Charlotte Portugaise

And why should this particular dessert be called a Charlotte? Perhaps because Charlotte, who was the French-sponsored Empress of Mexico about the time of the American Civil War, took great pleasure in wearing fancy hats. Even yet, a charlotte in France is a chapeau adorned with flowers and birds.

That indispensable item of French cookery, the charlotte mold, seems to be modeled after the hat, and the most decorative of charlotte dishes are still garnished with pastry or sugar birds