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Génoise (Genoa sponge)

A Génoise (or Genoa sponge) is a very light and delicate cake. It is good on its own, but is more often used as the base for many different French-style gâteaux, with layers of mousse or cream between 2 (or more) layers of sponge. It is a tricky recipe to get right, rather technical, but here's a simple and very effective method.

214K 5 23 4.2

Last modified on: March 10^th 2019

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For 1 Génoise (Genoa sponge), you will need:

1 4 eggs
2 50 g Noisette butter
3 110 g caster sugar
4 15 g Vanilla sugar
5 125 g flour
6 30 g flakeds almonds (optional)
Total weight: 500 grams

Change these quantities to make: 1 Génoise (Genoa sponge) 2 Génoises (Genoa sponge) 3 Génoises (Genoa sponge)

Change measures: Metric

Metric weight Metric volumes

How long does it take?

Time required for this recipe:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
33 min.	15 min.	25 min.	1 hour 13 min.

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Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 10 min.

Put 4 eggs in a pan of hot water from the tap and leave for 10 minutes to warm, just to warm eggs not to cook them.

If your eggs have been in the fridge, leave them for 20 minutes, renewing the hot water halfway through.

Stage 2 - 5 min.

Also fill the food-processor bowl with very hot water and leave to warm up.

This is so that the eggs can be beaten in the warm, which improves their texture. In most Genoa sponge recipes, the eggs are beaten in a bain-marie, which is more difficult.

Stage 3 - 5 min.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

Empty and dry the food-processor bowl, break the eggs into it and add 110 g caster sugar and 15 g Vanilla sugar.

Stage 4 - 10 min.

Beat immediately at high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy...

Stage 5

...and sticks to the beater slightly.

Stage 6 - 5 min.

Reduce the speed and add 50 g Noisette butter, pouring in a thin stream (through a sieve to remove all the small impurities left after heating).

Stage 7 - 5 min.

Stop the machine and sieve 125 g flour into the mixture.

Stage 8 - 1 min.

Incorporate the flour into the mixture quickly using a hand whisk.

Important: this is the tricky part. You have incorporated lots of air into the mixture be beating the eggs and sugar together and it is this air in the form of tiny bubbles that will make the mixture foamy and give you a light sponge. You need to incorporate the flour as quickly as possible (within 30 seconds if possible) so that the mixture doesn't "fall".

Stage 9 - 5 min.

Prepare a mould or tin by lining the bottom with a sheet of cooking parchment, as Genoa sponge sticks terribly and turning it out can be difficult.

You can also scatter a few flaked almonds in the bottom.

Stage 10 - 2 min.

Pour the batter into the mould and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Stage 11 - 25 min.

Turn out while hot onto a wire rack.

Remarks

For a chocolate Genoa sponge, reduce the flour by 50g and add 20g of powdered chocolate or cocoa powder.

Keeping

A few days in an air-tight tin.

Source

After Hervé This, who states that this Michel Bras's method.

Nutritional information

Whole recipe
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
1,666 Kcal or 6,975 Kj	42 gr	223 gr	81 gr
83 %	16 %	21 %	12 %

Per 100 g
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
333 Kcal or 1,394 Kj	8 gr	45 gr	16 gr
17 %	3 %	4 %	2 %

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

Possible allergens in this recipe: Egg, Milk, Gluten, Nuts

How much will it cost?

For 1 Génoise (Genoa sponge) : 1.55 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

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See all recipes that use it

This recipe uses (among others)

	Flour: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Crunchy little pieces of fish, French Family Cake, Parmesan cauliflower cheese, Fillet of salmon meunière, Oat financiers for Louise, ... All
	Caster sugar: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Double raspberry tartlets, Apricot jam with vanilla, Eggs meurette, Choux pastry (pâte à choux), Warm apple feuillantines, ... All
	Noisette butter: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Chestnut cake, Pancake batter, Pistachio madeleines, Grapefruit moelleux, Pistachio "Financiers", ... All
	Vanilla sugar: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Individual charlottes with morello cherries, Tarte Normande, Lemon tart, Madeleines, Jam doughnuts, ... All

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Your 5 comments or questions on this recipe

I'm sure you can't imagine how many genoise I've missed, before having a good and nice one (like on the photos).
Keep courage!
Posted by jh april 12^th 2013 at 15:16 (n° 5)
@ jh Thank you for your reply. I will give attention to this point on future occasions. It may be that I was paying too much attention to the instructions that I have only thirty seconds to get the flour into the batter? I did use a balloon whisk to do the mixing of the flour, and the eggs and sugar were whisked by high-speed whisking in a Kenwood machine. When I have spent time whisking in the flour, I seem to have knocked too much air out of the batter, hence my haste to get the flour in and the batter into the tin
Posted by Biggles april 12^th 2013 at 12:07 (n° 4)
@Kristin: You're right, hand beaten genoa sponge is a sign of courage...

@biggles: It could be a problem of not enoughly mixed flour to the egg+sugar mixture.
Posted by jh april 12^th 2013 at 10:28 (n° 3)
My sponge turns out uneven, far too often. (i.e, one side higher than the other) I don't know if it is the fan that is disturbing the rather light batter. Anyone else having the same trouble please?
Posted by Biggles april 11^th 2013 at 20:27 (n° 2)
Thank you for the recipe and clear instructions. I halved the recipe since I am cooking for two and it still came out beautiful. But beating the eggs and sugar mixture with the hand mixer took a very long time! :)

Thanks,
Kristin
www.erisbeauty.com
Posted by Anonymous april 11^th 2013 at 17:07 (n° 1)

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