This rich, delicate cake forms the basis for many filled, frosted, and glazed cakes. A good plain gênoise is hard to beat—it has an elegance that derives from its simplicity, and I even like them unadorned. Many recipes for gênoise add butter as an enrichment. Unfortunately, sometimes the extra manipulation the incorporation of the butter necessitates causes these light batters to fall. So I prefer to add a few extra egg yolks instead—they not only help enrich the cake, they also provide greater stability to the foam, ultimately making the batter easier to prepare.
This recipe originally accompanied theStrawberry Roulade.
Ingredients
Makes one 9-inch round layer
Step 1
1 Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Step 2
2 Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.
Step 3
3 Whisk the eggs, yolks, salt, and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees (test with your finger). Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.
Step 4
4 While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
Step 5
5 Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.
Step 6
6 Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Step 7
7 Bake the gênoise for about 25 minutes, or until well risen, deep gold, and firm to the touch.
Step 8
8 Immediately use a small pairing knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a rack, then reinvert onto another rack and let the cake cool right side up on the paper. Remove the paper when the cake is cool.
Variations
Step 9
Chocolate Genoise:Reduce the bake flour to ⅓ cup, increase the cornstarch to ⅓ cup, and add ¼ cup alkalized (Dutch-process) cocoa powder to the flour and cornstarch mixture, sift.
Step 10
Genoise Sheet:Bake either the plain or chocolate batter in a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan that has been buttered and lined with buttered parchment at 400 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn't overbake and become to dry, especially if it is tot be rolled. (Makes on 10 x 15-inch layer.)
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several days, or double wrap and freeze for up to a month.
Leave a Review
Reviews (3)
Back to Topparing knife
Anonymous
6/11/2016
This is the best, easy and rather healthier version! I needed a receipe for a Hungarian pastry that my granny couldn't "translate" for me into American measurment as she makes it by memory, you know what i mean. This is the closest and she even commented today that this is airier, softer and lighter than hers. No more said! (I do add 1 tbs. of vanilla extract, because the cake is bare, with just fruit. no creams etc.)
aovss
NYC, NY
11/20/2012
My new favorite cake base! So light and airy and the perfect base for fresh fruits. I made this exactly as the sheet recipe calls for, except I used all-purpose flour. I was thrilled with the way the sheet came out - easy to roll and the perfect pair for the strawberry roulade, especially since I could use the leftover egg whites for the meringue topping. I am excited to try out the chocolate version, very soon!
partmtn
MT
5/21/2012
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