Chocolate Genoise Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Brush 2 x 20cm cake tins with melted butter, line the bases with baking paper, then dust well with flour tipping out any excess. Set aside.
• Put the sugar and eggs in a large heatproof bowl, then set it over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk with an electric hand whisk for about 7 mins or until the mixture is pale and has trebled in volume. Remove from the heat, then slowly pour in the butter folding it in as you pour until it is completely mixed in.
• Gently fold the flour and a pinch of salt into the egg mixture, then pour into your prepared cake tins. Cook for 25 mins until the cake is golden and risen - a skewer pushed into the cake should come out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for a few mins in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, whip the cream until it just holds its shape, then set aside. Whizz about a quarter of the strawberries with 1 tbsp sugar until smooth, then fold this purée through the cream so you get a ripple effect.
• To assemble the cakes, cut each one in half horizontally. Put one sponge on a serving plate, spread a quarter of the cream mix on top, then dot a quarter of the blueberries and raspberries around the edge. Repeat this step two more times, put the last layer of cake on top (save a top half of cake for the top layer), spread the remaining cream over, then put the blueberries and raspberries around the edge and pile the strawberries in the centre. Dust with icing sugar just before you serve.

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.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-by-1-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment; butter and flour paper, tapping out the excess flour.
• Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together twice into a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Skim off white foam, and pour clear yellow butter into a bowl, discarding white liquid at the bottom. Set aside in a warm place.
• In a medium-size heat-proof bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and beat on high speed until mixture is thick and pale and has tripled in bulk. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat 2 to 3 minutes more.
• In three additions, sift flour mixture over egg mixture, folding in gently with a spatula. While folding in last addition, dribble melted butter over batter and fold in.
• Spread batter evenly in pan, leaving behind any unincorporated butter in the bottom of the bowl. Tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake until cake springs back when touched in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Don't overbake or cake will crack. Let sit in pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
• Dust surface with cocoa powder. To make rolling easier, trim edges of cake, and cover with a sheet of waxed paper and a damp dish towel. Invert onto a work surface, and peel off parchment; dust with cocoa. Starting from one long end, carefully roll up cake in towel. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until ready to use.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, and butter the paper. Combine 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon cocoa, and coat the pan, tapping out excess. Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside. Wash and dry the mixer bowl.
• Place the egg whites in the clean mixer bowl; with the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high, and add the sugar gradually, until glossy stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Transfer the egg-white mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg-yolk mixture into the egg-white mixture. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the top, and gently fold them into the batter. Gently pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet, and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
• Bake until cake springs back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately turn cake out onto wire rack lined with parchment. Peel parchment from cake; cool completely. Use genoise the day it is made.

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

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
• Melt the butter and pour it into a heatproof bowl, leaving the milky solids behind. Set aside somewhere warm.
• In a stand mixer or using handheld electric beaters, whisk the egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add the sugar and the salt and continue to whisk until they form firm, but not dry, peaks.
• In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks until homogenous. Add the chocolate extract, if using. Pour this mixture over the egg whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold to incorporate. Set a sieve over the mixing bowl and sift the cornstarch, cake flour and cocoa powder onto the eggs. Fold these in until no streaks remain. Fold about half a cup of batter into the melted butter, then fold this butter mixture back into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until the surface springs back when touched and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Set on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before unmolding.
• Bring the water and sugar to a simmer over low heat and stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and add the mint leaves. Allow to steep for around 20 minutes before removing the mint.
• Place the egg whites in one bowl and the confectioners' sugar in another. Dip each mint leaf into the egg whites, then hold the leaf above the bowl for a few seconds to let any excess egg drip off. Next, dip the leaf into the sugar. Give it a little shake to let any excess fall away. Place the leaf on a parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside to dry. If your kitchen is hot or humid, place in an oven on the lowest setting and turn off the oven. Let the leaves dry out as the oven cools.
• In a stand mixer or using handheld electric beaters, whip the cream until it is billowy. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar and whisk to incorporate. Drizzle with whatever source of mint you are using and whisk to incorporate.
• Bring ¾ cup of the cream to a boil and immediately pour over the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to melt for a minute, then whisk to create a smooth ganache. Set aside to come to room temperature. This shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes. If it gets too cold, it will start to solidify, which you don't want. If that happens, warm it up a tiny bit-just enough that it stirs easily.
• In a stand mixer or using handheld electric beaters, whip the remaining cream until you see soft, but structured, peaks. Stir a third of this whipped cream into the ganache to lighten it, then fold the remaining ganache into the whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Use immediately.
• Slice génoise into two horizontally. Brush both halves of the génoise with the mint syrup. Allow to absorb. Repeat. And repeat a third time. Set aside for 10 minutes.
• Slather the bottom layer with the whipped chocolate ganache. Cover with the top layer. Ice this with ganache. Decorate by creating a border of candied mint leaves.
• Serve with a generous dollop of the mint Chantilly.

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a greased 8 1/2 inch springform pan with wax paper, grease the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out the excess.
• In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the white chocolate with the butter, the vanilla and 3 tablespoons water, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Into a bowl sift together the flour and the salt.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the eggs with the sugar on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is triple in volume and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted.
• Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until the batter is just combined and fold in the white chocolate mixture gently but thoroughly.
• Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
• Transfer the cake to a rack, run a sharp knife around the edge, and remove the side of the pan.
• Invert the cake onto another rack and remove the wax paper.
• Reinvert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely.

Steps:

• Melt the clarified butter and keep very warm (around 115 degrees F).
• Whisk the cocoa and boiling water together until very smooth. Add vanilla, stir in completely, then cover whisk and bowl with plastic wrap.
• Set your mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the eggs and agave nectar, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes lukewarm. Transfer to the mixer and use the whisk attachment to beat at high speed for 5 minutes or so. The egg mixture should triple in volume.
• Take 2 cups of the eggs and whisk it into the cocoa until very smooth.
• Sift the flour over the remaining egg mixture, gently fold in until the flour disappears. Fold in cocoa until almost incorporated. Fold in butter in two parts with a large whisk or rubber spatula until just incorporated.
• Pour into a 9" prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the pan.
• SYRUP:.
• Small saucepan with lid - Bring the agave and water to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. When at the boil: cover, remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup and add the liqueur. If needed, add enough water to bring the syrup up to 3/4 cup.