Genoise Sponge Cake - worth making

Have you ever heard of a Genoise Sponge Cake?  Well, I have wondered what it was like for a long time so, I decided that it should be my next bake.  The recipe calls for an 8 inch cake pan and I only had 9 inch so it only seems natural to get onto Amazon and order a new pan.  I bought the Fat Daddio's Anodized Aluminum pans because they come highly recommended.  Seems that they are great pans.

A Genoise Sponge Cake originated in Genoa, Italy.  It is a soft flavorful cake that you can fill with all kinds of wonderful things.  For this cake, I just used my homemade strawberry jam (I seem to be getting a lot of mileage out of that jam) and whipped cream.  I topped it with more cream and fresh strawberries.  It seemed a little dryer than I expected but it was tasty. Just means I'll have to make it again until I perfect it.

This cake uses just a few ingredients but following the directions is important.

**Very important -  your 4 eggs HAVE to be a room temperature

Preheat your oven to 350* and put rack in the center of the oven.

Prepare one 8 inch cake pan by cutting a piece of parchment to fit into the bottom. Spray the pan bottom and edges and then place the parchment in the bottom of the pan and spray it.

First, measure out your dry ingredients using a scale and then sift them together three times- this is important!

1 cup (120 grams) all purpose flour -sift with a fine mesh strainer

2 Tbls (16 grams) cornstarch - add to the sifted flour

1/4 tsp salt add to the flour and cornstarch and sift together three times. Set aside

Melt the butter and set aside to cool so that it is barely warm (you may want to do this while the eggs are beating)

In a mixer bowl add:

4 large eggs at room temperature 

2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract (can also use Almond Extract)

Mix together with your mixer until eggs have increased in size and are thick and fluffy  **This is the trick for the sponge.  You have to beat the eggs and sugar on high for 10 minutes.

 

Now, gently fold in the sifted flour mixture.  (I actually sifted it once more into the eggs) Fold it in  with a spatula. Make sure you do not stir and deflate the eggs!

Next, fold in the melted butter just until incorporated being very careful to not

 deflate the cake mixture.

Pour into the prepared pan and put into the oven,  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Let cool for 10 minutes and then loosen the edges if needed with a thin sharp knife.  Turn out to finish cooling.

Once it is cooled, slice the cake in half through the middle and add whatever filling you might like. It can be a pastry cream or fruit - use your imagination.

Place the top on, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

**Note if you have a cake slicer like the pros use-that would be very helpful to get a clean even cut.  I guess I need to get back onto Amazon. 

I hope you will give a sponge cake a try.  It may seem a bit intimidating, but actually, it was easy and yummy.

Happy Baking!

 

Viennese Whirls

 Again!  What is it with the late post?  Well, maybe I got a little bit distracted?

We had the best time on the Big Island of Hawai'i but that shouldn't be an excuse.  My goal was to make something every month.  I finished these cookies at 9:45 thelast night of the month, April 30th-so I met my goal-I just didn't get it posted until now, May 2, 2025. So here we go!

Have you ever heard of a Viennese Whirl? It's a butter cookie made into a sandwich.  I was worried it would be a bit like the cookies I made for Valentine's Day but it's not. (I liked those better) These are an

easy cookie to make but not a great choice for someone who is right handed and has some arthritis happening in said right hand.  Squeezing these out of that little bag was hard and they really don't look great.  But, they do taste pretty tasty.

The dough is easy to mix together.  It's just butter and powdered sugar that you beat hard for 5 minutes.  It has some vanilla, all purpose flour, and cornstarch, and maybe a little tiny bit of milk.  That's it-no eggs.

The trick comes in making them look pretty with a star tip and piping bag.  

Draw 2 inch circles on the back of your parchment and then you know where to pipe.  My circles were a bit larger than 2 inches so I piped inside the circle and it seamed to work.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes and then bake at 355*.  Let them cook completely on the cookie sheet and then remove with a spatula.

Frost with the buttercream and add some jam. Top with the other cookie and there you go.  Sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar is always a great addition.  But not before I took a bite.  They really are quite tasty.

Would I make these again? Probably!  Would I let Mike squeeze them into the circles? YES!  My poor hand was killing me by the time I finished. I hope you will give them a try.  And remember, weighing your ingredients helps to give you consistency.  Get a scale, it really is best to weigh instead of measure.

Viennese Whirls

250 g unsalted butter at room temp (I used salted butter)

3/4 c (105 g) powdered sugar

1 tsp (5 g) vanilla extract

1 1/2 c (225 g) all purpose flour

1/2 c (68 g) cornstarch

**Note here, my dough was so stiff that I added about 1 tbls milk to help and it worked great

Filling

125 g (1/2 c) unsalted butter (or salted)

1 1/2 c (210 g) powdered sugar

1/2 tsp (3 g) vanilla extract

1 Tbls milk - more if needed

raspberry/strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 355*

Line baking sheets with parchment paper that you have drawn two inch circle on the back

In an electric mixer mix the butter until well mixed and then add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Beat hard for about 5 minutes, scraping the edges a couple times in that 5 minute period, or until it is light in color and light in texture.

Sift the flour and cornstarch into the butter and mix with mixer or by hand.  Add a little milk if it's too stiff-the dough should be soft but not loose

Put the dough into a piping bag that has been fitted with a large star tip.  Squeeze dough into the circles starting at the outside and coming into the middle.  Lift up and move to the next circle.

Put in the refrigerator while you do the next baking sheet.

Bake the first sheet for 10 minutes or until no raw dough is left and edges are just starting to brown.

Let cool on the pan.  

Remove and pair up the cookies with like sizes.  Spread or pipe the buttercream onto one cookie, add jam and top with the other cookie.  Dust with powdered sugar.

*Note, you can store cookies in the refrigerator for up to 5 days if they last that long!

Keep Baking!