coming soon, to a magazine near you, hector’s take on ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215).
Hana Hou Magazine, Spring issue 2001, Hawaiian Airlines in-flight magazine.
these photos of the photo shoot were taken by my friend Stan.
ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215) is one of the most tedious recipes on the book. here are some tips that can help:
1- poach the fruit in advance. store in the refrigerator for 2 days, then drain. line an 8-inch pan with plastic wrap and arrange the fruit as if you would be completing the charlotte, cover and freeze. both, the poaching syrup and the poached fruit will keep in the freezer for several months if well wrapped. indeed the flavors intensify during this aging period! place the arranged frozen fruit, unthawed, on the completed charlotte, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to allow the fruit to thaw gradually.
2- make the biscuit ahead of time, cut, stack, well wrap, and freeze. it will last several months, too. the biscuit stacks need to be frozen anyways in order to slice and arrange on the springform pan.
3- the italian meringue is freezable, too, although i have not tested this on my own.
here are some additional tips:
1- measure the gelatin correctly. too much or too little can ruin the perfect texture of this ethereal cake! 
2- i have several round silicone pans slightly larger than 9-inches! these are
perfect to work as an airtight cover for your completed charlotte:
and here are some prep casualties: 
i made whipped cream by hand for ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215).
the charlotte filling is basically 1/3 custard cream, 1/3 italian meringue, and 1/3 whipped cream. unless you have several mixers or several mixer bowls, consider whipping the cream by hand. there is a new way to whip cream faster with the specially shaped oval bowl by new metro design (the makers of beater blade). the bowl is
called the mixer mate. 
the flared opening
of the bowl is also perfect to keep airtight: place a piece of
plastic wrap and secure it with a silicone rubber band on this
manner: 
hector’s naked-cake-less starfruit take on ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215). 
and here is how billowy and airy the texture is (same take, but with the charlotte
cake encasing): 
this is another slice straight from the freezer:
and on the subject of wonderful texture, here is my perfect flan:
recipe for perfect flan:
equipment:
a 10 cup tube flan pan.
a 12-inch or wider pan to hold a water bath, minimum 2-inches deep, filled with 1-inch of cold tap water.
a 5-quart or larger stand mixer, fitted with the flat beater, but preferably the beater blade.
do not preheat the oven.
caramel:
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup water
flan:
1 cup of sugar
9 eggs, cold
4.5 cups of whole milk, cold
1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream, cold
1 tb vanilla essence or 1/4 tsp almond extract.
1 tb pisco (optional)
caramel: on a small sauce pan, preferably non-stick, stir the sugar and water. bring to a simmer on medium-low heat, stirring frequently. once the sugar has completely dissolved, stop stirring. increase to medium-high heat and cook until the caramel is gold color. do not cook until the caramel is brown because caramel continues to cook after removing from the heat. immediately, pour the caramel on the bottom of the tube flan pan. immediately, place the pan on the water bath, to stop the caramel cooking and prevent over burning.
flan: on the stand mixer fitted with the beater blade, mix at stir/low speed the rest of the ingredients, for 10 minutes. if you are using the flat beater, mix for 60 minutes. pour on the flan pan.
set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. place the fan and water bath on the oven rack. turn on the oven to 300 oF. bake for 60 minutes or until the surface has slightly crusted and become very light brown. the flan will be very liquid. turn off the oven, and let the flan sit in the oven, undisturbed, until the flan and the oven have completely cooled, a minimum of 2 hours. if you are using a commercial convection oven with a convection fan as the only heat source, bake at 275oF for 60 minutes, then at 150-175oF for 30 minutes, then turn off the oven and let the flan sit in the oven for 1 hour. note: verify your oven temperature; if too hot, your flan will start to bubble and create a less than perfect smooth texture.
do not disturb of move the flan while hot or warm because it can break or jeopardize the creamy texture. remove the flan from the oven only after it has cooled completely, at this point it will be firmer like gelatin. refrigerate for 2 days, still in the pan, covered. on its second day, the flan will be much firmer and the caramel will have dissolved into a generous amount of caramel sauce.
unmolding: with a smooth sharp thin knife, loose the pan and tube edges. invert at once.
on the seventh day after xmas, hector’s take on ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215), near completion:
i am -not- using a springform pan nor a removable bottom pan for ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215). i am using a 10×2-inch solid bottom pan, heart shape! line the inside bottom and sides of the pan with plastic wrap, be sure the overhang is folded out.
assemble the charlotte on the lined pan. freeze for 20 minutes uncovered (or covered by a large inverted bowl not touching the charlotte). place one or two sheets of plastic wrap on top of the charlotte, covering the entire top and with some extra 3 inches of plastic wrap overhang. cover with a cardboard round wider than the charlotte. fold the plastic wrap overhang covering the top of the charlotte over the cardboard round. invert. lift off the pan. peel of the plastic wrap that was lining the pan. place a cardboard disc cut to fit on top of the now bottom of the charlotte. re-invert. peel off the plastic wrap lining the first cake cardboard disc. and voila.
i am definitely using star fruit instead of apples for ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215). here is what poached star fruit looks like.
