In the Sunshine of My Lo-oo-oo-oove

It's gettin' near dawn,

When lights close their tired eyes.

I'll soon be with you my love,

To give you my dawn surprise.

I'll be with you darling soon,

I'll be with you when the stars start falling.

I've been waiting so long

To be where I'm going

In the sunshine of your love.

It was a Thursday afternoon. We were on our way back from a drive to Oxford where we did not run into Inspector Morse nor Inspector Lewis. We passed through one storybook village after another on our way back to our self-catered thatched-roof cottage in Market Lavington and it occurred to us that we'd been in England for four days and had yet to have Tea. We spied a little pub in Pewsey, right along the water and pulled in. I don't remember what the others ordered but I pointed to a tall yellow cake filled with cream and berries and said, "I'd like that, please." It was, I came to find out a Victoria Sponge sometimes referred to as a Victoria Sandwich. Maybe it was the ambience  out on the grass near the canal in a fairy tale village in England with friends, but that cake was something I'll never forget, it was a whole lotta scrumptious.

Making a good Victoria Sponge is an honored accomplishment. But I came across Nigella's recipe and thought I could master the cake part. No, my stumbling blocks were; a.) what to do with all that cake since only two one of us here eats cake and b.) what to do about getting the Devon cream that cushions the layers of cake. A large crowd that wanted to eat Victoria Sponge never presented itself at my house but I thought if I deconstructed the cake I could eat a little and freeze the rest. Also, I could travel the 20 miles to the British grocery store to get Devon cream but I knew I would never buy just the cream, because there would be brown sauce and Fox's golden crumbles, and Irish bacon and golden syrup and...and...and... so I'd have to settle for something I could wrangle at the Safeway.

I found this substitute Devonshire Cream recipe online. Blimey!!! It is some of the best creamy goodness I have every tried. I'm thinkin' even if you CAN get the real Devon Cream you should still give this a whirl, it's that good.

Here's my deconstructed Victoria Sponge with black cherries instead of berries or jam

And here's your piece.

And here's the recipe for the "fake" Devon Cream

4 ounces mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 - 2 Tablespoons sugar

Beat until sturdy. Lick the beaters and the bowl, the spatula and your fingers, put the rest in the fridge maybe keeping a spoon nearby so you can occasionally test it to make sure it's still okay. Wouldn't want it to go bad, or anything. I like to test mine a couple of times a day. Just in case.

And about putting the extra cake in the freezer? Yeah, that didn't happen. I'm still nibbling at it.

(to the first person who gets the connection between the song lyrics and today's post I will send a little something)

Comments

[Darla]

I don't have a clue about the lyrics. Send cake anyway.

Darla

[Mary Alice]

Ohhhhh Baby. Vallen you should submit some of your recipes and their stories to The Women's Colony Kitchen Table.

Do you visit the women's colony?

[Randi]

Looks yum. The song was sung by the British supergroup Cream???

[Karen Junking in Georgia]

Queen, don't show such delights without giving me a bite.... I want some and I want it now..... did you love Inspector M.'s jag? I loved enjoyed those shows so much..

[rosa]

Mmmmmmm, it all looks so good. But I'm too tired to figure it out. Cream sounds like a good answer tho. Sending love from Riverside.

[Thimbleanna]

Yum, Yummy Vallen. That cake looks awesome. Thanks for the recipe for Devon cream -- that's likely to come in handy!!!

[Angel Mc]

mmmmhhh, the cake sounds yummy and the cream......omgosh....and for just a second there i thought you had been to MS.....you know you mentioned oxford.......

[Francie]

I could NOT get to the recipe...you reminded me that Inspector Morse died...they KILLED OFF Inspector Morse and life has never been the same....sniff.

(())

[Lottie]

Deliciously calorie free of course. It's such an easy cake to make isn't it - I love it with the cream in the middle and piled with strawberries - yummy. It has never lingered long enough to freeze!

[Tina in Duluth]

Cream, Cream, Cream! I'm too late!

Save me a slice???

[Cindy Is Crafty]

Yummy! I have been munching on strawberry shortcakes lately. Just slice the strawberries, sprinkle on some sugar, layer on the shortcakes and top with whipped cream.

Yu-uh-ummmmmmmmmm.....!

[somepinkflowers]

well,
i was not early
enough
to win
but as soon as i saw the title
i IMMEDIATELY started singing

along with you...

:-)

plus--->
loved your links!
{{wasn't calendar girls
greeeeat! }}

[Nancy]

Oh, fine ... now I'm going to have to find my Cream record (yes, record!) and sing along with the entire song. I've always loved "Sunshine of my love"! Get out the bell-bottoms, hippie beads ... lol

Your cake/sandwich looks very yummy! I'll have to try my hand at the fake Devon cream soon... thank you for the recipe!

[Christy]

Looks sooooo yummy. Next time you deconstruct something like a Victoria Sponge, let me know. I can be there in about 4 hours! :)

[Rebecca]

Yum. That is almost the exact recipe for mascarpone cream you would use in tiramisu. Did I say yum?

[pam aries]

Drooool !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HeidiAnn]

Oh, my - does that ever look wonderful! I still miss Inspector Morse, but I do enjoy Inspector Lewis - and funny you should mention him, because I just last weekend finally watched the last couple of episodes of that show and Foyle's War that I had taped I-don't-remember-how-long-ago! I really would like to try those recipes some day - not right now, though - entirely too tempting!

[raesha]

Oh yeah - Eric Clapton and CREAM baby!!! that cake looks absolutely delicious!