View source for Genoise

{{Short description|French sponge cake named after the city of Genoa}}
{{About-distinguish|the sponge cake|Genoa cake}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Genoise
| image = Pandispagna cotto.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Genoise sheet and rounds
| alternate_name = Genoese cake, Genovese cake
| country = [[France]]
| region = 
| creator = 
| course = 
| type = [[Sponge cake]]
| served = 
| main_ingredient = [[Flour]], [[sugar]], [[Eggs as food|eggs]]
| variations = Chocolate genoise
}}

[[File:Biskotten-02.jpg|thumb|Ladyfingers]]
A '''génoise''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ʒ|eɪ|ˈ|n|w|ɑː|z|,_|ʒ|ə|ˈ|-}}, {{IPAc-en|UK|dʒ|eɪ|ˈ|-|,_|dʒ|ɛ|ˈ|-}},<ref>{{cite American Heritage Dictionary|genoise}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/genoise |title=genoise |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/genoise|title=Genoise|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|genoise}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|ʒenwaz|lang}}; usually spelled '''genoise''' in English), also known as '''Genoese cake''' or '''Genovese cake''', is a [[French cuisine|French]] [[sponge cake]] named after the city of [[Genoa]] and associated with French cuisine. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Paris |first=FERRANDI |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7EWREAAAQBAJ |title=French Patisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts |date=2017-11-14 |publisher=National Geographic Books |isbn=978-2-08-020318-2 |language=en}}</ref> Instead of using chemical [[Leavening agent|leavening]], air is suspended in the [[batter (cooking)|batter]] during mixing to provide volume.

Genoise should not be confused with ''[[pain de Gênes]]'' ({{literally|Genoa bread}}), which is made from [[almond paste]], but it is similar to ''{{illm|pan di Spagna|it|pan di Spagna}}'' ({{literally|Spanish bread}}).<ref>Carole Bloom, The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking  Page 601  2007 "American sponge cake traditionally has no fat and has a light, airy, delicate texture. It is a close relative of the classic French génoise cake, which is made with a small amount of butter. "</ref><ref>Amy Brown Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation - Page 480 2010 "Unshortened cakes are also known as sponge or foam cakes and include angel food, sponge, meringue, dacquoise, génoise, and roulade. The term sponge in food preparation is frequently used to denote foods made with beaten egg whites."</ref>

It is a whole-egg cake, unlike some other sponge cakes for which yolks and whites are beaten separately, such as [[Pão de Ló]]. The eggs, and sometimes extra yolks, are beaten with sugar and heated at the same time, using a [[bain-marie]] or flame, to a stage known to patissiers as the "ribbon stage". A genoise is generally a fairly lean cake, getting most of its fat from egg yolks, but some recipes also add in melted butter before baking.

==Use and preparation==
Genoise is a basic building block of much French [[pâtisserie]] and is used for making several different types of cake. The batter usually is baked to form a thin sheet. An 1884 cookbook gives a simple recipe for a genoise:<ref>{{cite book
|title=Sweet Dishes. A Little Treatise on Confectionery and Entremets Sucrés
|publisher=Highness the Prince of Wales, and publishers to the Madras University
|author=Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert
|year=1884
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/b21504933/page/242 242]
|url=https://archive.org/details/b21504933}}</ref>
{{Quote|Work together briskly in a basin half a pound of flour, half a pound of sugar, and four eggs:  after five minutes' good stirring, add a quarter of a pound of melted butter.  Butter a square baking sheet, spread the paste upon it, and bake it in a moderate oven until it turns a golden yellow.}}

When finished baking, the sheet is rolled while still warm (to make [[Swiss roll|jelly roll]]s or ''[[Yule log (cake)|bûches de Noël]]''), or cut and stacked into multiple layers or line a mold to be filled with a frozen dessert. A variety of fillings are used, such as jelly, [[chocolate]], fruit, [[Custard|pastry cream]], and [[whipped cream]]. The genoise can be piped in strips to make [[Ladyfinger (biscuit)|ladyfingers]] or into molds to make [[Madeleine (cake)|madeleines]]. It is the base for [[Jaffa Cakes]].

[[File:G%C3%A9noise_cake_with_buttercream_frosting.jpg#file|thumb|right|Genoise cake with buttercream frosting]]
The cake is notable for its elastic and somewhat dry texture and is sometimes soaked with flavored syrups or [[liqueur]]s and often served with a [[buttercream]] frosting. The popular [[tiramisu]] cake may be made with ladyfingers or a genoise sheet.

A chocolate genoise can be made by substituting [[Cocoa solids|cocoa powder]] for some of the flour, and is sometimes used as a substitute for the richer cake used in the standard [[Sachertorte]] recipe.

==See also==
{{Portal|France|Food}}
{{Commons category-inline|Génoise}}
* [[Genoa cake]]
* [[Pão de Ló]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Child, Julia, ''Julia's Kitchen Wisdom''. New York, Knopf, 2000. {{ISBN|0-375-41151-8}}.
* Child, Julia and Simone Beck, ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volume 2''. New York, Knopf, 1970.
* Editors of ''Cook's Illustrated'', ''Baking Illustrated''. Brookline, MA, America's Test Kitchen, 2004. {{ISBN|0-936184-75-2}}.
* Editors of ''Domus'' magazine, ''[[Il cucchiaio d'argento|The Silver Spoon]]'' (US English translation). New York/London, Phaidon Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-7148-4531-0}}.
* Roden, Claudia, ''The Book of Jewish Food''. New York, Knopf, 1997. {{ISBN|0-394-53258-9}}.

{{Cakes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genoise cake}}
[[Category:Italian desserts]]
[[Category:French cakes]]
[[Category:Italian cakes]]
[[Category:Sponge cakes]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Liguria]]