Having beaten all this air into the barter. One must be very careful not to lose it. Therefore the flour, the egg whites, if they arc added separately, and the butter, if it is used, are folded, not stirred, into the batter with a spatula, which lifts the mass of beaten egg and sugar over and over the added ingredients until they are evenly distributed. Work carefully and slowly, and with a very light touch. Never use an unnecessary stroke. Melted butter requires special attention, because it is likely to slip to the bottom of the bowl and remain there in a little pool, not to be discovered until the moment when you pour the batter into the pan. You can prevent this unhappy situation by running the spatula over the bottom of the bowl as you fold the butter in, literally lifting the butter into the batter.
A French pastry chef weighs his ingredients, and many of his recipes call for a certain number of grams of arrowroot or rice flower or potato Hour in addition to the fine wheat flower. But realizing how impractical this method would be in most American kitchens, I have measured all the ingredients and use fine cake flour for all these pastries. Since fine flour is so apt to pack or settle unevenly in the package, sift the flour first and then measure it.
To prepare the baking pans, butter them or brush them with oil, using the pastry brush, and dust them lightly with flour. For some cakes, the pan may be lined with wax paper or with heavy white paper. French cakes are not usually baked in separate layers; a layer cake is made from a single cake split into two or three slices.
The biscuit de Savoie. or spongecake, is baked in a high mold, not in the tube pan used for American spongecakes.
Although there are some exceptions, most of these cakes should bake at a low temperature, and they rise better on the lower nicks of the oven. Press the cake lightly with a finger; a well-baked cake springs back at once. When the coke is done it shrinks slightly from the sides of the pan, and a skewer thrust into the center of the cake comes out dry and clean.
I have gathered for you here the traditional basic recipes that should be in every pastry cook's repertoire. The cakes made without butter are very light; when butter is added, they have a firmer texture. Almond powder, which is added to some cakes, adds firmness and moisture. Layer cakes and petits fours are usually cut from butter and almond cakes, since these slice more easily than spongecakes.
One last word before I begin the recipes: have all the ingredients measured and ready before you begin to combine them. Light the oven before you be gin to mix the cake And take the time to read and reread the recipe, if necessary, until you are quite familiar with it.
Beat 8 egg yolks, 1 ½ cups sugar and ½ teaspoon lemon (or orange or vanilla) flavoring in a warm howl with a hand whip or an electric beater until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add 1 whole egg and continue to beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is very light and Huffy. Measure I ¾ cups sifted cake Hour (or use 1 ½ cups sifted flour and ¼ cup cornstarch) and fold it into the mixture in 3 portions with a metal spatula.
Beat 8 egg whites until they are stiff and cut and fold them into the hatter, Butter a deep pan or fancy mold, sprinkle it with sugar and fill it about 2/3 full. Bake the biscuit in a slow oven (50(T F.) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake is a light brown and tests done.
Pâte à Biscuit au Beurre (Butter Spongecake)
Beat 4 egg yolks and ½ cup sugar in a warm howl with a hand whip or electric beater until the mixture is very light and fluffy and almost while. Measure 1 cup less 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour and fold it into the mixture in 3 portions with a metal spatula. Beat 4 egg whites until they are stiff and cut and fold them into the batter with the spatula, Add 4 tablespoons butter, melted over low heat and cooled, gradually cutting and folding it in with the spatula.
Pour the batter into a pan that has been buttered and sprinkled With flour. Fill the pan to a depth of ¾ inch to 2 inches, depending upon how the cake is to be used. Bake the cake in a moderate oven (325° to 350° F.) for 25 to 35 minutes, or until it tests done. Turn it out on a wire rack to cool. Split it to make 2 or 3 layers and spread pastry cream or jam between the layers. Spread apricot jam or puree very thinly over the top and sides and then cover the cake with fondant king (March, 1956). Decorate it with glazed fruit.
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