Chocolate Genoise Recipes

CHOCOLATE GENOISE

Steps:

• One 9 by 2-inch round layer pan, or a 9-inch springform pan, buttered and the bottom lined with a disk of parchment or wax paper
• Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
• Sift together the cake flour, cornstarch, and cocoa through a fine-meshed strainer over a piece of waxed paper to break up any lumps in the cocoa. Set sifted ingredients aside with the strainer.
• Whisk together the eggs yolks, sugar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and continue whisking gently until the mixture is lukewarm, about 100 degrees. This should take only a minute or two.
• Whip with the electric mixer on high speed until the mixture is cooled and increased in volume, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove bowl from mixer and sift in dry ingredients, in three additions gently folding each third in with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread the top even with a spatula.
• Bake the layer about 30 minutes until it is well risen and the center is firm to the touch.
• If necessary, loosen the layer from the side of the pan with a small knife or spatula and invert the cake onto a rack. Place another rack on the cake and invert again. Remove the top rack, so that the layer cools right side up, still on the paper

CHOCOLATE GENOISE FOR CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, and butter the paper. Combine 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon cocoa, and coat the pan, tapping out excess. Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside. Wash and dry the mixer bowl.
• Place the egg whites in the clean mixer bowl; with the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high, and add the sugar gradually, until glossy stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Transfer the egg-white mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg-yolk mixture into the egg-white mixture. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the top, and gently fold them into the batter. Gently pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet, and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
• Bake until cake springs back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately turn cake out onto wire rack lined with parchment. Peel parchment from cake; cool completely. Use genoise the day it is made.

CHOCOLATE GENOISE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-by-1-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment; butter and flour paper, tapping out the excess flour.
• Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together twice into a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Skim off white foam, and pour clear yellow butter into a bowl, discarding white liquid at the bottom. Set aside in a warm place.
• In a medium-size heat-proof bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and beat on high speed until mixture is thick and pale and has tripled in bulk. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat 2 to 3 minutes more.
• In three additions, sift flour mixture over egg mixture, folding in gently with a spatula. While folding in last addition, dribble melted butter over batter and fold in.
• Spread batter evenly in pan, leaving behind any unincorporated butter in the bottom of the bowl. Tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake until cake springs back when touched in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Don't overbake or cake will crack. Let sit in pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
• Dust surface with cocoa powder. To make rolling easier, trim edges of cake, and cover with a sheet of waxed paper and a damp dish towel. Invert onto a work surface, and peel off parchment; dust with cocoa. Starting from one long end, carefully roll up cake in towel. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until ready to use.

CHOCOLATE GENOISE

Steps:

• Place a 1-quart saucepan half filled with water over high heat and bring it to a simmer. Make a double boiler by setting a large mixing bowl over the simmering water. Place the whole eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and honey in the mixing bowl and make an egg foam by whisking the mixture to 113 degrees F (45 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, about 7 to 10 minutes. The egg foam passes through various stages becoming foamy, then smooth and finally it thickens. When it is thick, it will be hot to the touch, tripled in volume, and light in color and the sugar will have completely dissolved. If you dip the whisk into the mixture and pull it out, the batter should fall back into the bowl in a thick ribbon.
• Remove the mixing bowl from the heat and whip the batter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it cools, increases in volume, stiffens slightly and becomes pale yellow, about 7 to 10 minutes. Take the time to whip it well; if the mixture is underwhipped, the baked genoise will be dense. Very, very carefully, fold in the flour with a rubber spatula until the flour is no longer visible, making sure to fold to the bottom of the bowl. Do not overmix or the batter will deflate.
• I bake the genoise on a baking sheet 99 percent of the time because then I can cut it to any size I want. Spread the batter over a parchment paper-covered baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven until lightly and evenly browned and springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. If using cake pans, fill buttered and parchment paper-lined 8-inch round cake pans three quarters full. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until well-risen and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Genoise is baked at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time on a baking sheet than when baked in a cake pan to allow it to retain moisture; if overbaked, it will be dry and crunchy.
• Let the genoise cool slightly. Unmold and finish cooling on a wire rack to allow the air to circulate evenly around the cake. The baked genoise can be stored in the freezer for 2 to 3 weeks if well wrapped in plastic wrap. Return it to room temperature before using it.
• VARIATION: You can easily make this recipe into a Chocolate Genoise by substituting unsweetened cocoa powder for 10 to 20 percent of the weight (a scant 1/4 cup to a full 1/3 cup/0.8 to 1.6 ounces/25 to 50 grams) of the flour. Weigh the cocoa powder before you sift it.
• SIDEBAR: Genoise can be made with butter. In this recipe, you can substitute butter (5 1/2 tablespoons, 2.7 ounces or 75 grams) for the 3 large egg yolks. Melt and cool the butter and fold it in after the flour is added.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GENOISE (ITALIAN SPONGE CAKE)

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a greased 8 1/2 inch springform pan with wax paper, grease the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out the excess.
• In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the white chocolate with the butter, the vanilla and 3 tablespoons water, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Into a bowl sift together the flour and the salt.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the eggs with the sugar on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is triple in volume and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted.
• Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until the batter is just combined and fold in the white chocolate mixture gently but thoroughly.
• Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
• Transfer the cake to a rack, run a sharp knife around the edge, and remove the side of the pan.
• Invert the cake onto another rack and remove the wax paper.
• Reinvert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely.

