Chocolate Genoise Cake
-
Prep Time:
20m
-
Cook Time:
20m
-
Total Time:
40m
Ingredients
- 45 g All-purpose flour (~1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
- 35 g Cocoa powder, high-quality (~1/4 cup)
- 4 Eggs, cold or at room temperature
- 100 g Granulated sugar (~1/2 cup)
- 45 g Butter, hot and melted (~3 tbsp)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 340°F. Grease a 7" or 8" baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, sift the flour and cocoa powder together three times.
- Place the eggs in a heat-safe mixing bowl (this will be the top of a double-boiler setup). Add the sugar to the eggs in doses while whisking. You must whisk immediately and continually to avoid lumps.
- While whisking, warm the mixture to around 100°F and until it gets foamy. It should be warm to the touch but not hot. Don't overheat or you'll end up with sugary scrambled eggs.
- Remove the mixing bowl from heat. Beat using hand-held electric beaters on high speed until the mixture triples in volume. The bubbles will disappear and appear quite smooth. Don't over mix.
- Turn the mixer down to low and beat for at least 1 more minute just to stabilize the air bubbles in the batter (since there's no rising agent in this recipe, these bubbles are the rise!)
- Sift in 1/3 of the flour/cocoa mixture and gently fold using a rubber spatula until almost fully combined. Sift in the remaining flour/cocoa mixture in 1/3 increments and fold until no flour pockets are visible. I use a "stir around the side and cut through the middle" technique. Don't stir more than you need to or you'll end up with a flat, dense, un-risen cake -- folding releases the air bubbles.
- Add the hot, melted butter to the batter by pouring it down the size of the bowl around the outside of the cake. Fold a couple times to combine. If you pour it in the middle, it'll just sink to the bottom and be hard to combine with fewer strokes.
- Transfer the cake batter into the baking pan. Tilt the pan so the batter spreads out evenly and drop it two to three times on the counter-top to burst the uneven air bubbles. I have used porcelain Corningware bake dishes with success, however drop them onto a magazine from about 1" high.
- Bake on the middle rack for 15 to 20 minutes until the cake springs back when touched gently, and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan before frosting or decorating (or it'll melt off).