Genoise For Gingerbread Town Square Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-by-18-inch standard jelly-roll pan, line with parchment paper, butter and flour the paper, and set aside.
• Set the metal bowl of an electric mixer over, but not in, a pot of simmering water. Combine sugar and eggs in the bowl, and whisk until mixture is warm to the touch, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on high speed until mixture is very thick and pale, 6 to 8 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently transfer mixture to a large clean mixing bowl. Sift in flour in three additions, folding gently after each. In a small bowl, combine butter and vanilla, then add in a steady stream as you fold in the third addition of flour. Fold gently, and pour out onto prepared pan. Smooth top with offset spatula.
• Bake until cake is springy to the touch and golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire rack. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to use, turn out cake onto a cutting board covered with a clean piece of parchment or wax paper, and peel the paper off the cake.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan; set aside. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
• In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in molasses and grated ginger, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in eggs.
• Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares; dust with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Coat a 12-by-16-inch rimmed baking sheet or a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment; coat with cooking spray. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Stir together flour and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Preheat oven to 450 degrees for sheet cake or 400 degrees for round cake, with rack in lower third.
• Put eggs, egg yolks, and granulated sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch. Return bowl to mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Raise speed to high. Beat until mixture is pale and thick, about 4 minutes more.
• Remove bowl from mixer. Sift flour mixture over the top; using a large rubber spatula, carefully fold into egg mixture, cutting through middle and lifting gently over sides. When almost incorporated, pour melted butter down side of bowl; gently fold to incorporate completely.
• Spread batter evenly in sheet or pan with a large offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and springy to the touch, about 6 minutes for 12-by-16-inch cake and 15 minutes for 9-inch round cake.
• For the 12-by-16-inch cake: Run a small knife around sides of sheet; invert onto a wire rack. Remove parchment. For the roll, transfer cake to a dish towel dusted with confectioners' sugar, and roll up, starting at a short end; for the torte, reinvert cake onto the rack. Let cool completely. For the 9-inch round cake: Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; run a small knife around sides of pan. Invert onto rack; remove parchment, and reinvert onto rack. Let cool completely.

Steps:

• Place 1 meringue layer on a cake stand, and spread 1 1/2 cups buttercream over its surface. Top with a slice of genoise. Brush genoise with one-third of the syrup. Spread 1 1/2 cups buttercream over genoise. Repeat layering 2 more times. Spread enough buttercream over sides of cake to fill in any spaces between layers and create a smooth surface. Refrigerate cake for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).
• Just before serving, spread frosting over cake, smoothing sides and creating peaks on top to resemble snowdrifts. Sprinkle top with sanding sugar. Gently press 3 cookies onto each side of cake, using 1 of each shape per side and alternating molasses and honey gingerbread. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-by-1-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment; butter and flour paper, tapping out the excess flour.
• Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together twice into a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Skim off white foam, and pour clear yellow butter into a bowl, discarding white liquid at the bottom. Set aside in a warm place.
• In a medium-size heat-proof bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and beat on high speed until mixture is thick and pale and has tripled in bulk. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat 2 to 3 minutes more.
• In three additions, sift flour mixture over egg mixture, folding in gently with a spatula. While folding in last addition, dribble melted butter over batter and fold in.
• Spread batter evenly in pan, leaving behind any unincorporated butter in the bottom of the bowl. Tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake until cake springs back when touched in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Don't overbake or cake will crack. Let sit in pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
• Dust surface with cocoa powder. To make rolling easier, trim edges of cake, and cover with a sheet of waxed paper and a damp dish towel. Invert onto a work surface, and peel off parchment; dust with cocoa. Starting from one long end, carefully roll up cake in towel. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until ready to use.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan, and line pan with parchment. Butter and flour parchment. Place a clean, smooth kitchen towel on a clean surface; sift confectionersâ?? sugar evenly over towel. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; set aside.
• Set bowl of electric mixer over, but not touching, a pot of simmering water. Combine brown sugar and eggs in bowl; whisk until a candy thermometer registers 110 degrees (warm to the touch), about 2 minutes.
• Beat on high until thick and pale, 6 to 8 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, transfer to large bowl. Add flour mixture in thirds, folding after each. In a small bowl, combine butter and molasses; add in steady stream while folding in last flour addition. Pour into pan; smooth with offset spatula.
• Bake until cake is springy to the touch and golden brown, about 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully turn out cake over towel. Place short end toward you. Pick up edge of towel; begin rolling cake. As you roll, incorporate towel; continue rolling into a log. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• Whisk together egg whites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Clip a candy thermometer to side of bowl. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk until mixture reaches 160 degrees and sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture on high speed until cooled and thick, about 12 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla and spices. Buttercream can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month; bring to room temperature before using, and beat on low speed until smooth.

