Tuesday 19 June 2012

French Mango Cake : "TWD : Baking with Julia"

When it comes to recipes from the Julia Child baking bible, I follow the recipe to the last word. I am still a novice baker, finding my way around and haven't yet developed the confidence to play around with recipes. It's also my way of giving the true blue baking recipes a shot, something I would normally be tempted to give a miss considering all the fuss and emphasis on technique that usually accompany them. But then there are recipes like today's where adapting the recipe has been the only way!! But am getting a bit ahead of myself...


This week's recipe for our bake-together was the French Strawberry Cake. That's when I faced my first hurdle. Strawberries are long gone from the Indian market with January-March being strawberry season for us. So, I turned to the one fruit that takes over our fruit markets during the summer - the mango!! I figured its soft texture would make it a suitable substitution for strawberries and a good seasonal choice!!

"What's french about this cake??", you ask. Well, for the cake we turn to a 'perfect genoise' batter and as the book points out, "...the genoise is to a French baker what the sponge cake is to the American baker...". It's also, apparently, the first cake a French patissier learns to make!!


However, in practical terms, it also means this cake does not use any leavening agent like baking powder/soda to help it rise. It does that with the help of the eggs or rather, should I say, on how well you beat the eggs. For the baking technician, that would be beating the eggs till you get '10-second ribbons'...so, in case, you haven't figured it out, this cake is all about technique, technique and technique!! Should you get the technique wrong, be prepared for your cake to fall flat, literally!!!

So, I followed this part of the recipe to the last word and the results were good - the cake rose, did not sink and maintained its height even after cooling down. But, after this the script well all awry. The recipe demands three layers out of this cake i.e. each layer would be a centimetre high. With temperatures soaring and an absolute lack of confidence in my skills, I stuck to two.


And then the recipe asked that we fill the layers with the fruit and cream and then cover the cake on the top and its sides with more cream and if that wasn't enough, we also had to pipe cream rosettes for decoration. For someone who is not a big fan of cream, I read on in absolute horror!!

But, my problem was something even more fundamental. To cover the cake with cream, we need to whip it and for that we need double cream, something that is not easily available in India in the packaged form. All we get is packaged low-fat cream which just can not be whipped into submission. Many a home baker before me has tried and failed... and as for yours truly, I tried whipping the cream for close to an hour before finally throwing in the towel in utter exasperation and frustration!!



With no choice left, I simple decided to sandwich a layer of mango and cream between the two layers and then dust some icing sugar on top. The heat (the temperature that day was 41 deg C), the excessive emphasis on the technique of how the cake had to be made and then my run-in with the cream, I was more than happy to be just done with this recipe!!!

My verdict - for all the fuss that this recipe demands, the cake, I felt, did not live up to the hype!! It felt a tad dry and the mango with its syrup did not do much to help the situation. Maybe the berries would have been better. And while I did not use all the cream as specified, I am not sure I even missed it. I doubt that much cream would have been appreciated in this weather. Not that this cake was bad but I'd say I've had better!!!

Due to copyright considerations, only the person hosting the recipe for the group 'TWD:Baking with Julia' can post the recipe on their blog. The recipe for this French Cake will be available on the blogs of Sophia and Allison. Alternately, you can write to me at bakerindisguise@gmail.com and I will mail you the recipe.

55 comments:

  1. This looks excellent. What a great idea!

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    1. The idea of the mango was good.. but I felt a bit let down by the cake to be honest!! Honestly, by the end i just salvaged the cake in the best possible way I could!!

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  2. I also thought the cake was dry. The mango sounds like a great idea.

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    1. You know Judy when I re-read the introduction to the recipe, it does say that the French like this cake to be a tad dry so that they can soak it with different syrups and liqueurs!! well.. the dryness didnt work for me!!! Thank you for dropping by!! :)

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  4. Mangoes are awesome! I hope you can survive the heat!

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    1. The mangoes were awesome .. my experience with the cake was not!! :) and as i write this Sara, I can see a few dark clouds bringing in the monsoon .. finally!!! yay!

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    2. I didn't love the cake either :( I love rain though, but I've never experienced a monsoon. That sounds fabulous!

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  5. I didn't find it dry but I didn't really love it either!!!

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    1. You know mireia.. a lot of people loved their cake and did not find it dry.. i wonder if i did something wrong.. but the good thing is that it is used for a lot of other recipes in the book.. so am hoping this recipe redeems itself with them!!!

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  6. mango sounds so interesting, great idea!

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    1. It was a good idea Jen but I don't think I did justice to it!!

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  7. I love mangos, but here is now strawberry season and I can't have enough of them. Great looking cake, in Germany we have an extra meal for those cake with a good cup of coffee.

    Ulrike @Küchenlatein

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    1. The cake honestly was a salvage attempt... the best I could do with my limited resources!!! You made your cake look so beautiful..with those vibrant strawberries...if i had a choice..i'd stick to strawberries!!!

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  8. I love that you could adapt the recipe to fit your resources, nice perseverance! I agree, the cake was not that delicious. I thought about sneaking baking powder into the next one :)

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    1. hahaa.. oh i've thought of that one too..especially at that point when i had to keep beating till i got "10-second ribbons"!!! :))

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  9. Your cake is stunning! And I *love* the idea of using mango, yum!

