I’m gearing up for my one year blog-iversary next week and I’m making myself a cake. On the way to that celebratory occasion, I’ve made a few of the basic elements in the pastry kitchen: génoise and homemade rolled fondant. As Sherry Yard says in the opening of her génoise recipe from The Secrets of Baking
I really like Sherry’s recipe and find the technique easy to follow. I differ with her in only one area. I like to add the flour in 3 stages and she has you add it all at once. I find this weighs down the whipped eggs and you end up losing more volume. Other than that she is spot on! I really like this book in general and will be sharing more of her recipes coming up! I will be posting the rolled fondant recipe in the next day or two.
Master Génoise by Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking:
6 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1 cup cake flour, sifted 3 times
Equipment:
Candy Thermometer
or Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare 2 9-inch round cake pans by spraying just the bottom, line with parchment round and then spray the paper. Leave the sides dry.
Sift your cake flour 3 times in a large bowl, set aside.
Over a simmering pot of water whisk together the sugar and eggs in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Heat and whisk until the eggs are heated to 110° F on a Candy Thermometer
Whip your eggs on high speed until triples in size, golden yellow and forms a ribbon when dropped back into the bowl. This will take about 5-8 minutes. Then reduce the speed to medium and whip for another 2 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and add your melted butter in a slow steady stream. Mix for about 15 seconds.
Sherry has you add all of the flour at once
and fold it into the egg mixture by stirring it gently. (I prefer to sift 1/3 of the flour over the top, fold it into the eggs, add another 1/3 and repeat. It takes an additional minute, but it maintains the structure of the eggs better for me.) This should only take a few minutes and be done in as few strokes as possible.
Divide the batter between the two pans. Sherry has you spin the pan, like a frisbee on the counter to push the batter up the sides. This is a great way to prevent the cake from doming. I usually do this with a spatula, but I like her way better! Love it when I learn something new.
Bake the cakes for about 25-30 minutes or until it is pulling away from the edges slightly and springs back when gently touched. Cool on a cake rack for 15 minutes.
Turn the cake pans over, like you would with an angle food cake, and cool completely.
Unmold by running a knife around the edge and gently tapping the pan upside down. Eat it unadorned with just shake of powdered sugar and a dollop of whip cream or create a blog-iversay cake for yourself as I will be doing next week. The cakes can be wrapped very well and frozen for a couple of weeks.
I’ll show you how to make rolled fondant next…
Keep in touch with my on Twitter. There are great ideas being shared there!
Hi Zoe,
I tried this Genoise cake and it came out very well. Thank you so much for the recipe. I have to make a cake this weekend for a babyshower. Will this combination be good. Genoise + Mango curd filling + Frosted with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Please advice me on this.
Thank you so much.
Hi Zoe,
I am going to make this genoise cake today for a friend. She likes Tres Leches.Do you think the genoise hold the milk mixture or will it become soggy? Please help me with this.
Hi Rams,
I think this cake is too delicate for the kind of saturation that a Tres Leches requires. You are better off with a white cake that will hold up to the soaking. I haven’t tried soaking this one yet, but I think it may hold up better: http://zoebakescom.bigscoots-staging.com/2012/10/26/halloween-mummy-cakes/
Thanks, Zoë
Just discovered your site! I made my first genoise this week and I substituted some well sifted almond flour for the cornstarch that my recipe called for and a touch of almond extract and it was wonderful but don’t know if it was beginner’s luck? My recipe says to lighten the butter with some of egg/flour mixture first and I notice you add it straight. Do you think your technique would work for a novice? I only ask because next week I plan to make a genoise as part of my Baking and Pastry final – it’s in-class and we get one shot so I have to get it right the first time. Thanks for any input.
Hi Nancy,
I’d say if you have it right, don’t change a thing for the test. There is always time to experiment after!
Great luck to you, Zoë
i can not wait to try this! i will do it this week for my daughter’s birthday party!
I happened to come across the link to your site from Laura’s Best Recipes and I must say that I am throughly impressed with your site and “How to” explanations. I cannot wait to try some of your recipes. Thanks for keeping it simple.
No Zoe,
I didn’t sift but I did add cornstarch.. I will try again this time with sifting and get back to you 🙂 Thanks a million
Hi Sadiya,
The way that I substitute for cake flour is by using:
3/4 cup sifted bleached all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons cornstarch. It is important to sift the flour into the measuring cup or you will end up with too much flour and a tough cake.
Is that what you tried?
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Zoe, I got hooked to your blog after trying your chocolate ganache on boston cream pie…It was spot on 🙂 just simply lovely…
I have a question, I live in a country where cake flour isn’t available… I have tried two substitutions (1. Only all purpose flour, 2. All purpose flour with cornstarch) in both cases I had a dome, my cake didn’t rise, I had enough for only one pan, and it was tough not soft like the genoise we get at the french patisserie.
Can you please help me??
I love to cruise the food blogs, but your site with the blog-i-versary cake is one that I’m going to mark… and save! It’s truly gorgeous, Zoe, and I’m excited to see the rest of the steps. (I already checked out the mouse, meringue buttercream, etc.) It’s just plain beautiful. 🙂
Wowza white on rice,
That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me today!
Thanks, Zoë