Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (208 page)

The floured raisins

Remove bowl from stand, if using that kind of mixer. Rapidly fold raisins into batter with a rubber spatula, as you complete the blending.

The prepared cake pan

The floured cherries

Turn half of the batter immediately into the pan. Rapidly spread the cherries on top, and cover with the rest of the batter, running it up to rim of pan on
all sides with rubber spatula. Pan will be ⅔ to ¾ full. Immediately proceed to the baking.

3)
Baking—about 1 hour at 350 degrees

Set in the middle level of the preheated oven and bake for about an hour. Cake is done when it has risen to fill the pan, is lightly browned, and a skewer plunged through the cake comes out clean. The top will crack, which is normal, and there will be very slight lines of shrinkage from pan in several areas. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then run a sharp, thin knife between sides of pan and cake; unmold onto a rack. Immediately peel paper off cake if it has adhered, and turn cake right-side up.

4)
Serving and storing

Serve as is with tea or with fresh fruit desserts, slicing cake crosswise like a loaf of bread. To store, wrap airtight and refrigerate or freeze, but bring to room temperature before serving for best flavor and texture.

LE GÉNOISE ÉLECTRIQUE

[Light, Yellow, Whole-egg Cake, for Layered Cakes and
Petits Fours
]

Génoise
is one of the basic French cakes used for
petits fours
and fancy filled cakes. The classic method is to beat whole eggs and sugar over hot water until the mixture is warm and thick, then to beat it at room temperature until it is cool and even thicker. An electric mixer will accomplish almost the same thickness of batter, and works perfectly well when you are adding only a small amount of butter, as in the following recipe. Typical of the best French cakes, there is no baking powder here, meaning that you must fold the flour and butter into the cake batter with such speed and delicacy that you do not deflate it, and the cake will rise as it should in the oven. Typically again, this is a low-lying cake of 1½ inches that is usually split in half for filling and frosting. If you like a high layered cake, make two of them for 4 layers. Use any shape of pan you wish; a square or rectangular pan is easiest for
petits fours
.

For a 4-cup pan, such as a round one 8 by 1½ inches

1)
The cake batter

4 Tb (½ stick) butter in a small saucepan

An 8- by 1½-inch round cake pan, bottom lined with waxed paper, interior of pan buttered and floured

⅔ cup cake flour (measure by scooping dry-measure cups into flour and sweeping off excess with a knife)

A sieve or sifter

A 12-inch square of waxed paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set rack in middle level. Melt butter and set aside. Prepare cake pan; measure flour and sift or sieve onto waxed paper.

3 “large” eggs (⅔ cup)

½ cup sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract

The grated rind of 1 lemon

A pinch of salt

An electric mixer with large (3- to 3½-quart) bowl

A rubber spatula

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon rind, and salt for 5 to 10 minutes or more, depending on efficiency of mixer, until very thick, pale yellow, and mixture forms a definite and slowly dissolving ribbon when a bit is lifted and falls back on surface.

Then remove bowl from stand, if you have that kind of mixer, and with one hand, sift on ¼ of the flour and rapidly cut down through batter and out to side with rubber spatula, rotating bowl and repeating the movement quickly 6 to 8 times, until flour is almost incorporated. Sprinkle on half the remaining flour, and when almost incorporated, fold in ⅓ of the tepid melted butter; continue alternating butter and flour until all (except milky residue at bottom of butter pan) is incorporated. Do not overmix: batter must retain its original volume.

Immediately turn batter into prepared pan, running it up to the edge all around with spatula. Bang lightly on table, and place at once in preheated oven.

2)
Baking and cooling—baking time 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake is done when top is spongy if pressed, and when cake shows a hairline of shrinkage from pan at one or two places around the edge.

When done, remove cake from oven and let cool 10 minutes in pan. Then reverse onto a rack, and in a few minutes the cake will drop out of the pan. Peel paper off bottom of cake if it has adhered.

When cool, in 1½ to 2 hours, fill and ice any way that you wish; suggestions follow. If you are not going to fill and ice the cake when cool, wrap airtight (it dries out easily), and refrigerate for several days, or freeze for several months.

3)
Filling and frosting suggestions

Fill and frost the
génoise
in any manner you wish; besides the Mocha butter cream and chocolate fondant suggested here, see the
list of possibilities
.

Crème au Beurre à la Meringue Italienne

[Meringue Butter-cream Filling and Frosting]

For about 2½ cups

½ the recipe for
meringue italienne
(sugar syrup whipped into beaten egg whites),
Step 1

An electric mixer

8 to 10 ounces (2 to 2½ sticks) unsalted butter in a bowl