1- prior poaching:
2- after poaching and completely cooled:
3- i am using the same recipe, except replacing apple with star fruit, by weight. instead of calvados, i am using williams. and for fresh lemon juice, i am using fresh kona lemon juice:
4- and on the subject of my grandpa introducing star fruit to my family, i bumped into this old family photo. my baby brother and his 7th cake in Peru:
5- and why not, here a new documentary about food in Peru. highly recommended:
i am falling behind on my baking schedule, spending hours on my design table! trying to find the perfect apple in hawaii… you will be surprised: i will do a take with star fruit for ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215)!!!!
star fruit was introduced to my family by my late grandpa. back in the 70s, grandpa planted a tree on the hills of his sister-in-law’s home in honolulu (my grand-aunt). the tree is extremely prolific, yet the fruit is ultimately sour! to this day, my grand-aunt swears that grandpa always thought of her as a sour woman as every year she brings me a basket full of ‘sour’ star fruit. she also tosses a few on his graveyard!
here is grandpa, as he welcomes my older brother and sister and my mother to their first visit to Hawaii in 1976? my grand-aunt is pictured together with my Mom on her right, and her sister (my grandma) on her left. this is the original Hawaii 5-0 as authentic as it can be!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
the star fruit pictured on the top of this page comes from my backyard neighbor and it is sweet (thanks goodness). star fruit is coming back to popularity in hawaii, with excellent fruit that are sweet, full of taste, and yet with that exquisite refreshing feeling unique to star fruit. my kitchen is scented by star fruit today, and i thought the scent is similar to apples.
my dear friend, food writer Sonia Martinez agrees on my apple star fruit idea. from wikipedia, “the fruit is entirely edible, including the slightly waxy skin. it is sweet without being overwhelming, and extremely juicy. the taste is difficult to compare, but it has been likened to a mix of papaya, orange and grapefruit all at once. it could also be described as an overly tart and juicy apple.” Sonia tells “me parece muy, pero muy requetebien….” (i think it is super, but super super-good idea).
i found the following recipe for poached star fruit. i think it will be just perfect, specially because it uses a whole vanilla bean! i plan to omit the ginger because it would be just too many flavors on this special dessert:
wish me luck.
one of the most difficult cakes on the Cake Bible is the Ethereal Pear Charlotte:
one of the most difficult cakes on Rose’s Heavenly Cakes is the Apple Caramel Charlotte. for decades, i’ve been hearing about apples growing in Hawaii. my friend Tracy from Hawaiian Vanilla Company just made apple sauce from ‘wonderful apples she just picked.’
for ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215) i may need to make a special hike to the end of the world (actually, the beginning of heaven) to find local apples!
[ photo source: http://ulocal.kitv.com/_Picking-apples-up-Keanakolu/PHOTO/3781653/62911.html ]
seems that the hike is difficult:
[ source: http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/academics/CCECS/fitness/hike52010.php ]
Cafe Pesto has been offering a special dinner menu with Hot Keanakolu Apple Crisp, reviewed on the blogosphere as “There’s the after dinner desert that brings all things together. Hot Keanakolu Apple Crisp, Freshly sliced apples with a macadamia nut crumb topping, Hot and with Ice Cream. A perfect desert to finish a fabulous meal. Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream, its the American Dream.”
[ source: http://kinialohaguy.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/cafe-pesto/ ]
here is what i found on the internet (some of the links are no longer active):
“Apples in Hawai’i- it’s all about elevation. Just few types of temperate fruit are grown in Hawai’i. . . There are a few native berries that have close temperate relatives:
The native O’helo berry grows above 4,000ft and reminds me of a cross between our two California huckleberries, the red and blue. The native Akala berry is nearly identical to our Salmon Berry, and grows above 3,000 ft
Strawberries and Raspberries are grown commercially in upper Kula, Maui (3,000ft+). Besides the sickly wine grapes Jeff mentioned that are grown commercially at Ulupalakua Maui (2500ft), a few acres are also grown on the dry side of Volcano, Big Island (4,000ft).
Persimmons, Figs and Loquats are found bearing well at low elevations, But those are pretty low chill ‘temperate’ or subtropical plants. I have never seen apples at lower elevations, though rumors persist. And it’s true- the fruit flies are brutal.
Things really start to change as you get higher in elevation. This luxury of climate is found only in small areas of Maui, and a larger but still limited area on the Big Island. Frosts (32F) are known to occur maybe once a year at 2500ft-3000ft. At 6,000ft frosts are pretty dependable. Snow comes down to 9,000ft (Haleakala, Maui) once every few years. I have seen snow on the north face of Mauna Kea (14,000ft) in July.
To grow real deciduous fruit, 6,000 ft seems high enough.
