Genoise - Sponge Cake
This was one of the first recipes I baked in culinary school. It is a classic recipe.
Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
- 6 Lg. Eggs
- 1 Cup Granulated White Sugar
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 2 Tbs. Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 Tbs. Hot Water
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°In the bowl of a Stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat eggs until frothy. Slowly and gradually add sugar and continue beating until the eggs fall off the whisk in a thick ribbon. This will take some time. You want your batter to be very light in color and to have tripled in volume. I think this is one of the most important steps.
- Line an 8"round cake pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour too. Shake out excess.
- Sift together the flour & salt.Whisk together the melted butter, water and vanilla.
- Fold the dry ingredients in thirds, into the egg mixture. Then slowly and carefully fold the butter mixture in. You do not want to deflate your batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Do not open the oven to check until you can smell cake in the kitchen about 20 minutes.
- Take cake out of oven and let it sit on a cooling rack undisturbed for five minutes. This is the cake continuing to cook. At this point invert it onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment. Allow the cake to cool completely before using it. I like to make two of three or these cakes at the same time and wrap them, each, in plastic. If I know that I'm going to be using one that day I wait at least six hours before I use the cake. These cakes freeze well.
Notes
You can make this cake a chocolate cake by subbing out cocoa powder for 1/2 of the flour. (1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup cocoa powder).