The Test Kitchen: How to Make a Génoise Cake - Gourmet Magazine

[bcimsmart]

When I made this (using a different recipe) my cake rose quite a bit in the oven. then I got nervous and took it out a little early, so it fell, haha. But still, her cake didn't seem to rise at all, is that normal?

[mithrandir0returns]

@bcimsmart i think its got to do with how hot your oven is. If its too hot the genoise will rise rapidly at first, but deflate later on while baking. Yh i don't think its supposed to rise a huge deal.

Hope that helps ;)

[lqshlvrs]

i have comcast and i looked on their and it isn totally different from your version of a genoise they used their hands to fold in the flour also the sifted it three times instead of once or twice also it came out bigger with using the right amount of ingridients so i don't like this version of the genoise also befre you put the eggs in te el. mixer you need to do a bain-marie thats why i think it is wrong or i know why its wrong comepletely

[priority1951]

she said this recipe is doubled from the recipe on gourmet.com * NOT! * you put that in the search box and it comes up 'nothing found'! what gives?

[ktkbar]

It is not "fancy french term" ,it is is an Italian sponge cake named after the city of Genoa.

[WoodenRoller]

@GourmetMagazine I have tried over and over again to make a sponge cake light and fluffy without any artificial leaveners and it fails all the time. My butter deflates the mixture every time. I'm afraid this will happen again, will tempering like you did help?

[Albertoskitchen]

@WoodenRoller Actually the correct method for tempering the eggs in the Genoise preparation is to crack the eggs inside a metal bowl add the sugar and place it in a bain-marie. Bring the mixture (while stirring with a whisk) @ 113 F (45C) then drop it into the el. mixer. Heating the eggs in warm water won't do anything except risking to ruin the whites. Another reason for missing a good fluffines is if the mixture sits a while before going into the pan making the flour collapse.

[kgsaigon1]

Absolutely amazing cake! Very clear, concise instructions even a novice baker as myself can follow these instructions! Also the tip or tempering(wrong word lol) the fat with the genoise before adding it to the whole was excellent!

[CherrySnowCake]

Sorry Add butter=AFDC

[CherrySnowCake]

Do you have to AFDC

[daniel4bola]

Hi, thanks for this demonstration, this came out perfectly. I am so delighted.

Best of all the demonstration if followed step by step.

[MrsLovescake]

You have a helpful presentation.I just want to know what kind of flour did you use?I've noticed too that you didn't put any baking powder or soda in the mixture?Is that OK?Tnx!

[roseofsharon121]

@MrsLovescake She used cake flour. It is fine that she didn't use baking powder or soda because the eggs are the leavener in this recipe. That is why she was careful in adding the flour and butter because those things can get rid of the bubbles that you create when whipping. I hope this helps.

[lysgirl]

That 5 minutes to soak the eggs, I assume it is to make the eggs slightly warm, so does that apply to refrigerated or room temperature eggs?

[CornDoctor]

what if you want to make it chocolate?

[sweetsnap4ever]

@CornDoctor just add melted chocolate chips or cocoa powder to make it chocolate cake

[bayer54]

OMG! I don't know what went wrong! I tried making this cake twice this morning and failed both times!! I watched this video many times making sure i've got it down but still disappointment! Really would like to learn how to make Genoise in person!!

[AmielDionisio]

@bayer54 hmm. did you beat the eggs for 10 minutes? u should because it looks done in 5 minutes but u should continue and see the difference.

[Bobeba80]

You said you doubled the recipe to put in a 10inch pain, is this enough to cut in half and layer?

[erikatheviking]

Thank you for this video :)

Since you seem to be American (apologies if I've missed a Canadian accent!), is your recipe like all the other American ones and uses 'cake flour'? The reason I ask is that we can't get that in the UK, and I'm having real difficulty folding in the flour that we have over here - it takes so long to combine that by the time I'm done my egg-sugar mix has decreased in volume by over a half, resulting in a 1 inch cake (8in tin, 4egg mix) where it should be 2 or more :(

[moonbal]

This is probably the best instruction video I've seen. Thanks chef!

[golddigger0325]

Best tips, more helping videos please!

[mummyzara]

*it rose

[mummyzara]

I used the paddle attachment too.. it rise, but not that high!

[Trund27]

Now I know what I did wrong! I did not use the wire wisk attachement on my mixer...I never got to the ribbon stage. I thought my oven was breaking down because the "cake" was a thin, rubbery disc!

Back to the store for more free-run eggs! D-Oh!

[Salinea]

I only had a hand whisk for the eggs (not even the kind with the hand crank) adn I managed to get the eggs to double in size at least. They didn't stay completely lifted like the ones in the video but it did take a bit for the ribbons to start sinking back into the batter. I lost some volume when I added the milk...it might have been too cold :/ Hopefully my cake survives so I can make petit fours!

[wilkinziz]

@Salinea ~She said the genoise batter had to be added a little bit to the butter, because the butter is a heavy fat and will affect the batter. That must be somewhat true of the milk, which could be the problem with yours. I wonder if you were able to froth the milk first, then add some of the genoise batter, mix it lightly, then add it to the main bowl of batter? Just a thought....

[alaninkarachi]

Thanks. I'll be trying this over the weekend.

[kfr33man]

I attempted this recipe to make petit fours. I don't know what I did wrong b/c I followed the directions and video exactly, but the cake seemed to be literally like a sponge. I did cook it in a shallow baking sheet that was 15x12, but it was still very flat and rubbery. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I did wrong, I'd appreciate any help. Thanks, Katie

[SuperOlds88]

@kfr33man since the leavening in this cake is done by a mechanical means, I would say you may not have gotten enough air into the cake batter, beat it until it JUST starts to loose height in the mixing bowl, then stop beating, no more.

[kfr33man]

@SuperOlds88 Thank you very much!  I'll try it again.

[SuperOlds88]

@kfr33man your welcome, and also try leaving the batter in the mixing bowl when you fold in the flour, turn the bowl on its side and fold, its more of a folding process then, instead of a mixing process. Cake will be lighter too if you alleviate the butter, its still good.

[manmadeofCO2]

Joy of cooking had almost identical directions. I just made mine in chocolate.

[FarSideofmyMoon]

Thank you so very much. I did this cake two times without success before watching this video. Now I know what mistakes caused the problem.

[thisispin]

wow thanks so much.

now i know the right way to fold the flour in the batter . i had so much problem doing that process and my genoise turn out so flat.

thank you again for this i'll try it next time

[Sarwar1a]

Thankyou

[closeststar]

awesome

[oliverkhoo]

perfect