Hi

I'm having a host of problems with making genoise.I've tried a number of recipes..withc ake flour, witha ll purpose flour in my umpteen attempts ive encountered the following probs:

1-it shrinks when cooling. about an inch from the center.
2- the grain is coarse.
3- too eggy
4- doesnt rise enough. or rises and falls

Can someone elaborate on what role the ingredients play in the genoise. so i can form my own recipe by trial and error.

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 02:38 pm: Edit

Where the hell is Spike when you need him?????

By Corey (Corey) on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 06:17 pm: Edit

Did you try the one in wayne gisslen's Professional Baking? or the Baker's Manual?

By Corey (Corey) on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 06:39 pm: Edit

hmm, Genoise?
1 lb 2 oz eggs
12 oz sugar
12 oz cake flour
4 oz butter optional
0.25 oz vanilla
total wieght 2 lbs 14oz
mix via genoise or genoise butter method or the foaming method
I have variations of this too.
Eggs, flour provide structure
sugar and fats are tenderizers and shorten protien fibers
mosturizers are eggs, water, milk and syrups.
dryers are flours and starches and absorb moisture.
did you adjust for your altitude?
did you prep your pans properly? foam cakes are really delicate.
I learnt a lot from teaching part time and still have my books.

By Pastrycrew (Pastrycrew) on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 10:33 pm: Edit

Peach -

You can whip the eggs up with sugar. Be gentle when folding in your ingredients. Don't overmix or it will become tough, and it will shrink after baked. Make sure to sift the flour, maybe even do it twice.

You can try whipping just the whites with sugar, and then fold in the yolks (not whipped) and then the flour. (This is like a lady finger biscuit)


Genoise tends to be eggy. That is normal, but you can mask that with some vanilla extract or citrus zest. Or add this in the punching syrup for the cake.

Most of the hard time I come in with cakes is overmixing. If the eggs are overmixed, they don't have any bounce in the oven and the cake turns into a brick.

Butter will add flavor and shelf life to your product.

Flour adds body. If your cake is crowning too much, replace some of the flour with cornstarch. (This is good as well if you plan on making rolled up cake - it won't break apart so easily)

If its always falling, increase your flour some.

A basic recipe for this type of cake is:

30 eggs (whip with sugar)
30 oz sugar
30 oz flour (sift twice, fold in)
10 oz butter, melted (fold in last)

Replace 20% flour with cocoa powder for chocolate.

blah. hope it helps

By Peach (Peach) on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 09:15 am: Edit

thanks for the recipes and suggestions,

I'm gonna try out each of your recipes and directions.

this time i made a genoise with rice flour with the ribbon method. i wanted to find out if the abundance of starch does anything to the texture. well it does. it made the cake structure so delicate, that while taking it outa the pan (well greased etc) it fell apart.
teeeheee..so that about ends my tryst with rice flour, although The cake lost some of its eggy taste.

btw, i came across this article during my research on genoise.-

http://www.townonline.com/arts_lifestyle/dining_out/art_feaaspongecakekd06042003.htm

let me know what all of u think of it.
peach

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 10:23 pm: Edit

see, I wase'nt needed.
"Genoise tends to be eggy. That is normal, but you can mask that with some vanilla extract or citrus zest. Or add this in the punching syrup for the cake".................................ah, it should not be eggy. it should taste like the flavor, but not eggy.
Please don't make it like a ladyfinger, and Pastrycrew you should feel shame for even sugesting that.
also, try bring your eggs to a second peak, after they have peaked on #3, turn to #2 and whip until they peak again,...why you ask?...well, it adds body to the mix. But if you bake at to hot a temp none of this will matter. shrink*edge is not just from cold ya know.
don't overfold, it's better to have some Not mixed in than having it be thin, soupy, or over blended.
yes, he's right, sift flour and sugar twice if you need to.
Do you know who the gods of pastry are????
buy those books first.
happy baking.

By Jonesb (Jonesb) on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 07:55 pm: Edit

who are the gods of pastry?