The basic cake of the French pastry repertoire is génoise, used as the foundation for dozens of cakes and other desserts. While it is essentially sponge cake made with butter, it’s rarely eaten plain or on its own. Rather, it might be moistened with liqueur or sweet or fortified wine (Grand Marnier, Sauternes, or Oloroso sherry, for example) and served with a little whipped cream or used as a building block for other desserts like Trifle (page 651).
Recipe information
Yield
makes one 8- to 9-inch cake
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the flour and salt together. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan; cover the bottom with a circle of wax or parchment paper, butter the paper, and sift a little flour over the whole pan; invert and tap out excess flour.
Step 2
Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs until doubled in volume and very thick and light, at least 5 minutes. Add half the sugar and beat for another 5 minutes or so, gradually adding the remaining sugar, until nearly tripled in volume. (When you remove the whisk from the eggs, a ribbon of egg will fall from the beaters and hold its shape on top of the mixture for a few seconds. It’s a very satisfying sight.) Beat in the vanilla.
Step 3
Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour-salt mixture into this batter, a third at a time, gently but thoroughly. Finally, and very gently, fold in the melted butter. Turn the batter into the cake pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cake is just firm and slightly springy.
Step 4
Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Run a knife around the edge, cover the pan with a rack, and invert the rack and pan. Cool, then store, covered with wax paper and at room temperature, for no more than a day, or wrap well in plastic and freeze for up to a week.
