Charlotte Russe oil painting demo

A thin disk of sponge cake topped with a lofty spiral of whipped cream and crowned with a Maraschino cherry—is as much a treat for the tastebuds as it is eye candy. This special treat, a Charlotte Russe, is a favorite childhood treat of my husband and his cousin who grew up in Brooklyn, NY. There is something intrinsic to the Charlotte Russe—perhaps it’s the scalloped edges on the cardboard cup, the reckless quantity of fluffy whipped cream, or its utter simplicity—that embodies a sort of wholesome, black-and-white nostalgia. This treat is not entirely extinct, but it is hard to come by. We picked some up the last time we were in New York at a charming bakery that time forgot called Holtermann’s. Don’t you just love finding hidden treasures like this?