Charlotte Malakoff with chocolate and almond cream

Beat three egg yolks, gradually adding 100 g of granulated sugar, then the vanilla, for several minutes until thick, pale yellow and forming the ribbon.

Clean the mixer bowl with a splash of vinegar and salt and wash it out.

Whip three egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, add a tablespoon of sugar gradually and a quarter teaspoon of cream of tartar, and beat to stiff peaks.

Fold a little of the whites into the yolk ribbon to loosen it, then alternate sifting in a quarter of the flour and folding in more whites until all combined.

The flour goes in at this point rather than at the start because the batter would be too thick to fold whites into and would deflate them.

Pipe onto parchment-lined baking sheets, one and a half inches wide, four inches long, spaced one inch apart.

Bake in the middle and upper third of the preheated oven for up to 20 minutes, checking early; they should be slightly crusty outside and tender and dry inside.

Mix 150 ml of water with a third of a cup of Cointreau in a dish.

Dunk each ladyfinger very briefly, one two out, and set it back on the rack; long soaking destroys them.

Sprinkle a very thin layer of powdered sugar over the piped batter, about 1/16 of an inch.

Line the bottom of the Charlotte mold with wax paper, then line the base and the sides with ladyfingers cut into wedges to fit, sugared side facing inward.

Cream 226 g of room temperature butter with 198 g of very fine sugar for three to four minutes until pale and fluffy, then beat in the almond extract and a quarter cup of Cointreau until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Lightly beat in one and one third cups of almond flour.

Melt four ounces of semi-sweet chocolate with a quarter cup of strong coffee without letting it seize, and add it to the mixture.

With clean chilled beaters whip two cups of heavy cream to the ribbon stage and fold it into the almond butter mixture.

Turn a third of the almond cream into the lined mold, cover with a layer of leftover ladyfingers and the trimmed pieces, and repeat to fill to the top, finishing with ladyfingers.

Lay wax paper on top, weight it with something heavy and chill six hours or overnight.

Run a knife around the edge, unmold onto a plate, peel off the wax paper and finish with chocolate shavings.