292924 Fri May 23 23:17:24 -0700 2003 6 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1600666 And did I spell unsalvageable correctly? I just tried to make genoise, but I have a feeling I failed miserably. It is deformed and heavy. I mean, I am assuming the thing isn't supposed to look and feel like a giant brick of cheese? I suspect I did not whip the eggs enough, and then I think I let the melted butter solidify a wee bit too much. SO, do I chuck it and make something else? This is for a dinner party Saturday night. I was going to use it for the French Strawberry Cake in Baking with Julia. My options are to make either angel food cake or a meringue roulade, but it's likely I'll screw those up, too. Any suggestions would be most appreciated! Fri May 23 23:17:24 -0700 2003 0 Mariko 1 1600667 Obtain some excellent ripe fruit (or, more likely, frozen berries and/or peaches of your choice given the paucity of local seasonal fruit right now), toss in a little sugar, place in a buttered baking dish, crumble the cake atop it, place some pats of butter and spring sugar atop the cake, broiler until it starts to brown. Serve warm with some ice cream or whipped cream. You might even want to sprinkle the cake with a little bit of a compatible liquer before toping with sugar and broiling. Or put the crumbled cake on the bottom with the liquer and build your way back up to the top. Sat May 24 00:15:22 -0700 2003 1600666 0 Bob Libkind 2 1600674 My suggestions are similar to this. First, taste the cake? How does it taste? If OK, but heavy, then there are lots of possibilities. Sliced horizontally, it can be the basis for a trifle. Cut into cubes, it could be put into a bread pudding with berries (just be careful of the sugar) As long as small bits taste good, it can be rescued. Pat G. Sat May 24 08:51:35 -0700 2003 1600667 0 Pat Goldberg 2 1600695 Along a similar note, but with no oven required: Get a few cocktail glasses. Soak crumbled genoise in some liquer (if you want to play safe, use something "neutral", like brandy or cognac, or a fruit liquer identical to the fruit you're using below). Make some whipped cream (add a splash of the same liquer). Layer the crumbled genoise with whipped cream and fruit. Garnish with mint leaves. The multiple layers and colours would look nice in the glasses. Sat May 24 12:41:41 -0700 2003 1600667 0 Limster 1 1600673 Are you an experienced baker? If not, genoise is the wrong cake to start with - too many variables to go wrong. Why not bake an easier cake, where the lightness of the cake isn't dependant just on whipped eggs. A pound cake, or any other cake made by the "creaming" method (where you cream butter with sugar). Let the baking soda or baking powder do the leavening - as long as it's not past its use-by date, it will work. Sat May 24 08:44:10 -0700 2003 1600666 0 susanj 1 1600705 After I posted this message, I cut the genoise, and it was a rubbery hockey puck! Unsalvageable! I had to throw it away. There was one sliver that was okay, though, and I ate it, and it was delicious. The solution to the problem? I had a friend bake a genoise substitute (the Hot Milk Sponge Cake from Alice Medrich's Cocolat cookbook) while I watched. I think the problem was I did not whip the eggs enough. I will have to try again. THANKS all for the suggestions! I'll keep them in mind the next time I mess up a genoise! Sat May 24 18:44:00 -0700 2003 1600666 0 Mariko 2 1600710 With genoise, one key is to use warm eggs, or to warm them over a double boiler, b/c warmed eggs whip higher. It took me at least four tries before I made my first good genoise--and chocolate genoise is even more difficult. Anyway, I agree vaguely with Bob Lipkind: failed genoise makes just as good cake crumbs as good genoise. So dry it out, grind it into crumbs, and use it (or freeze it) for all those recipes calling for ground cake crumbs. Sat May 24 20:20:44 -0700 2003 1600705 0 adam