This recipe was shared on several occasions on social media, as I was asked about it several times. A genoise is a basic, classic sponge cake, that looks simple and innocent, however very easy to mess up, especially if one does not follow instructions carefully.

An airy sponge cake, light and delicious, is the basis of all of my layer cakes. I would like to highlight some points regarding the genoise:

1. A genoise barely contains any fat, which makes its taste significantly less rich, unlike butter cakes, and it also tends to dry out quite quickly if exposed to air for too long. The cake layer must always be soaked with some kind of syrup. It can be a simple sugar syrup, hot chocolate, coulis, etc.
   The syrup is what highlights the overall flavors of the cake and adds moisture.

In my recipes I do not indicate the use of syrup, mostly because the sweetness level or particular flavor are a matter of personal taste and preference, which varies greatly among different people. You are free to prepare any kind of syrup you prefer, just be sure to use it. Please note that although there are no references to sugar syrup in my recipes, keep in mind it is an integral part of the cake.

2. The main reason I chose genoise as the base of my layer cakes is since it is very simple, ingredients wise: eggs, flour, sugar, vanilla, butter and milk. The basic recipe can be changed very easily, in order to make cakes of different flavors and it would always turn out great. I have also mentioned on several occasions, that if you have your own perfect, go-to, sponge cake recipe, that you are following for many years, which yields a very light and airy cake (super important!), it is sometimes worth considering using what you are familiar with.
3. My recipe is adjusted to a round cake pan, sized 15cm (diameter) and 7.5cm tall. The resulting cake is quite tall and can be sliced to layers as indicated by each recipe:
   * 5 layers, 1cm thickness each.
   * 3 layers, 1.5cm thickness each + one layer, 1cm thickness.
4. Cake leftovers- almost every time I am making a genoise, I find myself with some cake leftovers. Whether it is a single cake layer, or the domed part of the cake. Personally, I never throw anything away to the garbage because it’s a complete waste. The leftovers can be stored inside a ziplock bag (make sure you take out all the air) or an airtight container, and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. I am using cake crumbs to make truffles, cake pops and yeasted dough cake fillings. Some bakers are using leftover sponge cakes as cake decoration (microsponge cakes).
5. The genoise recipe brought here, is used to make cakes with an average diameter of about 16cm, and an average height of 10-12cm. It may sound like a small cake, but you might be surprised to learn it can serve between 8-10 people (!).