Biscuit Whisked Cakes

Biscuit whisked cakes, in which egg yolks and whites are whisked separately, closely resemble génoise, but have a slightly drier, firmer texture. Common examples are jelly rolls and ladyfingers. The batter is more robust than that of génoise, but it should nonetheless be baked at once.

For biscuit whisked cakes, the eggs are separated. The yolks are beaten with sugar until thick and light, while the egg whites are whisked separately, then beaten with a little sugar to make a light meringue. The meringue is then folded into the egg yolk mixture in three batches with the flour, and possibly a final addition of butter. In one variation, the egg yolks are folded straight into the meringue without being beaten with sugar, but the resulting batter is very similar.