Blackberry Genoisse Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 125g caster sugar
• 70g Doves Farm Freee plain flour
• 22g cornflour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp hot water

Filling

• 300ml whipping or double cream (a2 cream for jersey or guernsey cows is better tolerated than regular a1 cream)
• 200g blackberries
• 200g blackberry jam or compote* (Follian ‘nothing but fruit’ brand is wonderful and low sugar)
• If making blackberry compote - ~300g blackberries, 20 - 50g sugar (or replacement such as monkfruit 1:1 replacement)

Method

1. Prepare the tins

- Grease and line 2 x 7-inch cake tins.

- Heat the oven to 170°C fan / 190°C conventional.

2. Mix the dry ingredients

- In a small bowl, whisk together:

- Doves Farm Freee plain flour

- cornflour

- baking powder

- salt

- Set aside.

3. Whisk the egg whites

- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.

- Gradually add about half the sugar, whisking until the whites reach soft-medium peaks. They should look thick and glossy, but not dry.

4. Whisk the yolks

- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until very pale, thick and fluffy.

- Whisk in the vanilla and hot water.

5. Fold together

- Fold the whipped egg whites gently into the yolk mixture in 2–3 additions.

- Sift the dry ingredients over the mixture and fold in carefully until no dry patches remain. Do not overmix.

6. Bake

- Divide the batter evenly between the tins and smooth the tops gently.

- Bake for about 18–22 minutes, or until:

- the tops are lightly golden

- the sponge springs back when touched

- a skewer comes out clean

7. Compote

- Add the blackberries, sugar (or replacement)and lemon juice to a pan. Bring to the boil then simmer, uncovered until mushy and reduced. Stir regularily

- Cool before using

8. Cool

- Leave in the tins for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the lining, and cool completely.

- To assemble

- Spread one sponge with blackberry jam.

- Top with a layer of softly whipped cream.

- Place the second sponge on top.

- You can leave it plain or dust lightly with icing sugar before serving.

Notes

• This sponge is best assembled on the day for the freshest texture.
• Add a little lemon zest to the batter if you want to lift the blackberry flavour.
• Handle the sponge gently when slicing and filling, as it is light and delicate.

How this works (the science)

A genoise is the lightest of all sponges because it relies almost entirely on whisked-egg air for lift — there's barely any butter or chemical leavener to lean on. That makes it perfect for low-sugar, low-fat, gluten-free baking, but every ingredient here is doing precise structural work.

• Gluten replaced by Doves Farm Freee plain flour + cornflour. Wheat gives sponges their elastic structure (gluten strands trap air bubbles). The GF blend has no gluten, so cornflour (22g) is added to lighten the protein content further — it deliberately weakens the structure so the cake doesn't dry into a brick. The blend behaves more like a soft cake flour than a bread flour.
• Sugar split between yolks and whites is the engineering trick. Sugar isn't just sweetness — it stabilises egg foam (binds water in the protein matrix) and tenderises the crumb. Splitting 125g across yolks and whites means each foam gets enough sugar to hold air, even at the reduced total.
• Cream of tartar (¼ tsp) stabilises the whites at the lower sugar level. The acid lowers the pH, helping proteins denature into a more stable, glossy foam. Without it, the lower-sugar whites would collapse during folding.
• Hot water (1 tbsp) into the yolks thins the yolk mixture so it folds into the whites without deflating them. Also activates the cornflour starch slightly, helping it bind moisture.
• Tiny baking powder (¾ tsp) is insurance — gives a small chemical lift to compensate for any air lost during folding, and for the missing gluten.
• No added fat in the sponge keeps it ultralight. All fat comes from the cream filling, so you can control sweetness and richness portion by portion.
• A2 cream (Jersey/Guernsey) is genuinely better tolerated by people with dairy sensitivity — different beta-casein protein structure that's less inflammatory for many.
• Compote with monkfruit 1:1 swap keeps fruit sweetness without sugar. Monkfruit doesn't bake well in sponges (no structural role) but works perfectly in a stovetop reduction where the fruit's pectin does the thickening.

Variations

Raspberries and raspberry jam or compote would also work well in this recipe