Simple Genoise Sponge
If I could pick the best compliment I could get from my parents for any dessert, it would be: 好吃！不太甜。This translates to, “tastes good! Not too sweet.
One of the struggles of finding celebration cakes from bakeries is that American style white or yellow cakes lathered in buttercream are often sickeningly sweet and very rich, much to my family’s distaste. So, with my whisk in one hand and a dozen recipes in another, I set off to make a simple, not-too-sweet, very fluffy yet sturdy sponge that was perfect for layered celebration cakes.
A genoise is one of the simplest cakes you can make, but it’s somewhat difficult to nail down. It’s a fatless sponge traditionally made with just flour, sugar, and eggs, but I’ve found that a pinch of baking powder makes a world of difference in the texture. It’s very important to not under- or over-bake the cake—if it’s under-baked, the cake will sink in the middle. If it’s over-baked, the texture will be extremely dry. I test the doneness of the cake with both visual and auditory cues. Here are some things to monitor:
The center of the cake should be slightly domed. It might appear concave while baking (before the center of the cake has expanded and cooked through).
If you listen to the cake, it shouldn’t be “bubbling.”
Stick a toothpick all the way through the center. It should come out clean or with a few fully-cooked crumbs stuck to it.
The top should be golden brown.
This cake is very plain, so you can definitely dress it up with some simple syrups or fancy frostings!
For simple syrup, just heat up 1:1 ratios (by volume) sugar and water, plus any flavorings you like, until just dissolved. Let it cool and use around 1-4 tablespoons of syrup per layer of cake, depending on how large it is.
I like the taste and texture of whipped cream more than buttercream, and you can check out my stabilized tangy whipped cream (not vegetarian) and stabilized strawberry cream (vegetarian) recipes for inspiration! Stabilizing the whipped cream is helpful when stacking layers of cake, since normal whipped cream will lose its shape very quickly.
The ganache drip is also very simple: I used the recipe from Life Love and Sugar and added a small pinch of sea salt for an extra dimension of flavor. Keep in mind the quantities—I only used about half the quantity, to cover this cake!
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Yield: 3 6-inch rounds (2-inches tall)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with a middle rack. Prepare three 6-inch rounds by lining only the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In a large, clean bowl, crack in all of the eggs.
- Use a electric whisk on high speed and whisk the eggs until foamy. Slowly add in the sugar while whisking.
- Continue on high speed for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is very light and fluffy. When you lift the whisk, draw a figure 8 with the "ribbon" of egg that flows down. If the figure 8 stays for at least 10 seconds, there is enough air.
- Lower the speed to medium, and whisk for 1-2 more minutes to get rid of any large or irregular air bubbles.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture, bit by bit. Carefully folding the mixture together until there are barely any dry streaks, careful not to deflate the eggs, before sifting in more.
- Once the mixture has no visible flour lumps, divide it evenly between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before running a knife or spatula down the sides and flipping it upside down onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 10-15 more minutes, then cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate before decorating.
For one (of three) 6-inch sponge: 454 calories: 75.3 g carbs; 17 g protein; 9.5 g fat
