What did I do wrong?

[katmg]

So I baked a genoise(?)/sponge cake this weekend to use as part of a tres leches recipe. Well, the cake separated when I baked it into a very thin light fluffy layer and a very dense, gelatinous layer that felt very greasy.

Any thoughts I what I did wrong? Overmixing? Oven temperature? Bad Recipe? B/C surely it wasn't anything I did! ;)

[lawyerlee]

What were the ingredients? I haven't ever experienced that, but I can't quite imagine that overmixing would lead to that problem. I find that overmixing usually gives you air pockets and bubbles. But I could be wrong.

[CarlaB]

Can you post the recipe you used?

[katmg]

Here's the recipe:

1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
5 large eggs
1/2 c. sugar

8" sq. baking pan

1. Butter baking pan and place square of parchment in bottom. Butter and flour parchment and sides.

2. Cook butter until golden brown, Transfer to heat-proof bowl, cool and add vanilla.

3. Sift flour, cornstarch and salt into a bowl and then sift again.

4. Combine eggs and sugar in a mixer bowl over simmering water. Whisk constantly until lukewarm. Remove and beat at high speed until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift half of flour mixture over eggs and fold in gently but thoroughly, then fold in remaining flour. Transfer 1/3 c. batter to a small bowl and fold butter into it until incorporated, then gently but thoroughly fold butter mixture into remaining batter.

5. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until cake is springy to the touch and top is golden brown. 15 - 17 minutes.

That's it...What gives?? Any ideas??

[CarlaB]

Did a little looking around, and I don't know if it is a typo or not. But in other recipes I see, they call for ~1.25 c. of cake flour. I am assuming that your recipe calls for flour and cornstarch to approximate the cake flour texture. But you total flour/cornstarch is only a half cup. Seems awfully shy to me.

See? Twas a bum recipe. :D

[katmg]

Aww Carla - you're the bestest! :D

Darn Gourmet Cookbook...

[KarenS]

Yeah, that was the first thing that stuck out to me. Not enough flour to balance out the amount of butter and eggs ... and an awful lot of cornstarch for that little flour.

Karen

[CarlaB]

Which Gourmet cookbook is it?? You should go to their website and let them know. I'd be ticked.