the two lined trays and level out using a spatula. Make sure the batter gets into all four corners.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. The sponges should be golden brown and slightly risen.
- Whilst the sponges are cooking, get two large sheets of baking parchment. Place them on the worktop and sprinkle them with caster sugar, ready for the sponges to be turned out onto.
- Spoon lemon or lime curd into a bowl and add some green food colouring. Mix thoroughly. You don't have to use any colouring, but if you want your spirals to stand out on a finished Charlotte Royal, you need your curd to be a significantly different colour to your sponges.
- When the sponges are baked, take them out of the oven and carefully turn them out onto prepared baking parchment sheets (so they are upside down). Peel off the parchment off the top of the sponges slowly and carefully.
- Trim the short end of the sponges with a sharp knife to get a sharp edge.
- Score the sponges on the short end 2 cm from the edge, but don't cut all the way through. This will help to get the roll started.
- When the sponges have cooled slightly (they don't need to be cooled completely), spread the lime or lemon curd in a thin layer all over, the sponges.
- Starting from the scored end, roll the sponges tightly, making sure not to squeeze out too much of the curd. You should now have two swiss rolls: one small and one large. Set them aside to cool completely.
Make the Passionfruit Bavarois:
- Place 6 gelatine sheets in a bowl with cold water and soak for 5-10 minutes.
- In a pan heat the milk until very hot but not boiling.
- In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and creamy in a large mixing bowl. Pour hot milk over the eggs whisking vigorously to make sure your eggs don't scramble (reserve the pan for later).
- Take the gelatine sheets out and squeeze out any excess moisture. Add them to the egg and milk mixture and stir to dissolve.
- Add the custard back to the milk pan and cook on low heat until the custard thickens stirring continuously. You are looking for a consistency of thick cream that coats the back of the spoon. It can take anywhere between 10-20 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a clean bowl and leave to cool down for 5-10 minutes.
- When slightly cooled, add your passionfruit puree and mix. Then leave to cool completely.
- In a separate bowl, whisk double cream to soft peaks and fold it into a cooled passionfruit bavarois (make sure it's cold before you fold the cream in!)
Assemble your Charlotte Royale:
- Line a deep 2.3-2.5l bowl with cling film all the way up the sides. This will help to turn Charlotte Royale out.
- Slice the swiss rolls into 1cm thick rounds. Use the small rounds to cover the base of the bowl, then use the large ones to cover the sides. Make sure they are snug so that filling can't seep through to the surface. Reserve enough slices to cover the base, including the edge slices.
- Carefully turn out the lime jelly onto a plate and peel the cling film off. Lower the jelly inside your swiss roll-lined bowl dome side down. Don't worry if the jelly breaks up a little. Press it in so it more or less covers the base.
- Spoon the passionfruit bavarois on top, making sure you leave no air pockets.
- Cover with the reserved swiss roll slices. Press down very lightly, then clingfilm the bowl and leave to set in the fridge overnight.
- When you're ready to serve, turn the Charlotte out onto a serving plate or a cake stand. You can decorate with tropical fruit or whipped cream if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
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