Genoise for Gateau

I varied Raymond Oliver's recipe to use less eggs as I really think seven eggs is a bit of overkill. I also used all purpose flour that I sifted twice, rather than cake flour. The recipe still came up quite light and flavourful.

A couple thoughts;

If you are fortunate enough to know someone (as we do) that can provide you with fresh eggs from their farm, depending on how the chickens are fed the colour of the yolks may intensely tint your finished product.

You really need a stand mixer to do this genoise properly. I can't imagine having the upper body strength to whisk enough air into the eggs by hand-though certainly before electrical appliances, people did. Personally, I wouldn't waste the eggs trying.

A double boiler would be helpful for warming up the eggs and sugar before whipping. I don't happen to own one so I set a large pot with a couple of inches of water on the stove. Across it, I laid a strainer with a handle, and I set the bowl with the eggs and sugar inside. Take care not to let the water touch the bowl (you shouldn't need more than an inch or two). Do not let the water boil, keep it on low heat and be patient. Give the mixture occasional stirs just to be certain the eggs don't begin to cook on the bottom. You only wantthe eggs lukewarm-so test frequently.

Make the clarified butter ahead-a good thing to have on hand anyhow.

Basic Genoise:

6 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted twice
1/2 cup butter, melted and clarified
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar mixing, but not beating. Set the bowl over water as described above and heat to lukewarm. The eggs should look thick and bright yellow.

Place the eggs in an electric mixer and whip them at high speed until they are fluffy and have at least doubled in bulk-if you sense they will go higher without collapsing-go for it.

Add the flour a small bit at a time and fold thoroughly, but very gently alternating with the clarified butter. Add the vanilla.

Bake in the centre rack for 25-30 minutes. Don't stick a toothpick in it to test for doneness! Press it lightly to see if it springs back. The cake should start to pull away from the sides as well. Remove from pan right away and cool on rack. Do not try to trim any over-flowed edges whilst hot. Wait until cool and it will cut much easier.