Each confectioner is looking for a recipe for a delicious biscuit, ideal in structure and appearance, without thinking about the cooking process. But it is he who at the end of the end is the secret to success in working with biscuit dough. That is why a Genoese biscuit was created with a delicate taste and with a complete absence of artificial baking powder to give the cake an airy structure. It takes about an hour to cook, but is so good that it tastes good just with a cup of tea, without additives in the form of cream, fudge or glaze.
Why is it called a biscuit?
This baking dish has two more interesting names: the Genoise biscuit and Spanish bread, and it came up with this miraculous recipe by Jobatt Cabo , a Genoese, when he was at the court of the Italian marquise, who arrived in Spain on a visit. The Spanish courtyard was dumbfounded by bread from the marquise's table: airy, soft and incredibly tasty, it instantly gained popularity and began to be called genois ’, that is, Genoese dough’. But since upon arrival home, in Genoa, it was somehow not easy to call the pie Genoese dough, the biscuit was called "Spanish bread", thus perpetuating the feat of Cabo .
This type of dough turned out to be so finicky that no one could repeat the recipe : either the mass was not whipped properly, or it simply refused to rise in the oven, and if it succeeded, it could not be cut when serving : it crumbled or wrinkled with a knife from - for a very soft structure.
Cooking feature
Only with time was the secret of making the perfect Genouise biscuit revealed: it turned out that it can be prepared only by adhering to certain rules, strict recipes and the temperature regime of the oven. The recipe for a Genoese biscuit is simple, but the preparation itself involves several steps:
- preparation of the workplace and products;
- heating the egg mass;
- whipping the mass;
- adding flour;
- adding oil to the dough;
- baking and curing before use.
At first it may seem that the preparation of a Genoese biscuit is too complicated for an inexperienced pastry chef, but this is only at first glance . If you know the important subtleties of the process, strictly adhere to the rules and observe the proportions of the products, then everything will surely work out.
At the very beginning, it is necessary to organize a working space: turn on the oven to heat up (set the temperature to 180 degrees), put boiling water for a steam bath in a small saucepan and be sure to choose utensils for whipping so that it fits comfortably in this pan without touching the bottom of boiling water. It is important that the whipping bowl can withstand heat, but not be aluminum, otherwise the egg whites will darken and not beat as needed. Do not forget to measure the products in grams, laying them on the plates.
You should also prepare a baking dish in advance by lining the bottom with parchment paper slightly oiled. It is very convenient to use a detachable form - it will be easy to get a ready-made Genoese biscuit.
Essential Ingredients
The recipe for a Genoese biscuit suggests the presence of the following products in such quantity:
- Eggs - six pieces.
- Powdered Sugar - 180 grams.
- Butter - 80 grams.
- Flour - 130 grams, be sure to sift two to three times.
Some add vanillin to the flour on the tip of the knife to flavor the dough - this is not necessary, but gives the Genoese biscuit a delicate flavor, without affecting the quality of the dough.
Step one: beat the lush mass
Melt the butter until liquid, but do not boil. Beat the eggs in a frying bowl, add the icing sugar and set to heat in a boiling water bath. Be sure to stir the sweet mass, without interruption, until it warms up to forty degrees. How to find out if there is no thermometer? Lower the little finger into the mass - it will be slightly warm , but not hot. This means that the desired temperature has been reached and you can remove the saucepan from the heat. This is one of the important points, because if you overheat, the egg white will curl into flakes, and if there is not enough heat, the biscuit will not work well.
As soon as the egg mass is removed from the stove, we immediately begin to beat it with a mixer, you can even start even earlier - on the stove, if convenient. It is advisable to use the maximum speed of the mixer so that the eggs increase in volume by 2 to 3 times as quickly as possible , because the oven has already warmed up and is waiting . On average, this takes about eight minutes, and to make sure that the mass is beaten enough, draw a groove along it with your finger: if it practically does not connect, the edges remain in place - the mass is ready for further manipulations.
Step two: kneading dough
We visually divide the whole amount of flour and oil into three parts: pour one third of the flour into the whipped mixture, mix, then carefully pour the third part of the oil into the dough, trying not to pour in the middle, but along the edges, as if along the dishes. Mix again.
Attention! It is necessary to mix with a spoon only with bottom-up movements, and not circular, as people usually do in such cases. This is done so that the whipped mass does not settle prematurely and remains lush, while it is better not to mix too long, so again not to lose splendor.
Next, we also act with the rest of the flour and butter, that is, there will be two more stages of the introduction of each product. This is another secret of a delicious Genoese biscuit recipe. In this way , the maximum splendor of the mass is achieved and maintained, which in the oven will turn into excellent pastries.
Baking process
How to bake a magnificent biscuit so that it does not lose its airiness? Pour the finished dough into a mold, put in a hot oven and wait about half an hour, although sometimes it takes forty minutes. Of course, we do not open the oven ahead of time, otherwise the dough will settle, and all the work will go to dust. After 30 minutes, you can check whether the sponge cake is punctured with a wooden toothpick - if it’s dry, then it’s time to turn off the oven, but leave the form in it with the doors open for 15 minutes and only then remove the Genoese biscuit from the oven.
Immediately from the form, cake should not be taken out, at least half an hour should pass, and only then can you carefully remove the finished product, which still has to go through aging and mature. Just let the biscuit soak at room temperature for 6 to 10 hours, covering it with a clean towel.