A charlotte is a type of dessert or trifle that can be served hot or cold. It is also referred to as an "icebox cake". Bread,sponge cake or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mold,which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. It can also be made using layers of breadcrumbs
In 1815, Marie-Antoine Carême claims to have thought of charlotte à la parisienne "pendant mon établissement", presumably in 1803, when he opened his own pastry shop.
The earliest known English recipe is from the 1808 London edition of Maria Rundell& #39;s New System of Domestic Cookery