Joconde is a light and airy sponge cake recipe that is easy to make and so versatile.
Joconde is a great cake to use for the latest trend, alphabet cakes. You can't just use any type of cake because it will dry out. You can leave joconde out in the open air and it won't dry out which is perfect for alphabet cakes.
Alphabet cakes are the cake version of the cream tart which is tart dough shaped into letters or shapes, filled with diplomat or pastry cream (sometimes buttercream) and decorated with fresh fruits, flowers or candies.
What is Joconde Biscuit?
photo: meilleurduchef
Biscuit Joconde is a light almond sponge cake, which is known as La Joconde in French, it is named after the Mona Lisa. I made joconde a lot in pastry school. We used it to make opera cakes, sponge cakes and little desserts filled with mousse or buttercream.
Joconde Desserts
Because joconde is so versatile, you can also make some elaborate stenciled designs using Joconde. To color joconde, take out ⅓ of the cake batter and add some cocoa powder to it or some food coloring. You can stencil this color onto the parchment paper or silpat. Then bake that for 5 minutes just to set it. Add the rest of your batter on top of the stencil and bake for 8 minutes until the edges just start to brown.
You can make some really cute desserts with stenciled joconde. Cut off the browned edges of your cake and then cut your joconde into thin strips. Line the inside of a large cookie cutter with the strip. Then cut another circle out of the striped sponge with a round cookie cutter to fill the bottom of the cutter. Then you'll want to fill the center with some mousse and refrigerate until set. Topping the simple dessert with a chocolate butterfly makes this dessert seem a lot more complicated than it is!
Another fun design was making chocolate joconde and cutting out some circles with a cookie cutter. Use a slightly smaller cutter to remove the center and insert the same sized circle of the striped joconde. You can then put a little piped buttercream in the center and you have a nice little treat! Great for a baby shower. Almost looks like zebra print to me.
Joconde Cake
Using joconde to make a cake is not a new thing but the way cake decorators have been using it is forever changing. Other than little pastries and opera cake, I only knew of using joconde for cake from Robin M Cakes. Robin makes really cook cake designs using joconde. She stencils, tapes and uses a variety of other techniques to create her amazing cake designs. You can learn more about how to make these amazing cake designs from her online cake tutorials.
photo: Robin M Cakes
Alphabet Cake Made With Joconde?
A lot of people ask me what is the best cake to use to make an alphabet cake. You might be tempted to just use the regular cake that you would use for stacked cakes but wait! The problem with that is those cakes dry out super fast! Alphabet cakes have raw edges (not frosted) so it's important that you use a cake that is up for the job.
The great thing about joconde is that it's literally made to be exposed to the air. How in the world did the French discover this technique? I have no idea but it's genius. If you follow this technique, you'll have a great moist sponge for a ton of different desserts.
I decided to break out my old pastry school cookbook and make a joconde cake for a gender reveal alphabet cake. This cake probably feeds about 10 so if you want your cake to feed more, you might have to use bigger templates. Someone told me that she buys giant wooden letters from the craft store for her templates and I thought that was kind of genius.
You could also use the big cardboard letters from the craft section.
To make your alphabet cake using Joconde, you'll want to bake your cakes ahead. I bake my cakes 24 hours in advance so that they have plenty of time to chill and for the sugar to dissolve into the cake. When you first handle the cake, it can be a little delicate so if you put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes it's a bit easier to handle and less prone to cracking.
First print out your letters and cut them out. I try to use a font that is pretty thick like helvetica bold. If you need the letter to be really big, try using league gothic which is pretty thick but more narrow so you can print the letter out on two pieces of paper, tape them together to form one large letter. If you need a huge letter you'll need to bake two cakes.
For the colored surprise center, I colored some easy buttercream blue using gel food coloring. I like electric blue food coloring from Americolor because it's a really pretty pastel. Other blues look a little green or purple when it's really light which is no bueno for a gender reveal cake. I piped a thick line down the center of the letter with a piping tip that is about an inch thick. I then piped white buttercream all around the blue in big dollops so that when you put the top layer of cake on you can't see the colored buttercream.
The top of the cake is decorated with more dollops of buttercream, french macarons, fresh berries, meringues, candies and fresh berries. The best part is you can decorate with whatever you want as long as the colors meld with the them you're going for. When you cut inside you can see the gender revealed! You can see this full mess of an alphabet cake demo on my facebook page LIVE
I totally love this cake because it's so cute and easy! I vow to make this as my own gender reveal (or ask my friend to make me one) if I ever get pregnant again! Plus it just looks SO yummy!
If you love this cake you may want to check out the cream tart tutorial which has been named the trendiest new cake design of 2018
If you've made a trendy cream tart or alphabet cake, be sure to post your pics to the comments so I can see them!
How to make joconde without almonds?
Some people have been asking me about what you can use in place of almonds in this recipe. I have heard that you can use ground sunflower seeds although I have not tested this substitution. You can read more about what to use to replace almond flour in recipes here.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 oz almond flour
- 6 oz powdered sugar
- 2 oz cake flour
- 5 large eggs
- 6 whole egg whites
- 1 oz sugar
- 2 ½ oz melted butter
Instructions
- First you need to preheat your oven to 425ºF/230ºC.
