Pastry Cream For Genoise Layer Cake Food

PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Stir together the milk, salt, vanilla bean and seeds and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the sugar has just dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until smooth. While continually whisking, slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture. Continue to whisk until smooth. (This is called tempering, and it will prevent the yolks from scrambling.) Continue whisking and adding 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture at a time until completely combined and smooth.
• Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and the texture of pudding, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the butter until smooth and glossy. Remove the vanilla bean.
• Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Before serving, whisk the pastry cream until smooth and fluffy.

GENOISE LAYER CAKE WITH RUM SYRUP AND WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper; set aside. Whisk egg yolks and 1 cup sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm, 3 to 4 minutes. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add vanilla and salt. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Put egg whites into the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in remaining egg white mixture. Fold in flour, then butter, until just combined.
• Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks; remove parchment. Reinvert; let cool completely.
• Make the syrup: Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved. Stop stirring; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in rum. Let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the whipped cream: Put cream, sugar, and vanilla into the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until medium peaks form.
• Assemble the cake: Put pastry cream into the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-low speed until smooth. Trim tops of cakes to be flat. Halve each horizontally. Place 1 layer on a 9-inch cake round. Brush top with syrup; spread with half the pastry cream. Top with second cake layer. Brush with syrup; top with a 1/4-inch-thick layer of whipped cream. Top with third cake layer. Brush with syrup; spread with remaining pastry cream. Top with final cake layer, and brush with syrup. Insert a wooden skewer through center to hold layers together. Using kitchen shears, cut skewer flush with top of cake. Spread whipped cream all over cake. Refrigerate 1 to 4 hours. Decorate cake plate with leaves, if desired. Discard skewer after slicing cake.

GENOISE LAYER CAKE WITH RUM SYRUP AND WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter two 9-inch cake pans, line bottom with parchement paper and set aside.
• Wisk egg yolks and 1 cup sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has desolved and mixture is warm, 3 to 4 minutes. attach bowl to mixer fitted with the wisk attachment. add vanilla and salt. Beat on mudium speed until the mixture is pale and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a latge bowl.
• Put egg whites into the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wisk attachment. Beat egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. gradually add remailing 1/2 cup sugar. Beating until stif, glossy peaks form.
• Fold one-third of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in the remaining egg white mixture. fold in flour, then butter, until just combined.
• Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks, then remove the parchment paper. reinvert and let cool completely.
• For the syrup bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Cook, stiring consistantly, until sugar has dissolved. Stop stiring and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in rum, let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the whipped cream: Put cream, sugar and vanilla into a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wisk attachment. Beat on medium-low speed until medium peaks form.
• Assemble the cake:.
• Put pastry cream into the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wisk attachement. Beat on medium-low speed until smooth. Trim tops of cakes to be flat and halve each horizontally.
• Place 1 layer on a cake plate and brush top with syrup, then spred with half the pastery cream. top with the second cake layer, brush top with syrup. Top with 1/4-inch-thick layer of whipped cream. Top with the third cake layer. Bruch with syrup, then spread with remaining pastry cream. Top with final cake layer and brush with syrup. Insert a wooden skewer through center to hold layers together. Using kitchen shears, cup skewer flush with top of cake. Spread whipped crean all over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate 1 to 4 hours. Decorate cake plate with leaves, if desired. Discard skewer after slicing cake.
• PASTERY CREAM:.
• Bring milk, 1/4 cup sugar, the vanilla bean and seeds, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over mediun heat.
• Wisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl. wisk in cornstarch, 1 tablespoon at a time. Ladle 1/2 cup hot milk mixture into yolk mixture, wisking. Add remaininf milk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. pour mixture into a pan and heat. wisking constantly, until mixture comes to a simmer and has thickened, about 2 minutes. discard vanilla bean.
• Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter and mix on medium speed until butter has melted and mixture has cooled, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl and plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours (up to 2 days).

GENOISE SHEET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Combine clarified butter and vanilla in small bowl. Keep hot until needed or reheat for a few seconds just before using--this is important! Combine flour with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Sift together twice; return to sifter and set aside.
• In a large heatproof mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine eggs and sugar. Place bowl in or over a saucepan containing 1 to 2 inches of barely simmering water. Heat eggs to lukewarm, (check by touching), whisking occasionally. Remove bowl from heat. Beat egg mixture at high speed with an electric mixer until it has cooled, tripled in bulk, and resembles softly whipped cream. Sift about 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whipped eggs. Use your largest rubber spatula to fold the mixture, by hand, quickly but gently until combined. Sift and fold in half the remaining flour mixture; sift and fold in the rest. Scoop about 1 cup of the batter into another bowl and fold it together with the hot clarified butter and vanilla. When completely combined, fold the butter mixture back into the remaining batter. Turn batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly over pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cake shrinks slightly from the edges of the pan and top springs back when pressed with fingers. Run a small knife around the edges of the cake to release it from pan. Invert pan onto a sheet of foil and remove pan. Cool cake without removing parchment pan liner (cake will steam slightly between the parchment and the foil, making it flexible enough to roll without cracking later).

GENOISE WITH LAVENDER & VANILLA BEAN PASTRY CREAM AND FRESH BERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9" springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter. Lightly dust pan with flour. Sift the flour & salt together 3 times, set aside. Beat eggs at medium-high speed and gradually add in the sugar until the mixture triples in volume, becomes very pale in color & forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted. Sift one third of the flour into the egg mixture & very gently fold it in. Add an additional third of the flour, & repeat the folding process. Take some batter and fold it carefully into the melted & cooled butter to lighten it. Add the butter mixture back to the batter & fold in gently, only until it is incorporated. Sift in the rest of the flour, fold it in & pour the batter into prepared pan. Smooth out the top, leaving the sides a little bit higher than the center & bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the top springs back when touched lightly & the edges begin to pull away. Cool for 5-10 minutes on a wire rack, then invert the pan, remove the sides and the parchment and let cool completely. For the cream: Simmer the milk, sugar, vanilla bean & lavender for around 30 minutes. Strain, discarding lavender. Whisk egg yolk constantly while slowly pouring in the hot milk. Put the flour into the pan, pour on a little of the hot milk mixture whisking it to remove lumps & then add the rest. Cook quickly over medium high heat stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened. Add the butter. Cover with plastic, pressing it down onto the cream to keep it from forming a skin. Cool. Prepare the berries, adding 2-4 tablespoons sugar if needed. Assemble: Cut cooled cake in half, spoon lavender cream onto middle section, place some of the berries over the cream. Put second layer on top, dust with powdered sugar. Place a few berries on top along with some fresh mint to garnish. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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!