Thursday, October 7, 2010

Happy Birthday, French Style




How do you imagine your perfect birthday cake?

Is it a mountain of yellow cake smeared with billowy buttercream, or something more along the lines of a dark chocolate tart?

Maybe it's easier to start along the lines of what someone woudln't want in a birthday cake. Take my sister, for example. She wouldn't want ginger in her cake, no way. Cooked fruit wouldn't really make her very happy either. As for orange blossom, well, she's allergic to it.

This is why my sister's birthday cake had orange blossom mousse. No joke. Obviously, I wasn't planning a remake of a Roman tragedy: my sister falling over in the middle of a restaurant clearly wasn't my goal. I wanted her to fall over, sure, but in surprise, joy and excitement over the fact that it was her birthday and she was spending it in Paris. So let's make something clear: she's mildly allergic to orange blossom, but loves it. And what my sister loves, I do. (Aww.)

A french party cake isn't usually a butter or oil cake like you find in the United States. In France it's all about the génoise. Genoise is a sponge cake, made mostly with eggs and hardly any butter. The result is light and airy, and filled with mousse, it becomes a great dessert for any occasion. Frost it with almond dark chocolate ganache, and then, you've got yourself a proper birthday cake.

What better way to celebrate a birthday in France than a French birthday cake? Having it sliced, plated and served in a restaurant probably belongs on that list--but maybe I was the one falling over at that point.

After her allergy headache went away, my sister's verdict was that this was quite a tasty cake. For anyone who enjoys orange blossom and almonds (allergies or not, but watch out though), this cake is a great way to have the two flavors meld together without being overwhelming.

And since I didn't do enough overwhelming with the cake, I'll be overwhelming in my extension of what a "birthday weekend" really is. It's already Thursday, six whole days later, but that's alright:

Happy Birthday, Biquetta!



Génoise
makes one 9-inch cake

4 eggs, separated
1c. + 2 TB granulated sugar
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 TS baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan.

In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer. Add sugar and keep beating at medium speed. Decrease speed, add egg yolks all at once, followed by flour mixture.

Beat until just incorporated and immediately pour into cake pan. Bake until golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool in pan. Serve the same day or the next. The génoise can also be frozen if well-wrapped.

To assemble cake: cut génoise in half and spread mousse between layers. Cover with ganache frosting and decorate with toasted almonds.

Orange Blossom Mousse
makes 500g mousse, more than enough to fill a 9-inch cake


6.5 TB water
1 1/2 TB orange blossom water
1 TB powdered gelatin
1 1/2 c. Italian Meringue (recipe follows)
1 3/4 c. whipped cream

for Italian Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 c. water
1 3/4 c. + 1.5 TB granulated sugar
Boil water and sugar until mixture reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks on high speed. reduce speed to medium and add syrup. Beat until mixture cools slightly.

for Mousse:

Heat water, orange blossom water and powdered gelatin until dissolved.

Delicately mix Italian meringue and whipped cream. Add water/gelatin mixture and combine. Use immediately or refrigerate up to one day before using.


Dark Chocolate Almond Ganache
makes enough to frost a 9-inch cake

7 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 c. heavy cream
1 TS almond extract

Place chopped chocolate in the bowl of a food processor.

Scald heavy cream until bubbles appear at the sides of the saucepan.

Pour cream  and almond extract over chopped chocolate and process for approximately one minute until smooth. Pour into a dish and refrigerate, stirring every hour, for several hours or until you reach desired consistency.

Frost cake immediately, or refrigerate ganache until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before using.
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10 comments:

Reeni said...

The orange blossom mousse sounds positively divine! It must be extra special for your sister to want it anyways. The entire cake sounds like a dream!

Paris Pastry said...

What a decadent birthday cake! My birthday is coming up... can you make mine as well?? Pretty please?

Eleni said...

ooh, looks yummy! i'll have to try it out for my daddy's bday cake, he'd love it!!

claudia said...

what a nice sister to bake the birthday cake for the other sister! I bet you brought a smile on her face too! Glad you and she could spend the weekend together and share great food!

Barbara said...

Orange and chocolate are divine together! What a gorgeous cake you made your sister.
(Sorry her allergy problems cropped up!)

My aunt made a sponge cake with old fashioned 7 minute frosting for every birthday in our family. It remains my favorite cake! Luckily, I have the recipe!

Anonymous said...

mmmm, this looks soooo yummy!

Anonymous said...

This sounds like the perfect birthday cake! Yummy!

grace said...

what a decadent cake, completely appropriate for a birthday celebration! i love the texture of a good mousse, and the flavor of orange blossom would be perfect here. a dear sister you are. :)

Lucie said...

Thanks everyone! I really recommend you give the génoise a try--easy, breezy, beautiful!

cocoa and coconut said...

It's great to learn about this birthday cake. I've never made Génoise sponge but I really must. Happy birthday to your sister; the allergy looks like it was worth it to eat this!