Genoise (Vanilla Sponge Cake)
Light as a feather Genoise (vanilla sponge cake). This cake will absorb lots of syrup for an extra layer of flavor and moisture.
Table of contents
What is Genoise?
Genoise is, basically, a vanilla sponge cake. What is a sponge cake? A sponge type cake gets most of it’s structure from whipped eggs.
Like every sponge cake recipe, Genoise is balanced more towards structure builders than tenderizers. This means the cake is not only light and airy from the whipped eggs, it’s also strong and resilient.
Hmmm, that is not a very tempting description of a cake. Don’t we always want a super-tender, moist cake that “melts in your mouth”?
Bear with me though, because we’re not done making a great Genoise once it’s baked. The next step is to add another layer of flavor and moisture with a generous dose of sugar syrup.
I’ve already shared recipes for Vanilla Butter Cake and Velvety White Cake. If those cakes are so good, and they are, why do we need another recipe?
Well, different types of cakes are good in different ways.
I love a basic “yellow” cake or “white” cake because it’s soft and buttery with a very tender cake crumb. It’s perfect filled and iced with Italian Meringue Buttercream.
When I want a lighter cake doused with a flavorful syrup and filled with mounds of whipped cream or mousse, it’s time to make a classic Genoise.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Butter – The butter is browned to add a layer of nutty flavor to the cake.
- Eggs – Whole eggs are whipped for a strong cake structure.
- Cake Flour – Has a lower protein content than all purpose flour so it makes a softer cake. Bleached cake flour is acidic which tenderizes the cake and allows the batter to absorb more liquid for a moister cake.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed instructions and measurements.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan, cook until the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and become brown.
- Drain the butter into a medium bowl, leaving the milk solids in the pan. Stir the vanilla into the browned butter and set aside.
- Combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs over simmering water until they are warm to the touch.
- Transfer the bowl to the mixer. With the whisk attachment, whip the eggs until they are light and aerated.
- If you lift the whisk and drizzle the egg mixture it should fall in a “ribbon” on the surface. This is called the ribbon stage.
- Gather the whipped eggs, flour and browned butter.
- In two batches, sift the flour over the eggs and fold in with a hand whisk.
- Add a cup of the batter to the browned butter and whisk to combine.
- Add the lightened butter back into the batter and fold just until combined. Don’t overfold.
- Divide the batter between the two pans.
- Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center.
Pastry Chef tips for making a great Genoise (vanilla sponge cake)
- Genoise sponge cake can take in a lot of syrup and maintain it’s lovely, light crumb.
- I’m partial to using alcohol to amp up the flavor – remember, alcohol enhances other flavors! The liquor flavor also gives your cake a sophisticated European flare.
- Use a liquor that compliments the flavors in the cake. Rum for chocolate, Limoncello for lemon, Grand Marnier for orange. I think you get the idea.
- If you don’t want to use alcohol you can use vanilla, citrus zest or juice to flavor the syrup.
- Whether you add the alcohol or not, make the syrup very flavorful so you can really taste it when you eat the cake.
Serving Tips
Because Vanilla Genoise is so light and airy, I particularly like it filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit, as in this Peach Melba Cake.
Genoise is also delicious filled with Chocolate and Vanilla Pastry Cream for a version of Italian Rum Cake.
Storage
The genoise layers can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days. If you use a perishable filling in the cake (like cream) the cake should be refrigerated. The un-iced cakes can be frozen for up to a month.
Because of the high proportion of egg, the cake is very spongy and flexible. This allows the cake to take in lots of syrup and still remain light and airy.
If you’re a chocoholic, try my Chocolate Genoise for a real treat.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a star rating and a quick comment. Ratings and comments help my recipes show in search results. Thanks!
Vanilla Genoise Sponge Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsalted butter (½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 8 large eggs (room temperature)
- 8 ounces granulated sugar (1 cup)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 7 ¼ ounces cake flour (1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons, see note)
Assembly
- 1 ½ cups simple syrup (flavored with liquor or extract of your choice)
- Frosting of your choice
Instructions
- Line the bottom of two 8" cake pans with a parchment round, or butter and flour the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (don't use the convection setting).
- Melt 4 ounces unsalted butter in a small saucepan, cook until the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and become brown. Drain the browned butter into a medium bowl, leaving the milk solids in the pan. Stir 1 tablespoon vanilla extract into the browned butter and set aside. Discard the milk solids.