Steps:

• Make the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round baking pans; line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter parchment; dust pans with flour, tapping out excess.
• In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour butter into a large bowl, leaving behind any burned sediment; stir in vanilla and keep warm (110 to 120 degrees). Wipe out saucepan.
• Fill the same saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer. Lightly whisk together eggs and superfine sugar in a heatproof standing mixer bowl. Set bowl over (not in) simmering water, and whisk until superfine sugar dissolves and mixture is lukewarm to the touch.
• Attach bowl to standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until light, airy, and quadruple in volume, at least 5 minutes. Whisk 1 cup egg mixture into warm butter mixture.
• Sift together flour and cornstarch. Gently and quickly fold half the flour mixture into remaining egg mixture until combined, then repeat with remaining flour mixture. Gently fold in butter mixture, then divide between prepared baking pans.
• Transfer pans to oven and bake until golden brown and edges begin to pull away from the sides, about 25 minutes. (Avoid opening oven door during baking, as cakes are fragile and may collapse.) Remove cakes from oven and unmold immediately onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the raspberry curd filling: In a small food processor, puree raspberries until smooth.
• Whisk together granulated sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Whisk in zest and egg yolks, then whisk in lemon juice and salt. Add butter and place pan over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until butter has melted, small bubbles form around the edge of the pan, and mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and becomes clear, about 5 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat. Whisk in raspberry puree. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a glass bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
• Assemble the cake: Using a serrated knife, halve each cooled cake horizontally to form 2 layers. Place 1 layer on a cake turntable or serving platter; spread a scant 1/2 cup curd on top. Set another cake layer on top, and repeat process with remaining curd and cake layers. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Make the whipped cream: Whisk cream and confectioners' sugar to soft peaks. Spread entire cake with whipped cream, smoothing the top and sides. Top with raspberries, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack set in the lower third. Spray a 9-by-3-inch round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; line pan with a parchment paper round and spray again. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour butter into a large bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind; stir in vanilla and keep warm (110 to 120 degrees).
• Lightly whisk together eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; set mixer over (but not touching) simmering water and heat, whisking constantly, until lukewarm to the touch. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until light, airy, and quadruple in volume, at least 5 minutes. Whisk 1 cup egg mixture into warm melted butter mixture; set aside.
• Sift together flour and cornstarch. Gently and quickly fold half the flour mixture into remaining egg mixture until all the flour is absorbed. Repeat process with remaining flour mixture. Fold in butter mixture to combine and transfer to prepared baking pan.
• Transfer pan to oven and bake until golden brown and starts to shrink slightly from the sides of the pan, 20 to 30 minutes. If possible, avoid opening the oven door until cake has baked at least 30 minutes, as cake is fragile and may fall. Remove cake from oven and unmold immediately onto a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before cutting into layers and frosting with buttercream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse ginger until finely chopped (or chop by hand). You should have 1 cup.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, molasses, and eggs until smooth. Whisk in butter and 1/3 cup hot water. Stir in flour mixture just until incorporated; stir in ginger.
• Generously coat a nonstick 3-quart Bundt pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edge of cake; then invert. Dust with confectioners' sugar before slicing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment cut to fit, and coat parchment with spray. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.
• Whisk together eggs and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk until mixture is warm and sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.
• With a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg mixture on high speed until pale and very thick, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Sift flour and salt over mixture in 3 additions, folding gently with a spatula. When almost incorporated, pour melted butter down side of bowl, and gently fold until completely incorporated.
• Gently pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean and top springs back when lightly touched, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
• Invert cake onto rack, and remove parchment. Using a serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into 3 layers.