My friend Dorothy mentioned strawberry and raspberry as possible flavors her birthday cake this year, so I consulted The Cake Bible and decided to pair Rose Levy Beranbaum's white génoise with her raspberry cloud cream. I have previously made the cloud cream with chocolate génoise, but Dorothy's older son still won't eat chocolate. This was my first time making Beranbaum's white génoise, which she calls "a cross between an angel food cake and a génoise: less airy than the angel food cake but buttery and more tender." It's made with egg whites and flavored with orange zest.
I wanted the finished cake to be extra tall, so I baked two génoise layers and split each of them to end up with four thin layers. To make sure that I would have enough whipped cream to fill and frost the cake, I made a batch and a half of the cloud cream -- whipped cream stabilized with gelatin and flavored with raspberry puree. I also brushed each of the cake layers with a sugar syrup flavored with Chambord during assembly.
To frost the cake, I used a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and piped shells in alternating directions. This was easy enough for the top of the cake, but in order to pipe the shells around the sides, I had to pipe every other row left handed. I have never tried piping left handed before, and it was surprisingly challenging -- which is why the piping on the sides of the cake is wonky and crooked. Still, I was happy with the final product and it tasted great. The white génoise was springy and reminiscent of angel food cake -- but it was buttery and tender and a lovely pairing with the raspberry cream. The birthday girl gave it a thumbs up!
Recipes: "White Génoise," "Fruit Cloud Cream," and "Raspberry Puree and Sauce" from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Previous Post: "My Ombre Maria: Chocolate Génoise with Raspberry Cloud Cream," May 17, 2017.
Previous Birthday Cakes for Dorothy: Bananas Cake 2.0 with Cream Cheese Frosting (2016); Whipped Brown Butter and Vanilla Birthday Cake (2015); Lemon Mousse Cake with Fresh Raspberries (2014); Antique Caramel Cake (2013); Grasshopper Cake (2012); Restaurant Eve Cake (2010).
Recipes: "White Génoise," "Fruit Cloud Cream," and "Raspberry Puree and Sauce" from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Previous Post: "My Ombre Maria: Chocolate Génoise with Raspberry Cloud Cream," May 17, 2017.
Previous Birthday Cakes for Dorothy: Bananas Cake 2.0 with Cream Cheese Frosting (2016); Whipped Brown Butter and Vanilla Birthday Cake (2015); Lemon Mousse Cake with Fresh Raspberries (2014); Antique Caramel Cake (2013); Grasshopper Cake (2012); Restaurant Eve Cake (2010).
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