Genoise With Fruit N Cream Filling Food

VANILLA GENOISE CAKE

Steps:

• Oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line the bottom of One 8 or 9 inch round cake pan OR 8-inch square pan, OR 11x17 sheet pan with parchment, and spray lightly with some sort of spray release (like Pam).
• Combine the butter and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Set aside somewhere warm (you want the butter to stay melted).
• Combine the flour with 3 tbl.
• of the sugar and sift again.
• Set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, combine the eggs and rest of the sugar.
• Place the mixing bowl in a large pan of hot (not boiling, very hot tap water is good) water, and mix with your VERY CLEAN hand (kids love this part) until the eggs feel warm to the touch (body temp)*.
• Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on high speed until cool, light and at the ribbon stage (when you lift the beaters, ribbons of batter fall back into the bowl and don't disappear very quickly).
• Now, everyone says to use a rubber spatula, but I find it much easier to use my hand to do this next part**.
• Sprinkle about 1/3 of the flour onto the eggs and quickly and gently fold into the batter.
• Fold in half the remaining, then the rest.
• Take about a handful of the batter and mix into the small bowl of butter and vanilla until well combined.
• Gently fold that back into the batter.
• Divide between the pans and bake as follows: for an 8" square, 20-25 min.
• ;an 8" round, 25-30 minutes; a 9" round, 20-25 minutes; and an 11x17 sheet pan, 15-20 minutes.
• The cakes should JUST BEGIN to shrink away from the side of the pans, and should spring back when you lightly touch them in the center.
• Remove from oven, let cool about 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a flat surface and let cool completely before peeling off the parchment.
• Set aside until ready to use.
• DO NOT OVERBAKE.
• This cake is best if allowed to sit a day before using in trifles.
• NOTE 1: Genoise is supposed to be a dry cake.
• It was made specifically to take moist toppings so it could soak them up.
• *NOTE2: I learned to use my hand when warming yolks in culinary school.
• The idea is that as soon as it feels warm on your hand, it is at the perfect temperature to whip to ribbon stage.
• **NOTE3: I learned to fold flour into delicate batters like this with my VERY CLEAN hand in culinary school also.
• At first I thought it was stupid, but I quickly saw it was the best way to be able to tell if all of your flour is mixed in and avoid any un-incorporated flour bits.
• I mix angelfood cakes this way, too.
• Children love to do this!

GéNOISE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the flour and salt together. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan; cover the bottom with a circle of wax or parchment paper, butter the paper, and sift a little flour over the whole pan; invert and tap out excess flour.
• Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs until doubled in volume and very thick and light, at least 5 minutes. Add half the sugar and beat for another 5 minutes or so, gradually adding the remaining sugar, until nearly tripled in volume. (When you remove the whisk from the eggs, a ribbon of egg will fall from the beaters and hold its shape on top of the mixture for a few seconds. It's a very satisfying sight.) Beat in the vanilla.
• Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour-salt mixture into this batter, a third at a time, gently but thoroughly. Finally, and very gently, fold in the melted butter. Turn the batter into the cake pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cake is just firm and slightly springy.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Run a knife around the edge, cover the pan with a rack, and invert the rack and pan. Cool, then store, covered with wax paper and at room temperature, for no more than a day, or wrap well in plastic and freeze for up to a week.

GENOISE WITH COCONUT CREAM AND CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE AND MANGO

Steps:

• Using the tip of a paring knife, cut a circle into top of cake, leaving a 1/4-inch border and stopping about 1/3 inch from the cake's bottom. Insert a long slicing knife into edge of cake 1/3 inch from bottom, as if splitting the cake into two layers; instead of actually splitting the cake, only make that single incision and carefully move the knife blade within the cake to loosen the center. Repeat on opposite side. Use an offset spatula to lift out the center, leaving a shell for filling. Reserve cake center for another use.
• Brush shell with simple syrup. Spread pastry cream on bottom. Refrigerate until cold, 1 hour. To serve, arrange pineapple and mango on top of pastry cream.