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Message: [QUOTE="Norcalbaker59, post: 44782, member: 2340"] It’s not just about the taste and texture but it’s as much about the structure of what you’re making. You select the cake based on what you need for performance wise. Savoie (also Savoy) is a light and airy cake, but compared to the cuillere batter is is sturdier. It is normally baked in a decorative mold. And really fine ingredients should be used. Pierre Herme’s uses 3 vanilla beans in his 8” savoy! Then a soaking syrup added after baking. this is a cake you can bake ahead of time and not worry about. You can bake it in a decorative mold and it looks like you put a lot of effort into it without putting a lot of effort into it. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on it just before serving, put it on a lovely platter, scatter some lovely fresh fruit around the base and you have a beautiful dessert. The French and the Americans have two different ideas about what is a sponge and what is a biscuit. The French very much dislike sponge cake. They do not consider the savoy a sponge. And dislike the term biscuit de Savoie that Americans slapped on the cake. Joconde (also spelled jaconde) is made with a 1:1 blend of nut flour (normally almonds, but other nuts are used) and confectioner’s sugar (tant pour tant). The mix of nut flour and confectioner’s sugar makes for a sturdier and denser cake. It soaks up a good amount of soaking syrup due to the nut flour and confectioner’s sugar. Some cakes like the opera cake is are heavily soaked in flavored syrups. The thick batter makes it easy to manipulate into exact form. Frequently a form is used to ensure a uniform size and low height. The thin layers are used for roulades, entremets, and of course the Opera Cake. Despite the thin layers, this cake will hold up to rolling; the weight of layers of mousse and glazes; and soaking syrups. Cuillère is the lightest of the batters. I’ve only made it once, in Italy to make ladyfingers for a tiramisu. Very light and delicate, these have to be used shortly after baking. this butter is not going to support a bunch of layers of heavy mousse and glaze. When the ladyfingers are dipped in the espresso in the making of the tiramisu, you have to pull these out within a nanosecond otherwise the espresso will cause them to deteriorate. I lost more than one in my dipping cup. But this light airy batter is easily piped so you can make nice decorative shapes out of it. Biscuit viennois and joconde (also spelled jaconde) are the same. [/QUOTE]

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