Genoise sponge cake recipe

A honey fig sandwich dessert: the delicious but airy and light sponge allows the wealthy components a little bit of space showing down. Photographer: Jill Mead the Guardian

I am as big an admirer as any person of hefty, butter-rich desserts – fat slices of madeira, Victoria sandwiches and doorstop wedges of fondant-covered birthday celebration cake. I have also adopted "more butter is much better" as a sort of cooking area mantra. But often, when something lighter is necesary, we make a genoise sponge. Made out of hardly any fat, several eggs and a lot of determined whisking, this is a far more fragile sponge. Though maybe not showstopping on it's own, it will probably wow along with its airy lightness and flexibility. It's specifically best for showcasing an especially luxuriant stuffing: in which a richer sponge might find yourself feeling stodgy, the genoise is swirled, piled or sandwiched without dominating or evaluating down.

Basic Genoise sponge

A little trickier than a conventional creamed dessert batter, but well worth the work.

Makes 1 cake
20g unsalted butter
3 big eggs
95g caster sugar
95g basic flour
A pinch of sodium

1 carefully melt the butter in a tiny cooking pan, after that set-aside to sweet somewhat even though you prepare the residual ingredients.

2 Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large dish. That is an essential minute for making a genoise sponge: there is no substance leavening (baking dust or bicarbonate of soft drink) in here, and so the only lift will come through the atmosphere whisked in during this period. Scores of little atmosphere bubbles becomes suspended in blend while you whisk. With a little fortune, these bubbles will expand rapidly within the temperature of this oven plus the dessert will rise.At very first the mixture will undoubtedly be hefty and gelatinous, but after a few momemts of vigorous whisking might commence to notice it will grow foamy and lighten in color. After around five minutes it will be a really different beast: dense, aerated and pale. It really is prepared when it reaches, after 7-10 moments of determined hand whisking, anything called "ribbon stage" – when the whisk makes a ribbon-like path of this blend whilst's lifted completely, and which lingers for 2 moments on the surface before sinking in.

This phase are speeded up by extremely carefully warming the eggs and sugar, but you'll have to take care not to unintentionally prepare the blend. Only suspend the bowl over a pan of hardly simmering liquid (don't let the bottom of the dish touch water) and lightly whisk before blend is warm to the touch. After that take off heat and whisk full throttle until such time you reach ribbon phase.

3 Combine the flour and sodium in another dish, then sift 1 / 2 of this mixture extraordinary for the whisked eggs and sugar. Fold this in to the eggs making use of a figure of 8 stirring motion, and searching straight to the base of the dish to avoid clumps inside batter. Once it has virtually incorporated, sift and fold within the continuing to be flour. Be mild utilizing the blend at this stage – the goal is to keep the maximum amount of of air within the eggs that you can.

4 Drizzle inside melted butter across the edges of this dish – it will help to end it from just sinking right through light, aerated batter. Very gently stir in, working the combination as low as possible.

5 Bake in line with the directions in another of the next dishes.

Honey fig sandwich dessert

With a filling as gratuitously indulgent as this, it really is to find the best that sponge is comparatively plain.

The dessert
1 quantity fundamental genoise sponge batter
1 tsp surface ginger
½ tsp fennel seeds, ground or broken
1 tsp vanilla extract

To drizzle
3-4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp liquid

For the filling
250g mascarpone
2 tbsp honey
Zest of 1 tangerine
4-5 really ripe figs
2 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting

1 Preheat the range to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease and line a-deep 20cm round dessert tin – preferably springform.

2 Prepare the genoise sponge batter as above, sifting the ginger and fennel in together with the flour, and including the vanilla herb because of the melted butter.

3 Spoon the batter in to the prepared tin and bake for about 25 moments, or before the sponge is well-risen, golden brown over the top and simply starting to shrink from the edges associated with tin. It should feel springy to touch.

4 Let the dessert cool with its tin before unmoulding. Piece in half horizontally to give two levels.

5 temperature the honey and water when it comes to drizzle in a small pan until combined and runny. Spoon this honey blend throughout the slice edges for the sponge halves to moisten. Stir the mascarpone in a bowl until smooth. Include the honey and orange zest and combine. Cut the figs into sections.

6 Spoon the mascarpone filling on the base level of sponge, organize the fig cuts at the top and sandwich with the 2nd sponge level, putting cut-side down. Dust with icing sugar.

Mocha Swiss roll

Mocha Swiss Roll Photo: the Guardian

For cake
1 quantity standard genoise sponge batter
2 tbsp cocoa dust
1 tbsp very strong black coffee, cooled

For buttercream
75g unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp cocoa dust
1 tbsp quite strong black colored coffee
150g icing sugar
Icing or caster sugar, to dirt

1 Line a (around) 22 x 33cm swiss roll tin, roasting dish or shallow tray with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas level 6.

Photo: for Guardian

2 Ready the genoise sponge batter as preceding, sifting the cocoa powder in along with the flour and stirring in the coffee with the melted butter.