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| French Strawberry Cake |
This recipe was a lesson in fear.....coping with it.....avoiding it. I swear, I think I need to stop reading the P&Q section of our TwD website. I'll admit it. After reading some of the P&Qs I was nervous. I feared the genoise!
...and with good reason! Genoise batter is a bit of a diva. She has a list of demands that must be met! We didn't use the traditional bain marie to heat the eggs so when I took the eggs out of the fridge I left them in a bowl of warm water a bit longer than usual so they were nice and comfy warm. I double sifted the flour, sugar, salt combo then sifted it into the egg and sugar.
My biggest concern was when I opened a new bag of grocery store brand sugar the crystals were large. I mean they were huge. I mean they didn't go through the sieve I was using as a sifter. Since I had no other sugar I pressed on and I think it did have an impact on the cake texture.
The beat eggs tripled, the flour folding was accomplished and I considered leaving out the melted butter. After researching the web I learned that's an American addition and the rest of the world doesn't usually use it. Then I decided I'm American, the recipe calls for it, fold IT in! I did and all still went well.
I was gratified when the batter filled the pan almost to the top! Maybe I would have a tall lovely cake. Maybe the cake goddess was toying with me. The cake fell! But it left a nice rim that I filled with strawberries and topped with whipped cream.
It was a hectic evening and the kids came for dinner (red beans and rice) and I didn't get a good picture. The cake was so much sturdier than I expected. Not delicate at all once baked. We liked it and I'll make it again but this time without the butter!
Thank you Dorie and Julia for pushing me out of my comfort zone! Our lovely hosts for this recipe are
Sophia and Allison. You can find the recipe on their blogs. All the other Tuesday bakers can be found at the TwD website!
I try not to read the P's & Q's until I have made the recipe - it helps keep my opinion neutral going in to a recipe.
ReplyDeleteMy salt crystals were large, so I ran them through the mortar and pestle. I know, I am crazy...
Your link is up on the site. Have a great day!
I'm glad you enjoyed...your cake is beautiful!!! And interesting trivia about the added butter :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful as usual!! I like that you put the extra berries on top and the sauce pooled around the bottom. I'm sure this made the cake not quite so dry. You can also try putting your large salt/sugar crystals in a mini food processor.
ReplyDeleteOh those capricious cake goddesses. This was my first time making a genoise and it was definetly "sturdy" and dry. Although, I like the P&Q's section and I would have appreciated a photo in the book. On to Hazelnut Biscotti.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job! I had problems with my genoise and the end result was a bit tough, but it tasted yummy! :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, your cake looks nice and thick! I couldn't believe how thin mine was. Definitely not right. I plan to keep cooking along once I move to Italy, though I'll have to catch up on quite a few recipes by the time I'm reunited with my cookbooks!
ReplyDeleteGuyla, I think this recipe is a bit off…I make Genoise often to make Madeleines and have never had a batter behave so badly!! Your cake looks beautifully delicious and I’m sure your family really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks beautiful! I did the same trick with the eggs and it definitely seemed to help. Glad you enjoyed the cake after working so hard for it!
ReplyDeleteYes, this was the cake diva, I agree wholeheartedly!! I use organic sugar that tends to be with larger crystals and now you got me thinking if this might have had an impact on the genoise...I am glad that you enjoyed the cake!
ReplyDeleteIt looks gorgeous, at least it tasted good, right?
ReplyDeletei agree.. the cake was a lot sturdier than i expected..in that sense it was quite easy to work with.. it was just that getting to that stage was a lot of work.. or should i say a lot of beating of the eggs!!
ReplyDeleteI would never had known that your cake fell. It looks so good!
ReplyDeleteYour cake does not look like it fell.. Mine was so dense at the bottom, I need to put a lot of pressure to cut it through with fork :) I will try Genoise again and see how it goes..
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks nice and fresh and delicious and the strawberries have a nice ripe and sweet color - I am sure they were just perfect!
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks delicious! And thank you for telling me about the butter, it made feel much better :D
ReplyDeleteI love how you presented the cake on the photo. It looks super intriging. If that's the good word for it.
ReplyDeleteDescribing this cake as a diva is spot on! Interesting about the butter... I may try leaving it out! Why do the extra scary folding?? Just another time to deflate your batter! thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe call this "dough without the butter" "pan di spagna". I was so pleased I'd made it a tons of time before (it's my daughter's favorite: without topping - just as "dry as it is") and wasn't therefore too scared when I read the P&Q. For me the trick is beat the eggs and sugar for at least 10 minutes (and not just 5).
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks delicious even if you "suffered" while making it: when the game get tough ...
I am so impressed (and jealous). Your cake looks lovely, mine didn't rise at all. At least it tasted good!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry it fell a little, but it still looks delicious!
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