ORANGE DRENCHED SPONGE CAKE DESSERT WITH YOGHURT AND WHIPPED CREAM

I really shouldn't be sitting here in front of the computer but start thinking about what to bring with me tomorrow on my London trip, it still seems so unreal that I haven't really planned anything much. And let's not forget there is a general strike on tomorrow which means that I have no idea when I will go; the silly thing is that I have been worrying about British Airlines going on strike and then the strike is here in Italy instead. Typical. But as many other things here in Italy, strikes tend to be unorganized or maybe it is the systematic Swede in me who thinks that when there is a strike going on, it should be total and not spread out in flecks. I am obviously a totalitarianist if that is something you can be and I blame it on my roots, a certain rigid edge that has been softened after many years in Italy (and I am grateful for that).



This is a dessert I made some time ago when I had lots of oranges and a sponge cake on the dry side, I wanted to use them both and in order to avoid that it got too sweet, I decided to mix whipped cream with a nice thick yoghurt that gave it a nice twist. This is a recipe sketch and you can add and subtract ingredients to make it suit your taste.





ORANGE DRENCHED SPONGE CAKE DESSERT WITH YOGHURT AND WHIPPED CREAM

freshly squeezed orange juice
honey or sugar
sponge cake, better if it is a bit dry
fresh cream
nice full fat natural yoghurt
chopped walnuts

- Cut the sponge cake into pieces, finger style is a good form.
- Put orange juice and honey in a small pan, 2/3 juice to 1/3 honey, and simmer until it has thickened and become syrupy. Leave to cool down a little.
- Whip the cream until it folds nicely, not to firm as it makes it difficult to mix with the yoghurt. Add the yoghurt (50/50 of cream and yoghurt) and whisk another 15 seconds until it has blended nicely.
- Soak the sponge fingers in the orange syrup and put a layer in a bowl or small bowls, then add some of the whipped cream before you put another of couple of sponge fingers in the bowl. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream, sprinkle chopped walnuts over and finish it with a drizzle of orange syrup.