Genoise Tres Cafe

I am constantly amazed when I make this genoise how something so simple with so few ingredients can transform into something so magical.  Of course for me it is that magical combination of beurre noisette and vanilla.  I never tire of it nor does it ever cease to fill me with such heavenly satisfaction.  Just the smell transports me to wonderful places.  I never thought I would ever utter these words but this recipe has replaced Julia Childs genoise recipe in my bakers building blocks repertoire.  I find myself reaching for this whenever I need to make a fancy dessert cake.  (Julias recipe if virtually foolproof but it does require a bit more work).  While most genoise are traditionally dry, which is why we always syrup them with some type of flavored syrup, this one can actually stand on it’s own without a syrup.  At least I think it can.  Shall we bake it?… 

Prepare the beurre noisette, add the vanilla and set aside.  Combine eggs and sugar and whisk them over a pan of simmering water until they are warm to the touch.  

Heating the eggs and sugar

Transfer to the stand mixer and whip them at high speed for 5 minutes until they have tripled in volume.  

The whipped eggs and sugar

Add one cup of the whipped egg whites to the beurre noisette and whisk to combine and set aside.  

Whipped eggs and beurre noisette

Sift half the flour over the whipped egg whites and gently fold in, repeat with the remaining flour.  Add the beurre noisette mixture to the batter and gently fold until incorportated.  Scrape the batter into a prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Unmold the cake while it is still hot and then reinvert onto a cake rack so the top side is up and allow to cool completely. 

The baked cake

To make the syrup, combine sugar and water and stir to dissolve.  Bring to a rapid boil,  remove from the heat, cover and cool completely.  When cool add the coffee essence and Kahlua and set aside until needed. 

As is my usual, I skipped all of Rose’s food processor hoo hah and make the ganache the old fashioned way. Chop the chocolate and put it in a medium bowl.  Heat the cream and pour it over the chocolate.  Add the coffee essence and vanilla and allow to stand a few minutes to melt the chocolate.  Whisk gently to combine the ingredients.  Refrigerate for 60 minutes or until cool to the touch.  Whip the ganache until creamy enough to frost the cake. 

To assemble the cake.  Split the genoise into two layers.  

The split layers

Brush the top and bottom with the syrup.  

The layers with their syrup

Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and frost the layer with the ganache.  

Filling the layers

Place the top layer on the bottom layer and frost the entire cake.  Decorate as desired.  

 

  

 Enjoy. 

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