By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

IF there was ever a dessert that could be described as quintessentially British, it would be the Apple Charlotte.

Actually use of this statement is a bit of a cheat, as a quick Google search indicates that pretty much any introduction to this dessert involves phrases like ''quintessentially British'', ''typically British'', ''traditionally British" or even "much-loved British''.

I imagine that by British these various commentators actually mean English, so let's say that the Apple Charlotte is a much-loved traditional English dessert – up there with bread and butter pudding and sherry trifle.

For those of you who have no idea what an Apple Charlotte is, basically it's made by using a mould with buttered bread slices, filled with cooked apples and baked in an oven, and removed from the mould once the bread is crisped up and the filling warmed through.

It is a homely pudding that looks lovely and tastes delicious, with relatively little effort – in effect exactly what we are longing for at this time of year.

Apple Charlotte is often described by those who don't know better as a classical French dessert, so let's set the record straight.

Did you know, Apple Charlotte was actually named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III? She was said to be the patron of apple growers. The recipe has been around since the early 1800s. Another suggestion is Apple Charlotte comes from Charlotte Russe – the French can have that one back!

The Apple Charlotte is one of our own, as us Brits keep to our tradition of loving to use stewed fruits and stale bread in our puddings; it's a very British thing to do somehow.

As this pudding's pedigree suggests, it's an elegant dish perhaps more suited for Sunday tea than crumbles or pies midweek.

Apple Charlotte is cheap and simple to make, even without palace kitchens at your disposal!

The apples are the key to making a successful Charlotte – cooking apples are always recommended.

RECIPE

APPLE CHARLOTTE

For 4 individual pudding moulds, or one large pudding bowl

Ingredients:

125g/4oz butter

500g/1lb Bramley cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

75g/3oz caster sugar

Half a medium-sliced loaf of slightly old white bread, with the crusts cut off

Method:

1. Melt 25g of the butter in a large saucepan, adding the apples and sugar, cooking gently for 5 minutes until the apples soften.

2. Melt the remaining 100g of butter, using some of it to grease the individual pudding moulds or muffin tins.

3. Cut 4 bread discs to fit the bases of the moulds and 4 larger discs to fit the tops. Cut the remaining bread into strips to fit the inside of the moulds.

4. Brush one side of the bread with melted butter, placing the small discs in the base of the mould, butter-side down, and line the sides with the bread strips, buttered side outwards, using extra pieces to fill in the gaps snugly.

5. Fold away any excess bread from the sides and divide the apple filling between the lined moulds, then place the lid on top and gently push down.

6. Stand the moulds onto a baking tray and bake at 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 5 for around 20-25 minutes or till the bread is golden brown. Stand for 5 minutes before turning out and serving warm with custard.