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    1. Thanks Heather!! The mango was great.. especially now when the mango season is at its peak.. there are mangoes in all shapes, sizes, frgrances and tastes!!

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  10. A great way to make the recipe work for you! I think Dorie and Julia would approve! Probably Flo too:)

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    1. Og you think so Guyla?!?! :) well.. then thank you!!! but honestly i had no other choice!!! :)

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  11. What a great and creative mango twist!

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    1. Thank you!! :) But you know how grass is always greener on the other side.. have been looking on enviously at everyone's strawberries!!! :)

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  12. Fantastic idea to use mango! I agree the cake itself was a little dry but the berries and cream fixed that. Great job :)

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    1. Thanks Susan!! the only issue because the mango was quite a firm one.. its juices were not enough to moisten up the cake!! maybe I should have let it steep in the sugar for longer!!!

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    1. Sometimes.. the only option is the best option!!:)

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  14. I heart mangoes! I am sure that your cake has tasted yum with fresh tree ripened mangoes. Like you, I am not a fan of whipped cream :) I was thinking that this cake might be good with an ice cream layer in between the génoise and fruit layers.

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    1. ooooo..ice-cream.. now you're talking!! :) you are onto a great idea.. maybe when the temperatues dip a little.. cake, ice cream and mangoes..!!!!

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  15. Your version of the cake looks delicious..

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    1. It was alrigth ferda.. it looked better than it tasted honestly!! the cake was a bit of a letdown!!

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  16. Your cake looks stunning…so lovely with the mangoes and powdered sugar!

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    1. Thanks Kathy!! :) It was the best way I could salvage it!! :)

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  17. It looks beautiful with the mango; you really made this work despite your ingredient challenges. I wonder if a mango simple syrup would have moistened it up?

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    1. I agree Cher.. i thought of it after tasting a slice of the cake!! i didnt realise it would be a dry cake... maybe i'll keep it in mind if i make this cake ever again!!!

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  18. I love the tang of mangoes! I wonder what would happen if you poured a mango juice/sugar mixture over the top to let it soak into the cake. I love the idea of bringing the mango into the cake more. Nonetheless, your cake looks delectable!

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    1. You are absolutely right Marlise.. thats the way it should have been done.. but i assumed the cake was moist enough... and thought if i put a bit too much of syrup.. it might make it a bit mushy whoich would not have been nice!! anyhow.. lesson learnt!!! :)

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  19. My pastry instructor taught me to soak my cakes with a simple syrup. It truly does wonders! But I love the flavor combination here. Aren't mangos incredible? Thank you for sharing such a beautifully shot post!

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    1. I know Monet..its a lesson I've learnt.. that sugar syrup is important to moisten this cake!!! oohh.. mangoes are the best.. they have celebrity status here in India!! Thank you for stopping by!!! :)

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  20. French Mango Cake sounds just wonderful to me and it looks quite delicious! What great ideas with respect to ingredient substitutions you had, my compliments!

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    1. Thank you Andrea!! the idea was great .. my implementation fell short, unfortunately!!!

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  21. I had the heat working against me here in Montreal, as well... it's amazing what some heat and humidity will do to a delicate cake! Chalk it up to experience, I guess :)

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    1. Oh absolutely stephanie... some very important lessons learnt.. and gave a shot at the genoise!! :)

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  22. Your cake looks very elegant with a mango filling and only some powder sugar on the top. Nice choices.

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    1. Oh Thank you Emese!! :) honestly those were my only choices... so did the best I could with them!! :)

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  23. Adding mango was a great idea. The cake looks so pretty! :)

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    1. Thank you anuradha!!! :) Mango ws the only fruit that day in the market that I could work with... the stone fruits had not yet come in...

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  24. Your cake looks beautiful! I LOVE mangos! Great choice.

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  25. We made a similar cake for one of the daring bakers challenges and I too was not too impressed by it. I would take a butter cake over it any day
    That being said I love your pictures, I think the contast of the sugar dusted on the golden top was beautiful and hats off to you for baking at 41 degrees!

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    1. Thank you Sawsan!!! :) the dusted sugar was just my attempt to salvage the cake ...as you can imagine at 41 degrees and my attempt at beating the cream .. i was a bit low on patience!!! :) oh i would go for a butter cake any day... this cake had only 3 tablespoons of butter!!!

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  26. That looks delicious! I have lots of what I think are yummier cake recipes, but at least we tried it! I love the powdered sugar topping. And mango? Mmmmmm....

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    1. oh absolutely...i put this down to experience... after all a genoise is a classic recipe!!! and maybe its used in some other recipes in the book.. so we might have to give it a shot again.. and have a better experience!!

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  27. love your use of mangoes instead! thats one of my favorite fruits of all time! :) Love munching on a whole, ripe one! :) Your cake looks perfect for the high temperatures!

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    1. Oh we love our mangoes in India!! and i just couldnt imagine all that cream with those high temps!!! luckily the heat wave has abated!! :)

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  28. I am Asian and I love everything Mango... I just learned this past spring that India has the best mangoes on earth! I even ordered Kesar Mango Pulp in cans... If you would please email me your concoction of "mango cream" you put in this genoise cake, I would appreciate very much. Thank you, my email address is yourmyu@yahoo.com.

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