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Sigourney Start's avatar

Hello Sophie,

I hope that you are having/had an amazing time in America.

I am thinking of making this cake for my wedding next weekend and will need to feed around 30 people. A few questions...

Do you think doubling this will be enough?

Is genoise sponge quite a sturdy sponge so would be able to hold up a few layers?

If making more of the mixture is that easily done or will it struggle with keeping the egg whites fluffy etc? should I do it separately?

Thanks so much! x

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Sophie Bamford's avatar

Hi! For 30 I think 2x should be enough but it is quite light so if you want a big slab 3x might be better.

I’d say this should be sturdy enough to make a 3-4 layer cake as long as your fillings aren’t really heavy. If I was doing 3x I’d probably use bigger tins or sheet trays.

You can definitely do 2x this recipe, I think in some of the GIFs I was actually making a double batch, I actually think it works better in a slightly larger batch as the whisk can reach more of the eggs so they get a bit fluffier.

Let me know how it goes!

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Sigourney Start's avatar

Okay perfect, thanks for getting back to me. I will give it a try

and let you know! x

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Azza sharaby's avatar

Hi Sophie.. Thank you for sharing your experience..love all your recipe and posts, I've been learning from you a lot,,wish you all the best 💕..

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Sophie Bamford's avatar

Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that

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Justine Kajtar's avatar

This looks amazing Sophie. I just made something similar with a low protein whole-wheat flour but I just couldn’t get past the coarse texture of the whole-wheat, and honestly when you use a soak and fill with cream and berries you’re probably not benefitting that much from the flavour of the wheat flour. I love the idea of this white chocolate cream too. Will definitely be making this asap.

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Sophie Bamford's avatar

I’ve been meaning to experiment with different flours! It’s a shame it didn’t work out with the whole wheat, I’ve got some spelt that I’ve been meaning to experiment with but I’m too scared to try it in a cake, think I’ll start off with something easy like shortbread!

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Justine Kajtar's avatar

It’s definitely a flavour-changer when using wholemeal. Sometimes it just needs some tweaking. Shortbread is a perfect application for a wholemeal flour.

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Glenda's avatar

Hi Sophie! Thanks so much for the recipe and the post! I’m excited to try.

Question - if crème fraîche isn’t available, could one substitute sour cream? Thanks!

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Sophie Bamford's avatar

Hi! I’d sub for 50% sour cream, 50% mascarpone or cream cheese just to stop it from getting too tangy!

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Parisa Soraya's avatar

Wonderful deep dive! I’m going to try swapping oil in my génoise - I agree, the butter adds so much hassle that may not be worth it!

I’ve also never tried heating my eggs…interesting! Will report back. Thank you!

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Sophie Bamford's avatar

Yes, I can't be bothered with the butter at all and I actually prefer the texture with oil.

It's really interesting because I know loads of people that get on fine without heating the eggs but I definitely prefer to heat mine, just do whatever works for you!

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Aki moroto's avatar

This looks and sounds incredible. You had me at white chocolate-creme fraiche cream!!

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Harrison's avatar

Love this! Reminds me of the lemon almond Birthday Cake I celebrate with every year.

check it out:

https://thesecretingredient.substack.com/p/turning-24-my-lemon-almond-birthday

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