Need Help with my Genoise

Hi all. I made a chocolate genoise yesterday, and as I unrolled it, there were many cracks. I managed to save it by filling it with whipped cream, rolled it up again, and drizzled ganache to cover the cracks. It was good, but unattractive.
This is what I did: Buttered both sides of parchment paper, poured batter into jelly roll pan, baked at 325 for 15 mins, rolled genoise, placed in fridge till cool, unrolled, and CRACKS everywhere.
My questions are: Do I roll the genoise right out of the oven? Should I not cool it completely when unrolling to fill? Should I not put it in the fridge to cool? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[momoreg]

ChezMichelle,

Typically a genoise is baked in a cake pan, and it is made with butter. A roulade (or jelly roll) is not made with butter. If you would like my recipe, I would be happy to post it.

A decent roulade will not need to be rolled, unrolled, and re-rolled. It should be flexible enough to roll w/out cracking. Also, be sure to bake them in a hot 400 degree oven, and remove them when barely golden, so they don't dry out.

Thanks momoreg. What I was actually making (according to the recipe) was a Buche De Noel, which called for a genoise to fill and roll.
Yes, I would greatly appreciate your recipe for roulade.
Thanks for your help!

[momoreg]

I assume you want a white roulade, since you didn't specify chocolate:

Preheat oven to 400F

8 yolks
3 oz. sugar

8 whites
3 oz. sugar

6 oz. sifted cake flour

Grease and line a standard jellyroll size pan with parchment.

Heat sugar and yolks over double boiler to abou 110F. Whip on high speed until pale in color.

In another bowl, whip egg whites to a soft peak. Gradually add sugar while whipping, and continue on high speed to stiff peaks.

Fold the whites into the yolks, simultaneously adding the sifted flour. Fold very gently, and make sure that there are no lumps of flour in the mix. You may add any sort of extract at this point, as well, since this is a fairly bland cake.

Spread batter onto pan, and bake until just golden. (less than 5 min.)

Cool in pan, then sprinkle some powdered sugar on top. Flip the cake upside down onto another piece of paper, peel off the other side, and it's ready to go.

For choc., use only 1.5 oz. of flour, and add 4.5 oz. cocoa.

Any questions regarding recipe, please do not hesitiate to ask.

[m brown]

That ought to do it!
bake, cool, fill, roll, ice, eat.

[bakerchik]

I got a recipe from my French teacher for Buche de Noel. After i baked the genoise much the same as you did, i turned it out onto wax papet on a cooling rack. Then I covered it with wax paper. I cooled it for about 10 minutes until it was slightly warm and still flexible. Then I spread a thin layer of buttercream and then whipped cream. Using the wax paper i rolled the log and voila...It cracked slightly at the edges but it was easy to hide and still looked really good. The cooler you let it get, the more easily it will crack. Good luck.

Thanks to you both!
I will try again.
As you can probably tell, I have yet to enter the baking/pastry module at school.

[Isa]

Michelle,

Traditionally the génoise is not used for cake roll instead they used a biscuit roulé. If you're interested I can post the recipe for you.

[palmier]

Quick Ideas for roulade:
Just before pouring the batter into the pan, spray the pan, and paper generously with spray-grease. Then spread the batter on top quickly. The longer the pan sits, the better chance the paper has to wrinkle. So put it into the oven as quickly as possible.
Also, Watch it closely in the oven. Turn the pan after a couple minutes to ensure even baking. As soon as the "cake" starts to pull away from the edge, It's done. Let cool outside. Remove paper after a few minutes

Voila! es Fin. Le Bisque Roulad

[Isa]

Originally posted by palmier:
Voila! es Fin. Le Bisque Roulad

Palmier I have to ask what does it mean?

[Isa]

The recipe is from Faites votre pâtisserie comme Lenôtre, I used it for the bûche de Noël.

Biscuit roulé

75g sugar
75g flour
25g butter
3 egg whites
4 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 240°C.

On a baking sheet, lay down a sheet of parchment paper and lightly butter it.

Melt the butter in a pan, set aside.

In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar at medium speed, during 5 minutes. Add the flour with as lightly as possible ie do not overwork the dough.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, add a teaspoon of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed. Add the egg whites and melted butter to the batter very delicately.

Spread the dough on the prepared pan as evenly as possible making sure it is 1.5 cm high in every corner. Bake for approximately 7 minutes.

Iza,

Yes I would appreciate your recipe. Thanks for the suggestion.
Again, thanks to all for your imput.

Iza,

Thank you! If I wanted chocolate, at what point would I add the chocolate?

[Isa]

Michelle,

I don’t want to give you the Lenôtre recipe for a chocolate bûche because there is an ingredient I am not sure how to translate.

I reember reading somewhere that you can replace a certain percentage of flour by cocoa, but I don't recall the exact number.

I went on the net instead and found a recipe from Julia Child & Jacques Pépin latest book. I found it on the Martha Stewart website.

Chocolate Roulade

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
7 egg whites, room temperature
3 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cognac
confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Seasonal fruit, for garnish

Place rack in centre of oven, and heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan or a 12-by-17 1/2-inch sheet pan, and line with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup cream to a simmer. Add chocolate, reduce heat, and whisk until chocolate is melted. As soon as mixture is a uniform dark colour, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Whip egg whites and 2 tablespoons sugar to stiff, glossy peaks, about 1 1/2 minutes. Whisk one-quarter of the egg-white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold chocolate mixture back into the original egg-white mixture, and mix until smooth and well combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, and spread it in an even layer with a rubber spatula. Bake until cake is set and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Lift parchment paper to remove cake from pan, and set it on work surface with long side facing edge of table. Using a fine-mesh sieve, lightly dust cake with cocoa powder.

For the crème chantilly, whip the remaining 1 cup cream with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, the vanilla, and cognac. Spread evenly over entire surface of cake.

Roll the cake lengthwise, starting at a point 2 to 3 inches over the crème chantilly. Roll cake another few inches, pressing against parchment paper to make a tight spiral. Gently peel parchment paper off as cake layer rolls away. Complete the roll, stopping at the far edge of the parchment paper. Tuck the loose parchment paper around and underneath the cylinder so it is well wrapped and can be moved easily. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

When ready to serve, transfer roulade to serving platter. Remove parchment paper, gently rolling cake into centre of platter, with seam on bottom. (If roll has slumped or twisted, lay a piece of plastic over top and sides, and reshape with hands.) With a sharp knife, trim both ends of roll crosswise or on a diagonal. Dust top with confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder, and garnish with seasonal fruit. To serve, cut the roll into 1-inch-thick slices, and lay flat on dessert plates; top with additional crème chantilly if desired.

[Isa]

Glad I could help you Michelle. Let me know what you think of the book when you get it. I haven't had a chance to really look at it.