Basic French dessert: Gâteau de Savoie recipe

This fluffy cake is a basic recipe from the French dessert. This really old recipe is part of the travel cakes category, which means that it could be preserved for quite a long time at room temperature. 

Simple and delightful, the Gâteau de Savoie could be served alone or with some fruits, a vanilla custard, a chocolate mousse. A lot of possibility for this delicious recipe. 

Servings

One cake

Prep time:

10min

Cook time:

30min

Resting time:

0min

Introduction

About this Recipe

This dessert was created during the 14th century in the city of Chambéry in the Savoie region.

At this time, the sovereign asked his chef to bake a cake light as a feather to seduce the Luxembourg sovereign who was guested at his court.

So, the chef invented for this event the Gâteau de Savoie composed of eggs, sugar, and flour.

He whisked really carefully the egg yolks and the sugar to light the mix and then, decided to whisk as well the egg whites before combined everything. 

The result is this delicious cake, incredibly light. 

 

 

Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (80g) of granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (60g) of all-purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp (20g) of cornflour
  • 4 eggs
  • Some butter and sugar to line your cake pan 

I propose to you the basic recipe here with no specific flavor as it was invented. Now, some bakers go for some additional flavors as some lemon zest, vanilla extract or orange blossom water.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

First, preheat your oven at 170°C (338°F). Then, grease your baking pan with some butter and add on the top a layer of sugar. 

Place aside your baking pan (in the fridge if needed to avoid your butter to melt). 

Step 2

Start by separating your egg whites and egg yolks. 

Whisk your egg whites until they form a peak. When they start to form a foam, add 20g of the sugar to make them firm.

Step 3

Whisk separately the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar. We want to incorporate air inside and whisk until the mix becomes whiter.

Step 4

Then, incorporate carefully with a spatula half of your egg whites in your egg yolks.

Add your flour and mix as well with your spatula. 

Finally, add the second part of your egg whites and the cornflour and mix until everything is well combine. 

We don’t want to break our mix and keep as much air as possible in the mix to obtain a really fluffy result.

Step 5

Pour now your cake mix in your baking pan. Place your cake in the oven preheated for 30min.

Check the cooking thanks to a knife to be sure that the inside is well cooked.

Step 6

Once your cake is well cooked, take it off from the oven and let it cool completely. 

Take it off from the pan and taste!

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