- Put 8 large eggs and 8 ounces granulated sugar with ¼ teaspoon table salt in a mixer bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the hot water) and whisk until the eggs are slightly warmer than body temperature. Put the bowl onto the mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed until the eggs are tripled in volume.
- Sift half the flour over the egg mixture and use a balloon whisk to fold, repeat with the remaining flour. Whisk 1 cup of the batter into the browned butter to lighten the butter, then whisk in another cup of batter.
- Fold the butter mixture into the batter just until combined. Don’t over mix or you’ll loose some volume in the cake. Divide the batter evenly between the pans.
- Bake until the cake springs back when pressed in the center, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Cool completely before filling and frosting. Trim the top of the cake to level, if desired, split each cake into two layers. Brush the layers generously with syrup before filling & icing.
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can you make this ahead freeze this
Yes. Double wrap in plastic and freeze without the syrup. Defrost and then add the syrup.
@Eileen Gray, thank you
Hello, I am going to try making this for the base of my son’s birthday cake (he turns 4 this Friday). Just wonder if it is possible or ok to use maple syrup, instead of simple syrup. Just that I think I may struggle with time preparing everything for the birthday and wonder if I can perhaps save time by using maple syrup. I am so looking forward making this cake in 2 days.
I suppose so. The cakes takes in a lot of syrup, so using real maple syrup might get a little expensive. But it will moisten and flavor the cake.
Ah thank you. Yes it will be a bit expensive, but i am time poor too, so I will have a go. Now at least I know that maple syrup won’t ruin the cake, which is very important. Thank you.
Hello. I was wondering how this recipe would work as a 13×9. I’ want to make a tres leches cake. I’ve made this in a 8 inch before and came out wonderful
You can bake the recipe as a 13×9. It won’t be very deep, so you could make 1.5x batch to fill the pan more.
I made this today and I’m only a little nervous that I knocked too much air out. It springs back when I touch it and it did rise in the oven. I suppose I’m a bit paranoid about doing it wrong. How much should it have risen in the oven? How tall should each sponge be? Thanks for this fun and easy to follow recipe!
How was it when you cut into it? If you watch the recipe video you can see how the batter should look and at the end you can see the thickness of the cakes when I pick them up.
I see! My sponges weren’t quite tall enough to slice in half, I’d say they were about 2/3 as tall as the ones in the video. (For some reason the video wasn’t popping up when I was baking, so I watched a bunch of YouTube tutorials–but your directions were also super clear). They’re still tasty, not tough, resilient, and airy enough–I think they could just be lighter. I think I might have knocked out too much air when I was getting the flour in, even though I sifted, whisked, and did it in small batches. I was having a tough time actually incorporating it for some reason, so I felt like I was whisking a lot–not the quick easy swipes you do in the video. Maybe just a first-timer technique issue. Can you hit everything with the stand mixer again to build more air in after the flour? Or will that not work? Thanks for your quick responses! Makes the baking extra fun. 🙂
Do you ever poke holes in the sponge for the syrup? And do you always wait until cooled to paint the syrup on or can you do it while warm? Thank you!
Hi Brittany, sorry for the very delayed response. I don’t always see comments as they come in. As far as seeing the video, if you have an ad blocker running the video won’t run. You definitely don’t want to put the batter back on the mixer after adding the flour. The key is to gently fold in the flour using a wire whisk just until the flour is mixed in. Over mixing can deflate the eggs and you’ll loose some volume and lightness. There’s no need to poke holes for the syrup since the cake is a sponge. You can put the syrup onto the cake while it’s warm, but it will become fragile and could crack if you try to move it.
@Brittany Hey there! I noticed your comment and thought maybe you’d still be interested in an answer, though I’m a total stranger and fellow amateur baker.
The amount flour is mixed in baking impacts texture a lot – for bread, you knead to create structure, for cake you mix flour as little as possible to keep it light and the air holes inside small and even.
If you try again, or are making another light cake, I recommend doing the flour in 2 or 3 sections maximum so you don’t over mix.
I’d also recommend scraping the sides of the bowl before you add the flour to make sure there are no tiny lumps or more eggy/less eggy parts of the mix.
Hey,
I’m for the uk and we don’t have ‘cake flour’ it’s generally Self raising or plain. Which one would work best for this sponge?
Thanks
I would use plain flour since self rising has added salt and baking powder.