CHOCOLATE GENOISE CAKE

Steps:

• Melt the clarified butter and keep very warm (around 115 degrees F).
• Whisk the cocoa and boiling water together until very smooth. Add vanilla, stir in completely, then cover whisk and bowl with plastic wrap.
• Set your mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the eggs and agave nectar, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes lukewarm. Transfer to the mixer and use the whisk attachment to beat at high speed for 5 minutes or so. The egg mixture should triple in volume.
• Take 2 cups of the eggs and whisk it into the cocoa until very smooth.
• Sift the flour over the remaining egg mixture, gently fold in until the flour disappears. Fold in cocoa until almost incorporated. Fold in butter in two parts with a large whisk or rubber spatula until just incorporated.
• Pour into a 9" prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the pan.
• SYRUP:.
• Small saucepan with lid - Bring the agave and water to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. When at the boil: cover, remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup and add the liqueur. If needed, add enough water to bring the syrup up to 3/4 cup.

GENOISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch round cake pan. Line with parchment paper and grease it as well. Lightly flour pan and paper.
• Sift together the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt onto a piece of wax paper.
• Place the eggs into a mixing bowl set over a pan of hot (not boiling) water. Add the 1/2 cup sugar to the eggs and whisk until the mixture feels warm (not hot) to the touch, about body temperature. Place the bowl onto a mixer and beat on medium speed until the mixture becomes pale yellow in color and falls off the end of the whisk attachment in long ribbons. Add the vanilla. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the beaten egg and fold in. Continue to add the remainder of the flour, folding it in each time.
• Place about 1 cup of the batter into the bowl containing the melted butter and combine the butter with the batter. Add this back to the main batter and fold it in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Immediately bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 25 minutes or until the top is a light brown. Cool in pan on a rack about 10 minutes and then invert onto a rack. It is best to invert it again onto another rack so that it cools with the top up. Let cool completely before cutting or frosting.

PAUL'S GENOISE SPONGE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Brush 2 x 20cm cake tins with melted butter, line the bases with baking paper, then dust well with flour tipping out any excess. Set aside.
• Put the sugar and eggs in a large heatproof bowl, then set it over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk with an electric hand whisk for about 7 mins or until the mixture is pale and has trebled in volume. Remove from the heat, then slowly pour in the butter folding it in as you pour until it is completely mixed in.
• Gently fold the flour and a pinch of salt into the egg mixture, then pour into your prepared cake tins. Cook for 25 mins until the cake is golden and risen - a skewer pushed into the cake should come out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for a few mins in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, whip the cream until it just holds its shape, then set aside. Whizz about a quarter of the strawberries with 1 tbsp sugar until smooth, then fold this purée through the cream so you get a ripple effect.
• To assemble the cakes, cut each one in half horizontally. Put one sponge on a serving plate, spread a quarter of the cream mix on top, then dot a quarter of the blueberries and raspberries around the edge. Repeat this step two more times, put the last layer of cake on top (save a top half of cake for the top layer), spread the remaining cream over, then put the blueberries and raspberries around the edge and pile the strawberries in the centre. Dust with icing sugar just before you serve.

PLAIN GENOISE

Steps:

• 1 Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
• 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.
• 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.
• 4 While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
• 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.
• 6 Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• 7 Bake the gênoise for about 25 minutes, or until well risen, deep gold, and firm to the touch.
• 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
• Chocolate Genoise: Reduce the bake flour to 1/3 cup, increase the cornstarch to 1/3 cup, and add 1/4 cup alkalized (Dutch-process) cocoa powder to the flour and cornstarch mixture, sift.
• 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.)

CHOCOLATE GENOISE WITH CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT GANACHE

Steps:

• Make syrup:
• Stir water and sugar in small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil. Remove from heat. Stir in creme de cacao and vanilla. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill.)
• Make genoise:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment paper. Cover cake rack with paper towel; spray paper towel with nonstick spray.
• Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking soda into small bowl 3 times. Combine eggs, egg yolk, sugar and salt in large stainless steel bowl. {Step One} Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not let bottom of bowl touch water). Whisk until mixture is just warm to touch (thermometer will register 110°F), about 2 minutes. Remove mixture from over water. {Step Two} Using electric mixer, beat until mixture triples in volume and falls in heavy ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Sift flour mixture over in 3 additions; fold gently to incorporate each time. Drizzle butter over and fold in (do not overmix or batter will deflate). Transfer batter to prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cut around pan sides; release sides. Turn cake out onto towel-covered rack; peel off parchment. Cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap; store at room temperature.)
• Make ganache:
• Place chocolate in large bowl. Bring cream to boil in small saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate. {Step Three} Add corn syrup and extracts; whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer 3 cups ganache to medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until very thick and light colored, about 12 minutes.
• Using long serrated knife, cut genoise horizontally into 3 layers. Place 1 cake layer on cardboard round or pan bottom. Brush cake with 3 tablespoons syrup. Spread 1/3 of whipped ganache over. Repeat 2 more times with remaining cake layers, syrup and whipped ganache. Spread 1 cup unwhipped ganache thinly over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake until coating sets, about 10 minutes.
• If necessary, warm remaining un-whipped ganache until just pourable. Place cake on rack set over sheet of foil. Pour ganache over cake as glaze, spreading to cover top and sides smoothly. Chill until glaze begins to set, about 30 minutes. Place cake on platter. Press chocolate curls onto sides. Chill at least 2 hours.