Summer in Italy and Sponge Drops

Whoops, I've spent the summer in Italy and, as usual, my poor connection does not let me blog. I have been cooking though and taking pictures so I have lots of catching up to do.

I'll start with these delightful sponge drops as they are one of the foodie memories of my childhood. Soft sponge with a crisp outer shell encasing light fluffy cream and a sharp blackcurrant jam. Utter bliss.

These sponge drops are fairly easy to make and better still, unfilled can be frozen so that when the urge comes upon you that can be filled and, dare I say it, scoffed in an instant.

To make them you will need:
90g Plain flour
3 Eggs separated
90g Sugar
Vanilla essence
Icing sugar for dusting if you want to use it.

Heat oven to 240C. I have found that a fan oven is not good for this type of sponge as the sponge tends to crinkle and get smaller after it has cooked. A top and bottom heat is good.

Start by whisking the egg whites until really stiff. You can do this by putting the bowl over a pan of simmering water to heat the egg whites, or, use the cheats way, which is what I do and put the microwavable bowl in the micro for 10 second blasts. I find that it works a dream. Do be careful not to put it in for longer as you don't want cooked egg.

Break up the egg yolks and vanilla essence up with a fork and fold lightly, but throughly into the egg whites.

Now fold in the flour. Take note, there is no need to use a raising agent as the beaten egg is really all that you need. Be warned, do not be tempted to add any.

Put the mixture into a piping bag with a wide nozzle and pipe rounds the size of a small golf ball (does such a thing even exist) onto the a non-stick mat. They will rise and spread a little while cooking. If you make them bigger than you will just have to eat more so no hardship there.

Cook for about 10 minutes or use your judgement and cook until lightly browned. It will depend on your oven.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Thankfully they don't take long to do this so get whisking while they cool.

The amount of cream that you use is up to you but I found that 125ml was enough to fill about 6 - 8 sponge drops. Whisk the whipping cream in a clean cold bowl until it reaches the stage just beyond soft peak. I think that it has a technical name but I've forgotten what it is. Put into a piping bag and pipe over half of the sponge drops. Top with a dollop of jam of your choice and add the second half. Dust with icing sugar and eat.