Genoise is a sort of sponge cake that relies on the whipping egg and sugar over heat to create volume without using any chemical leaven. The key to achieving a successful genoise is not to deflate the batter when folding in the flour.
You can change the density of the cake by adjusting the volume of butter, from 2 to 8 ounces. Less butter makes a lighter cake.
The quantity listed is for two 9-inch round cakes of about 1.5 inches tall each, or a half sheet pan (18”x13”) cake of 1 inch tall.
You can easily halve or double recipe for your needs.
- Prep Time: 20h
- Cook Time: 35h
- Total Time: 55h
- Serves: 15
- Yield: one 9-inch round cake
- Category: Pastries and desserts
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs (about 300g total)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (230g)
- 1 cup cake flour (130g) (substitute with 1 cup less 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour and 2 tbsp of corn starch, sift well together)
- 1 stick of butter (4oz or 113g)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350Fº. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, and set aside.
- Prepare two 9-inch cake pans, lightly spray the pans with baking spray, line the bottom with a 9-inch round parchment paper and spray the paper.
- Find a saucepan that your electric mixer bowl can sit on top and leaves at least 3-inch space between the bottom of the saucepan and the bottom of the mixing bowl. Fill the saucepan with 1.5 inches of water, bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer of at least 5.5-quart capacity, mix eggs and sugar together. Place the bowl over the saucepan with the simmering water, creating a double boiler. The simmering water should not touch the bottom of the mixing bowl. Whisk continuously until the temperature reaches 11oFº, about 5-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat, fit your electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat on high (8 on a KitchenAid) until the mixture has tripled its volume. The mixture will be pale and thick. Turn the mixer to medium and whip for another 2 minutes, to stabilize the foam.
- Make sure the butter is warm (not hot) and in liquid form. Turn the mixer to low and pour in slowly the butter until it is well combined.
- Sift the flour onto the egg mixture. Using a balloon whisk, start from one side of the mixing bowl (12 o'clock position), drag the whisk to the opposite side (6 o'clock position). Lift the whisk, turn the bowl 90 degree, repeat the dragging motion from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock, until all the ingredients are mixed. It takes about 6 to 8 turns. Do not overmix, since we don't want to deflate the batter. Make sure there is no unincorporated flour sits on the bottom of the bowl.
- Divide batter into two 9-inch round cake pans. Tap each pan lightly on the counter to remove some air bubbles. Swirl the pan around so some batter will cling to the side of the pan. This will help to reduce possibility of have a dommed cake.
- Bake at 350 Fº for 20 minutes. You can bake the two cakes at the same time. After that, rotate the two cake pans, bake another 8 to 12 minutes, until the center of cake bounce back when lightly pressed. If it doesn't, continue baking and check every 5 minutes. The cake is done when it begins to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.
- Let cakes cool in their pans on a rack for 20 minutes, then reverse the pans onto a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper. Let the cakes rest there until cooled completely, about 2 hours. The cakes will shrink a little bit after cooling and that's normal.
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