Anne

Based on area of 6" round = 56% of 8" round, I halved the recipe for a 6" cake. Out of parchment so used foil instead... Used salted butter, skipped the salt and the vanilla. [][] It did rise to the proverbial 1.5" from a 1" deep batter, and shrank very little... Folding was indeed the key!! And a Balloon Whisk made a huge difference from a rubber spatula !! [][] Slow motion also minimized deflation... I lost very little volume this time before baking... whereas I lost about 1/3 of the volume last time when I used only a spatula and normal folding speed. [][] Flouring the pan/foil after greasing... Need to really tap out the excess flour... Last time when I didn't fold lightly enough, and left excess flour... the oily part of the batter sank and mixed with the flour and gave me a leathery sheet at the bottom !! [][] The aroma was fantastic during baking and the top a lovely golden brown... and a light and tender crumb inside... Butter + egg tastes indeed pronounced, but that's part of its rich flavour... Can't imagine why people complain... [][] A word of caution, though : Because it's so rich, filling/frosting should be on the light side... [][] I filled it with a White Choc Raspberry Ganache and the pink looked great against the gold of the cake, but it was too sweet / rich together... Next time I will just serve the whole wedge with Raspberry Coulis and a dusting of icing sugar... The cake is delicious on it own !! [][] A good first Genoise recipe... Thanks, Kevin !!

Tastes really pretty good, but not the same kind of really fluffy spongy sponge cake that's leavened with egg white... Made it twice, and both time had bits of unmoistened flour in the end... maybe it's because I am beater with a fork instead of a beater ?... but I didn't have this problem with any other non-egg-white type cake... Also the batter wasn't a whole lot in terms of volume... so poured into an 6"x9" pan instead of the 9"x9" suggested... and the thickness of the finished product was only 1"-1.25"... I personally don't want a cake with the height of brownies... so would probably double the cake part of it to bake in an 8"x8" if I was entertaining... Made it once with 2 Tb of cocoa like someone suggested, plus 2 Tb of instant coffee granule... (without the topping)... the flavour turns out OK, but not spectacular... If I was looking for a mocha cake would probably go for a chiffon recipe instead... Anyway, the coconut topping is really my favorite... This is a very good old fashioned snacking cake... home-made style... not exactly elegant but definitely hearty and homey... Makes great comfort food to go with coffee when you're pulling an all-nighter... Will make again... if for nothing else, surely for the coconut topping !!

This is the recipe I stick with now for blueberry muffins... Great every time !! Have to double the recipe to make 12 muffins... most muffins tins are dozens and can't imagine going to buy an 8-tin or bothering with water in the empty holes... A lot of the reviews say it makes too much streusel toppings... Well, a) I like more of the yummy steusel rather than less, and b) doubling the recipes will of course make lots of left overs... which I freeze and use on other cakes... A good stand-by accessory to any cake... I didn't change a thing... except skip the salt... A matter of personal taste Also, on the point of adding vanilla... Using vanilla on things that goes through high heat is a waste of money, even if you use artificial vanilla... custards and frostings, yes, it helps, but not baked goods... But just like salt, adding vanilla has become a mindless habit which many automatically assume to contribute to a better product... while it actually does nothing... and unlike salt, you don't even end up with a difference in taste which some are accustomed to... This recipe is a tried-and-true all-round winner !! Will always use it... and recommend it !!

3 Modifications : 1) 1.5x the recipe (12 servings but used 2 eggs instead of 1.5)... and I got 12 muffins with good size tops... 2) Used white sugar because I thought the fruit-yogurt flavor was rather delicate for brown sugar... 3) After half-filling the muffin tins I placed a small bit of raspberry jam (about 1/2 teaspoon each) and then covered the jam with batter, making sure the sides of top batter touched the batter below so as to prevent the jam from leaking out to the muffin tin body... which will burn during baking... 350 degree oven for 30 minutes... Got the perfect muffin shape with high tops and shoulders... Very tender and fluffy inside... the white sugar gave it a soft white colour and I think it looks more delicate in addition to tasting so... The crust was golden and not too thick... The little jam "surprise" was good as the muffin was not too sweet... Some leaked throup the top... the colour contrast against the soft white inside was also very pretty... Overall, a great way to impart subtle flavour to muffins... as well as an easy way to make never-tough muffins... Will definitely make again... Highly recommended !!