Basics: Génoise and Homemade Rolled Fondant! Part 1

Génoise Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

I’m gearing up for my one year blog-iversary next week and I’m making myself a cake. On the way to that celebratory occasion, I’ve made a few of the basic elements in the pastry kitchen: génoise and homemade rolled fondant. As Sherry Yard says in the opening of her génoise recipe from The Secrets of Baking, this simple cake is a test of pastry chefs technical prowess. It is used in competitions and in restaurant job interviews to see if you were paying attention in culinary school. Génoise is a basic cake used for weddings, birthdays, jellyrolls, petits fours and many more classic desserts. I love this delicious, light and versatile cake when it is baked well. You can add flavored syrup to it without it disintegrating into mush, it holds up to buttercream, ganache, fondant and anything else you can think of. It may seem old school, but I think génoise really is essential and can be easy if you have the right recipe and the proper technique.

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Apple Pumpkin Cake

Apple Pumpkin Cake Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Every year at this time I make apple cakes, many of them. It is our traditional dessert during Rosh Hashanah** and just simply delicious for any occasion. This year I tried a new recipe — this apple pumpkin cake — from Robin Asbell’s latest book on Whole Grains. It gets its richness from pumpkin puree, a layer of sautéed apples and then the whole thing is topped with spiced streusel. This cake is so amazing, I had to bake two. The first one my family ate before I could photograph it, so I made another, and it’s gone too. Because the cake is made with whole wheat flour, apples and pumpkin I feel great about satisfying my boys’ requests to eat it for breakfast, a snack and dessert.

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Fig, Champagne Grapes and Raspberry Cake

Fresh Figs and Fruit | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

This time of year brings with it all of the sensual fruits. They seem more decadent, rich and sweet and just a little bit adult. To me they are the fruits of romance. Perhaps it is because the first time I ever ate a syrupy ripe fig was on my honeymoon in the South of France. We had a small house on a hill overlooking Saint-Tropez and a fig tree on the terrace. We’d sit under the tree, drink our morning coffee and pluck figs off to eat them while looking at the Côte d’Azur. It is hard not to associate anything in that picture with romance. But the figs were the star. Every year I look forward to eating them on our anniversary and this year I’m making them into a fig cake.

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Orange Scented Sponge Cake

Orange Scented Sponge Cake Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

I made this fresh orange scented sponge cake from my The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. It is a classic and really nothing about it needs changing. It is light and the orange gives the cake a fresh flavor that isn’t overly sweet. I combined it with a dacquoise, strawberry whipped cream and homemade jam to make a birthday torte for my stepmother. Even though there is no butter or oil in the cake I find it moist enough that I didn’t use a simple syrup soak. But you certainly could add it for flavor. Read More

Orange Blossom Honey Cake with Fresh Blueberries

Honey Cake with Blueberries | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

The strangest thing happened on my way to ordering new chefs jackets; I discovered the most amazing honey I’ve ever eaten. You see, Jeff and I have been doing a lot of TV appearances recently to promote our book. I decided that my old worn out chocolate covered chefs jackets just weren’t going to cut it on HDTV and so I decided to splurge on some new ones. I consulted a few friends and found they were unanimous on where to go shopping; Crooked Brook.

As I placed my order, the owner of the company asked me if I’d like to try some of their honey. This isn’t just any honey, it is artisan honey. Made by bees that are so carefully watched that the producers know what flowers are in every jar. They even pack up these bees to vacation in Florida so they can create honey from orange blossoms. It is pure, organic and raw, so all of the nutrients of the honey is preserved. This is the stuff I get very excited about. This honey cake recipe was inspired by these bees and their fabulous honey.

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