Classic Génoise Sponge Cake soft and delicious

Name: Classic Génoise Sponge Cake
Prep time: 36 min
Cook time: 36 min
Total time: 72 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8 very fresh farm eggs; 8.75 oz (250 g) of caster sugar + 1 sachet of vanilla sugar or one vanilla pod scraped; 8.75 oz (250 g) of sifted flour; 3.5 oz (100 g) of farm butter melted and clarified, from which you have removed the whey, or 4 oz (115 g) at original weight

A recipe by Michelin-starred Chef Patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (98 reviews) · 🍳 106 made it

Classic Génoise Sponge Cake, indulgent and flavorful — Photo : Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 36 min

Cook 36 min

Total 1h12

Servings 6 serv.

As its name suggests, the sponge cake is a pastry that originated in the city of Genoa. It's for those who want to master the basics of pastry-making: no need to be an expert, just attentive. The sponge cake keeps well for 3 days in open air, it serves as a base for more elaborate cakes or can be enjoyed plain with a coffee. Eight very fresh eggs, sugar, flour, clarified butter: nothing superfluous.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

8 very fresh farm eggs
8.75 oz (250 g) of caster sugar + 1 sachet of vanilla sugar or one vanilla pod scraped
8.75 oz (250 g) of sifted flour
3.5 oz (100 g) of farm butter melted and clarified, from which you have removed the whey, or 4 oz (115 g) at original weight

Step-by-step recipe

1 This recipe is not complicated, you just need to follow it to the letter and you won't have any problems. In a bowl, crack your eggs then add your sugars and mix with a whisk. Preheat the oven to 340°F (170 °C) (gas mark 5-6).

2 Heat a large saucepan half-filled with water so that your bowl can rest in it (bain-marie).

3 Place your bowl in the hot water (bain-marie) and with an electric whisk, beat your mixture until it is lukewarm. Remove it from the bain-marie and continue whisking with the electric whisk on your work surface until your "mixture" is completely cold (about 15 minutes). It will then stretch like a ribbon.

4 Then remove the whisk and replace it with a wooden spatula. Pour the flour in a thin stream and mix it by lifting and cutting the batter. You can then add the melted butter in the same way.

5 Pour into 1 or 2 round moulds in teflon or flexipan, then bake for approximately 35 minutes at mid-height. To test the cooking, insert a needle in the centre: it should come out dry and hot, otherwise continue cooking a little longer. A little trick: don't close your oven completely, wedge a cork to leave a small opening, which will promote the beneficial mix of air and heat for this type of cooking. Unmould while hot and let cool on a rack. There you go, I can guarantee you that if you master this sponge cake, a little corner of paradise will open up before you.

A chef's advice

After 15 minutes of continuous electric whisking after the bain-marie, your mixture should stretch like a ribbon when you lift it with the whisk. If you stop before, the cake will be dense. If you go longer, it's too aerated and will collapse during baking. This precise timing is the whole difference between a real sponge cake and a failed brioche.