Ganache over Genoise

Posted by ljmacphee on February 16, 2007 under Dessert |

Ganache over Genoise

This is an easy dessert to make, but tastes and looks like a gourmet recipe. The Genoise is a chocolate sponge cake, the Ganache is a creamy chocolate that is poured over the top of the sponge cake. I top it off with some raspberries or strawberries that have been mixed with a bit of sugar, water and crushed a bit with a potato masher.

Genoise
3/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup of sugar
Mix the above ingredients and set aside

1/2 cup butter, melt and let it cool
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs
For this you need a blender or a good mixer.
Beat the eggs and vanilla until the volume triples

Gently fold dry ingredients into the eggs
Gently fold the butter into the eggs
divide between two oiled, 9″ cake pans
Bake at 350′ until a knife comes out clean, about 15 minutes

Ganache
8 oz of whipping cream, heated until just begins to bubble
8 oz of chocolate (I use white) broken into small pieces
Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and stir until well blended.

Take ~12 oz of strawberries or raspberries
Add one tablespoon sugar
Add 1/4 cup of water
Gently mash berries
refrigerate

Assembly
place one layer of cake on a cake dish
pour 1/3 of ganache over the cake
put the second layer of the cake on top of the first
pour rest of the ganache over the top of the cake

To serve warm up cake with ganache and top with a spoonful or two per serving of chilled berries and sugar.

Genoise is named after Genoa, Italy where it originated and refers to light, spongy cakes. The melted butter adds a flavor and moisture not usually found in sponge cakes.

Ganache is a French word meaning a mixture of cream and chocolate.