Genoise Brownie Cake 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

GENOISE SHEET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Combine clarified butter and vanilla in small bowl. Keep hot until needed or reheat for a few seconds just before using--this is important! Combine flour with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Sift together twice; return to sifter and set aside.
• In a large heatproof mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine eggs and sugar. Place bowl in or over a saucepan containing 1 to 2 inches of barely simmering water. Heat eggs to lukewarm, (check by touching), whisking occasionally. Remove bowl from heat. Beat egg mixture at high speed with an electric mixer until it has cooled, tripled in bulk, and resembles softly whipped cream. Sift about 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whipped eggs. Use your largest rubber spatula to fold the mixture, by hand, quickly but gently until combined. Sift and fold in half the remaining flour mixture; sift and fold in the rest. Scoop about 1 cup of the batter into another bowl and fold it together with the hot clarified butter and vanilla. When completely combined, fold the butter mixture back into the remaining batter. Turn batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly over pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cake shrinks slightly from the edges of the pan and top springs back when pressed with fingers. Run a small knife around the edges of the cake to release it from pan. Invert pan onto a sheet of foil and remove pan. Cool cake without removing parchment pan liner (cake will steam slightly between the parchment and the foil, making it flexible enough to roll without cracking later).

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.