This is an absolutely delicious desert that is traditionally made for Christmas. I can’t wait until Christmas and as it is light and perfect for summer, I decided to make one for friends coming to lunch. The classic version is made as a walnut sponge rolled and filled with a whipped cream with ground walnuts, which is then topped with an icing of butter and sugar. This is delicious but very rich so I usually skip the butter icing and just dust the roll with icing sugar. It looks wonderful, very much a celebration dish. It is also gluten free !
• serves 6-8 people / preheat oven 200˚
• line a 30 x 40 cm oven tray with greaseproof paper, leaving some to hang over ends
• for the walnut sponge:
• 4 organic eggs separated
• 80 gr caster sugar
• 150 gr walnuts, lightly toasted then ground ( make sure the walnuts are fresh)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt
• in your mixer beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy
• then fold in most of the ground walnuts, reserving 3 tablespoons for the filling
• in a separate dish, beat the egg whites, baking powder and salt until stiff
• fold them gently through the egg and walnut mixture
• pour the batter onto the tray, spread it out evenly
• bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until golden
• when the sponge is out of the oven
• take one end of the paper and slide the sponge out of the tray
• place the tray upside down over the sponge ( the steam will keep the sponge moist and pliable
• leave to cool
• for the filling:
• beat 250 ml pure cream with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar until stiff
• fold through the remaining walnuts and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• flip the sponge upside down and peel off the paper
• on the cooled sponge spread out the cream
• roll the sponge up and wrap the roll tightly with the grease proof paper
• refrigerate for 2 hours or until needed
• dust with icing sugar and decorate with walnuts