Let’s start with a bit of history…
The gâteau de Savoie was invented in 1358 in Chambéry, when Count Amédée V1 invited Charles IV of Luxemburg to dine. At this time La Savoie was not yet French.
Amédée asked his pastry chef Pierre de Yenne to create a cake “as light as a feather” that would please the emperor.
Pierre had the idea of beating the egg yolks and sugar for a very long time until they turned white and to make the mixture even lighter by folding in the beaten egg whites and the flour. At this time, it was more complicated than today to cook in a slow oven, so he poured the mixture into a wooden mould. As wood is a very bad conductor of heat it was possible to cook the cake more slowly which gave the mixture more time to acquire its lightness. The gâteau de Savoie was created!
Maison Bouvier’s Gâteau de Savoie
A cake for 6 people
Beat the yolks with 150 g of sugar until the mixture lightens. Stir in the flour, cornflower, lime zest and ginger.
Beat the egg whites with the rest of the sugar. Fold half of this mixture into the first mixture and add the rest bit by bit.
Grease and sugar the cake tins, pour in the mixture and bake for 20 minutes at 170 °C.
