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Génoise is the last of the foam cakes. It is also a very versatile cake that may be used to make petits fours and jelly rolls. It differs from all the other foam cakes–angel food, sponge, chiffon–in that it is made with whole eggs. Warmed eggs are beaten with sugar and vanilla until they triple in volume, become thick and creamy, and are filled with tiny air bubbles, the only source of leavening. I like to use a mixture of unbleached all purpose flour and bleached cake flour because I think it gives the cake a fine, sturdy crumb. Génoise tends to be dry, and when baked as a thick layer, it is split and brushed with generous amounts of a flavored sugar syrup before filling and frosting.
Here’s what the beaten eggs will look like before you fold in the flour.
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Génoise batter ready to bake. The shininess comes from the browned butter.
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And here’s the cake baked and cooled.
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Here’s the recipe for the cake. In my next post, I’ll include a recipe for Lemon Génoise with Raspberries and White Chocolate Buttercream.