Coarse-textured Genoise
I made a genoise cake the other day. Instead of having a light, even texture, it had a heavy, coarse texture, much like that of cornbread. I don't believe that I overwhipped the eggs and sugar, or overmixed the batter. What could have been the problem?
Jeanette Linsey, Westport, CT
Nick Malgieri replies:
Genoise, the type of cake you made, is an egg-foam cake. It gets its leavening from the air that's in incorpora ted into the batter as the eggs and sugar are whipped together. Genoise is a delicate cake and therefore requires special attention. The heavy texture that you describe occurs when the batter has fallen during baking, causing the cake to have an uneven, almost bread-like texture. Many factors may contribute to this, in fact, you already named the two main reasons overwhipping and overmixing.
It may not always be apparent that the egg foam has been overwhipped. To test the egg foam for sufficient whipping, lift the whisk or the beaters and allow the mixture to flow back into the bowl. The whipped eggs and s ugar should hold their shape (or "form a ribbon") for a few seconds before dissolving. When the egg foam is overwhipped, it looks stiffer and requires more vigorous mixing to incorporate the flour. This excessive mixing can make the batter collapse and lose volume.
There are several other factors that contribute to a cake of this type falling while baking. One is lumps of flour or other material (such as grated citrus zest) in the batter. These act like weights, pulling downward on the batter as it tries to rise. The cause: imperfect sifting of the dry ingredients or adding too much at once to the batter so that the egg foam cannot absorb it easily.
Another factor is the flour you use. The wrong flour, especially unbleached, all-purpose flour, can make the cake heavy. To ensure a good genoise, look for a recipe that calls for cake flour, or even a combination of cake flour and cornstarch for extra lightness.
Adding a chemical leavening such as baking powder to genoise may cause the cake to rise like a souffle, then fall and flatten. Oven temperature is also critical. A cold oven will let the genoise lose air before it begins to set. This is the equivalent of leaving the batter in the pan for a long time after mixing and before baking. Always bake egg-foam cakes immediately in a preheated oven.
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