plate 44: norway

There have been amazingly joyous happy fun times in our family this week. AJ's lovely sister Harmony got married to "Grumpy Behr" (his friends' nickname for him, not mine - we love you Nick!) and, with a host of aunties, uncles and cousins from Hawaii, Washington, Macau and England in town for the big day, I needed something celebratory to mark the occasion for the post-wedding family barbecue.

Apart from Sweden in week 16, Scandinavia is a region rather untouched by Destination Degustation, so I headed back there, this time to Norway to make blotkake, more appetisingly translated in English as cream layer cake. While the cake is primarily made to celebrate Norway's Constitution Day (May 17 if you're interested), it also graces the dessert table at other festive times, too.

What is it? Basically a very simple sponge cake that's cut into three, horizontally, and layered with custard, fruit and a few splashes of orange juice. I've read that Norwegians buy the sponge cake (lazy sods) using the theory that the less-than-fresh-from-the-oven versions are drier, therefore soaking up the juice better. True, maybe, but I didn't want to spend money on a store-bought sponge. I hope this didn't compromise the end flavour.

I am quite particular about how I go about making my Destination Degustation recipes. No one is to help. I have to fly solo. It's just the way it is. Usually. But this week there was no way I could resist the little helping hands of our coolest little Hawaiian cousin, Jack Pang. A keen sous chef from way back, Jack was super keen to roll up his sleeves and get mixing and stirring (and washing up!) with me.

We put out everything we needed to make the sponge: eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder, and set ourselves up in a little corner of the kitchen. (This was to steer clear of the Macau cousins' cooking extravaganza that was happening at the same time. They were making jin doi - deep-fried sticky sesame balls filled with coconut, which were awesome by the way.)

Jack and I beat the eggs and sugar until really thick (this takes quite a little while, so be patient as the recipe doesn't give a time guideline), then sifted in the flour and baking powder until smooth, spooned it into the pan and slid it into the oven. Too easy. And too quick - it was ready in half an hour.

Once the cake is cooked it needs to cool right down before slicing it up, so about midnight I got to slicing. Only problem is, I spooned it in wonky so one side of the cake was fairly thick, while the other quite thin. There was no way it was going to cut into three, so I settled on halving it.

The orange juice was poured over to soak into the cake, then topped with thick custard and crushed strawberries, mashed roughly with a fork to release oozy strawberry liquid.

The top layer of cake went on, more juice, then whipped cream. Note: don't overwhisk! It'll turn into a yellowy, watery mess.

After chilling it in the fridge overnight, it was time to pretty it up with red and blue berries in a nod to the Norwegian flag.

The time came to cut it up, distribute and taste test.  Taste? A nice combo of creaminess and fruity sweetness. Texture? Lusciously light and fluffy, like a good sponge should be. No bought cake required.