Here is a recent account of an adventure to harvest apples, pears and walnuts at 6,000 ft on the east flank of Mauna Kea, island of Hawai’i
http://doe.htohananet.com/blog/_archives/2007/10/10/3283492.html
Look at these photos:
http://doe.htohana net.com/blog/Keanakoluorchardtrip/cmd=slideshow/start_id=3281535
Any guesses on the variety of apple? Pears look like maybe Bartlett, Bosc, and Seckel?
This is a historic experimental orchard that was planted around 1890. Here is a brief account of the place 100 years ago:
The Hawaiian Forester and Agriculturist
By Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry, 1909
http://books.google.com/books?id=hNo8RZHqVMcC&pg=PA363&lpg=PA363&dq=keanakolu+orchard&source=web&ots=ZivQAF9Ohb&sig=QvomcVc_EGZv0gEHoAoJjXQJV5I&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result
12 years on the Big Island, and I never made it up to the old orchard- but I did eat some apple pie friends made from fruit they harvested up there.
So not impossible, only rare, apples do grow in Hawai’i.
The following thread was started by John Valenzuela Sunsetz16-17,Novato,CA on September 25, 2008 at 3:22 am PST
John…
Did some research on your figuires as I never heard of sub 32f degree temps at the 2500-3000ft elevation in Hawaii
( Lanai city is at nearly 2000ft ! )
I have been there and while not muggy tropical, its still tropical at that elevation…. at least warm enough for coconuts to grow as high .
Hawaii volcanoes national park HQ at
4000 ft, is still warmer than 99% of Ca Averages for Dec highes 67f/ low 50f…
Temps below 40f are rare there, and there never has been a freeze there…I wouldn’t think there would be enough chill to grow apples that low… but as Axel said the do have so low chill varities
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?hihawa
I did find a place with a weather station in Hawaii at the 5100ft elevation. called KULANI CAMP. Even at this altitude… temps are still mild… about like San Diego. 63 /43 in Dec.
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?hikula
As far as I can see… it has only dropped below 32f a couple of times in its history… with 31f as a record.
So as you mentioned… and back up by data that temperate fruits can be grown in Hawaii, you just to grow them you have to climb some tall moutains to do so …. not many people living at the 6000ft elevation!
Thanks for the info … I dig this researching this stuff.
Jeff
The above followup was added by Jeff on September 25, 2008 at 12:46 am PST.
Hey Jeff,
Great research. My stories were based on just my own personal impressions. Those actual temps are really suprising- I guess the numbers don’t lie. I think it just feels like frost when it gets below 50F in the tropics.
The towns of Volcano (4,000), Kamuela/Waimea (3,000), and Kula (3,000) all have climates (and flora) that feel like Southern California to me. Warm days and cool nights (great for a sound sleep)
I am not sure if the actual elevation of the experimental orchard is 6,000 or closer to 5,300ft.
Yea, not many residents way up there at that altitude. In the old days there were the sheep herders, now just a few ranchers/cowboys. There is some Koa forest restoration work going on up at that elevation too (daily commute drive?).
Then there are the astronomers working at the 14,000ft summit of Mauna Kea . . . staying acclimatized by living at 9,000ft.
Do you ever get back to visit the Islands?
The above followup was added by John Valenzuela Sunsetz16-17,Novato,CA on September 25, 2008 at 11:13 pm PST.
Those mountain climates unlike a true temperate climate dont get warm or hot summers to balance the winter cold-right?
They are like cloudforests..the highs dont vary much -all year it could be 68f,low 58 or so.or lower numbers depending on how high ya go.
So,an apple could get all the winter chill it needs at 8,000 ft and never see above 58?.
My point is, Apples in the high tropics must have a hard time knowing what season it is..Hawaii might be different as it might be further north to have day lengths varie.But what about those right on the equator in Asia,South America,Africa?
The above followup was added by stan on September 27, 2008 at 8:25 am PST.
Warm days cool nights in Kamuela This will be our 3rd winter living on the wet (east) side of Kamuela (a.k.a. Waimea) on the Big Island. Last winter was the coldest, when we consistantly registered mid-30′s f at night. (Jan-Feb) Days got up to around 70 f. The daytime cloud cover keeps it warm, but when it clears up at night, it chills down quickly. We have a lot of things here that can’t be grown in the rest of the state, and when the weather doesn’t get cool enough, we find shortcuts. Like the time they iced down the roots of the cherry trees so we would have blossoms in time for the cherry blossom festival. However, I do have a bird-of-paradise plant and a stand of bananas in my backyard! My point is, if those are our temps, I’m pretty sure it gets colder up on the mountain. We’re trekking to the orchard tomorrow, and we hope for lots of apples and pears.”
i attended my local octoberfest and noticed a black forest cake inspired with rose’s roulade charlotte ring as on ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Apple Caramel Charlotte (page 215)
if you look closely, seems to be a ‘quick version’, where alternating colored layers of cake batter are baked, then thinly sliced in strip sections. clever!
here some more pictures of my octoberfest! sorry for the camera blur!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
