8 pounds of apples -- Granny Smiths or Golden Delicious
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark Jamaican rum
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 slices of firm, homemade type sandwich bread, crusts cut off
8 ounces (2 sticks) melted unsalted butter, clear yellow liquid poured off from milky residue
1/2 cup apricot glaze

Special Equipment Suggested
heavy-bottomed 4-quart sauce pan with cover
vegetable mill
6-cup cylindrical baking dish or charlotte mold
pizza pan to catch juices in the oven

The applesauce Wash and quarter the apples, core out the seeds, and halve the quarters but do not peel them. Place in the saucepan along with lemon zest and juice. Cover the pan and set over moderately low heat; the apples will slowly soften and render their juices. Stir and mash them frequently until they are tender throughout -- about 30 minutes. Stir in the apricot jam, then puree through the vegetable mill, return to the pan and stir in the sugar, rum, vanilla, and butter. Raise heat and boil, stirring almost continuously, until the applesauce has become very thick -- about 15 minutes.

The bottom Arrange 4 pieces of crustless bread in a square, center the cylindrical baking dish on top, and cut around the bottom of the dish to make 4 pie-shaped pieces to fit inside the dish. Cut a 1 1/2 inch circle out of a bread scrap. Sauté the 4 pieces and the circle in a spoonful or two of the melted butter, to brown very lightly. Fit the pie-shaped pieces in the bottom of the dish. Reserve the circle.

The sides Cut the rest of the bread into strips 1 1/4 inches wide, dip in the melted butter, and fit them slightly overlapping, around the inside of the dish. Spoon in 1-inch layer of applesauce into the dish, and cover with bits of butter-dipped bread. Continue in layers, letting the filling hump up 3/4 inch in the center for the final layer. Cut off any protruding bread-strip ends and press them, along with several buttery bread strips, on top of the sauce. Pour any remaining butter over the tops of the bread strips lining the dish.

Baking—30 to 40 minutes Preheat oven to 425ºF. Set the baking dish in the middle level of the oven, and place the pizza pan on the rack below, to catch any buttery juices. The charlotte is done when you slip a knife between the bread strips and the dish, and see that the bread has browned nicely.

Unmolding Set a serving platter on top of the charlotte and reverse the two; leave the baking dish in place for 30 minutes. Slowly lift the dish up an inch or two and wait a bit; lift up more, and if there is the slightest suggestion of bulging sides, slip the mold back down and wait 10 minutes more. Try again; the charlotte may bulge, but it should hold if your applesauce was firm enough.

Final decoration Paint the apricot glaze over the top and sides of the charlotte, center the reserved toast circle on top and glaze it also. Serve with Crème Anglaise.