Orange Whipped Dessert

Spring is coming but not yet. March in Alabama is still cold in the mornings and warm by two and back to cold by six. My commute to the daycare is through that stretch of highway with the azaleas and they are just starting to bud. Another week, maybe two.

I have been thinking about having a child. I have not said this out loud to Tyler yet. I am still circling it, the way you circle something large in the dark, trying to understand its shape before you say what you think it is. I was not mothered consistently by my birth mother. I was fostered by many people and well by one. I have spent ten years teaching other people children. I know what it looks like to need and not receive. I know what it looks like to receive and be transformed by it. I want to be on the right side of that equation.

I made banana pudding this week, which is Gloria comfort dessert, the one she made whenever anyone in her house was sad or scared or just needed something sweet and yielding. Layers of vanilla wafers and pudding and bananas and whipped cream. It is patient food. You make it and let it set and the waiting is part of what makes it right. I made it for no specific reason except that I wanted something from that category of food. Tyler ate a bowl before dinner and said it was the best banana pudding he had ever eaten. He says that about everything but banana pudding he might mean.

Gloria’s banana pudding taught me that some things have to be made before you fully understand why you needed them—and that the waiting before you serve it is as much a part of it as the layers themselves. This orange whipped dessert carries the same quality: light and cool and yielding, made ahead and left to set, patient in the way that the best comfort food always is. It is the kind of thing you make when you are circling something and need your hands to be doing something gentle while your mind does the harder work.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 package (3 oz) orange gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained well
1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

Dissolve the gelatin. In a medium bowl, stir the orange gelatin into the boiling water until fully dissolved. Add the cold water, stir to combine, and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Do not let it set.
Beat the cream cheese. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine with gelatin. With the mixer on low, slowly pour the cooled gelatin into the cream cheese mixture, mixing until fully incorporated and no lumps remain.
Fold in the whipped topping. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the thawed whipped topping in two additions, working slowly to keep the mixture light and airy.
Add the fruit and marshmallows. Carefully fold in the drained mandarin oranges and mini marshmallows. Take care not to break up the orange segments.
Chill and set. Transfer the mixture to a 9x13 dish or large serving bowl. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until fully set. The waiting is part of what makes it right.
Serve cold. Scoop into bowls and serve directly from the refrigerator. Keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Orange Whipped Dessert — Something Sweet and Yielding, Made for the Waiting