What To Do With Failed Sponge Cake...

Are there fail-proof sponge cake recipes? I don't think so. There are an unlimited number of reasons why we may fail, and we all have had our fair share of failures, I guess. Mine was stuck to bottom because I did not grease and flour the bottom of the pan enough.

But wait! Read this post before you throw away a cake.

You can make Chocolate Dipped Marzipan Rolls that look like old vintage vacuum cleaners. Small oblong pastries covered with neon green marzipan. The ends are dipped in melted chocolate, and inside there is a mix of cookie or cake crumbs, punsch/punch (Swedish Arrack liqueur), butter, and chocolate.











These pastries are called "Dammsugare" (vacuum cleaners) in Swedish. Also known as "Punschrullar" (Punsch-rolls). IKEA's Swedish Food Market sells "Punsch Rolls". It's a product packed with many E-numbers and synthetic ingredients.

Working with marzipan is difficult. I didn’t feel like rolling out marzipan.  These balls are the result of my failure. They are similar in appearance to Swedish Chocolate Balls.












The recipe yield: 20 balls. You can make the batter by hand using a spoon or do all the mixing in a food processor.

INGREDIENTS:
* 220 grams sponge cake
* 2 tablespoons Swedish Punsch
* 50 grams very soft butter
* 50 grams almond paste, finely grated
* 50 grams dark chocolate, melted
* a plate with chocolate sprinkles

METHOD:
1. Place sponge cake pieces into the bowl of a food processor.
2. Process to form fine crumbs.
3. Mix the crumbs with punsch, butter, grated almond paste, and melted chocolate.
4. Stir well to combine everything into a smooth mixture.
5. Form balls and roll them in sprinkles.

Really fun no-bake pastries to experiment with because Punsch is hard to find outside Scandinavia. This classic Swedish alcoholic beverage has no direct substitute. It's characterized by its yellow color, sweetness, and flavor of arrack, which is similar in flavor to amber rum.

Do you have any other ideas for flavor? If so, I am very interested to know. What would you do with a failed sponge cake?

Long ago (before 1840-50), people used to make their own punsch. How? Well, it's a pity, but I have lost an old pharmacist's recipe. I can't find that recipe any more. I may have thrown it away.

It was something like this:
* Brew a perfect pot of tea (Earl Grey), one spoon for each cup and one for the pot.
* Remove the tea-leaves.
* Add sugar until the tea starts to become much too sweet to drink (more than equal volume of sugar).
* Let it cool to room-temperature.
* Add a small amount of lemon juice, or a small bottle of Rhine wine (37,5 cl), 1 liter of vodka, and finally 35 cl arrack (Batavia-Arrack).
* Pour into resealable bottles.
* Rest for at least a couple of weeks.

You could try to order Punsch online from an online store and have it shipped, but I don't know if it can be shipped to the United States for customs reasons.

"Systembolaget" (the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly) sells seven different brands of Punsch with varying sweetness and arrack flavor. The sugar content may vary from 231 to 288 grams/liter.