- Sift together your almond flour, first measurement of sugar and flour so you don't have any lumps.
- Then you should blend in the 5 whole eggs into the flour until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks and slowly add in the second measurement of sugar. Continue whipping to firm moist peaks. If they start crumbling you have over-whipped your egg whites and there isn't any way to save them.
- Then fold your meringue into mixture until just combined. Make sure you don't over mix it or get too rough and break down all the air you built up in your batter or you'll have a very flat cake.
- Slowly whisk in the melted butter.
- Finally, spread the mixture onto your prepared silicone mat or parchment paper in a jelly roll or shallow sheet pan (13"x18)" and bake for 8 minutes. Make sure you don't over bake your cake.
- Once your cake is cooled, sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar over the surface of the cake and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight in the fridge. The sugar will dissolve into the cake as a result, the cake will stay moist even if it's exposed to air. Cool huh!
- Tip for chocolate version: or a chocolate You will need to replace 35 grams of flour with 25 grams flour + 15 grams cocoa powder.
Nutrition
Natalie says
Do you happen to have a recipe for the icing that you used for the gender reveal cake
The Sugar Geek Show says
That is my easy buttercream recipe 🙂
Danielle Alvarez says
I really love this recipe, it’s so easy and never fails! I was wondering if you’ve tried a chocolate version of this. Would I keep everything the same and just add chocolate cocoa?
Thanks for all your helpful videos and recipes. They are always so good!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I haven't but I will work on one!
Dieselle says
Love all of your recipes. I am hoping you have a recipe for Chocolate Jaconde to share with us, pretty please with a cherry on top! 😀
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sorry I don't have one <3 but I can work on one!
Dana Bertagna says
Can you use a number/letter pan to avoid cutting it out? Or does this need to be on parchment paper?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It needs to be on parchment or it could stick because it's a sponge cake
Niloufer says
Hi dear ... thank you so much for sharing ! You used to have a recipe for icing on your cream tart which incorporates pudding mix ... would you mind sharing a link as I cannot find it ! My second question is can I use egg whites out of a box for this ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Here you go, its with my cream tart recipe. https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/cream-tart-tutorial/
Elle says
Did you do this by hand or in a stand mixer?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I use a stand mixer but doing it by hand is always ok
Shel says
Hi there I wanted to know is cake flour, plain flour or self raising flour? As in the UK we get both
The Sugar Geek Show says
Cake flour is like pastry flour. Not self rising flour
Iara says
OMG. I’ve found this recipe by chance and I’m absolutely in love with the way it turned out! It’s SO moist and yum ❤️ I’ll definitely stick around, you’ve just made a new follower from Argentina ??
Layne Ostro says
Looks divine! I want to make a Yule log with this recipe using chocolate. Any tips? Oh, and I live in Portugal where the flours are classified differently. Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Once you flip it out of the pan you have to put a tea towel over the top and then roll it into a log while it cools to prevent cracking. Once cool unroll carefully then fill with chocolate buttercream and re-roll. not sure about your flours since I am not from portugal
Charlotte says
Hi there, what are the dimensions of the sheet pan that you use?? Thanks x
The Sugar Geek Show says
It's a 1/4 sheet pan which measures 13"x9"
april says
Can I make this in a deeper pan, as I have a pan shaped like the letter already and was just planning on cutting the cake in half?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I dont know for sure, i've only made this on parchment paper, it might stick inside a shaped pan
Karol says
In the change to make a chocolate one, you state to replace 35 grams of flour with 10 grams of cocoa & 25 grams of flour. In your recipe you list the flour (both almond & cake flour) in ounces. Do you have a recipe listing ingredients by weight (grams)? Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I changed it to ounces due to so many people complaining about the grams lol. If you need grams you can convert the oz to grams with an online converter.
A Ferrer says
Can the almond flour be substituted with something else, for allergy concerns?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I have heard that you can use ground sunflower seeds although I have not tested this substitution. You can read more about what to use to replace almond flour in recipes here. https://tastessence.com/what-can-you-substitute-for-almond-flour
Jessica says
Can you provide a link for you alphabet sheet you use to cut the cake out with
The Sugar Geek Show says
I just typed out a letter and enlarged the font to fit my paper. You can also use letters from the craft store
melissa says
Hi Hi!
a few questions...
do you de-pan the cake to cool or cool in pan so that it can get wrapped in plastic for refrigeration?
or do you de-pan it to a board, sprinkle it, wrap it on a board and refrigerate it?
I get that you cut it after its cooled, I have 2 pans and want to make 3 or 4 layers since they are thin....
how long can it sit in fridge before decorating?
can it sit in fridge after decorating?
thanks, and I love following you on IG!
good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
Melissa
The Sugar Geek Show says
Take it out of the pan, it will be stuck to the parchment paper. Then sprinkle with the sugar and cover with plastic and put it in the fridge. I put mine on a board but you could put it back in a cooled pan. They can be in the fridge for two days before they start to dry out. I recommend freezing to handle the cakes easier so they don't crack/break
Barbara Berthiaume says
Hi, I plan to make a cream tart cake with 2 layers, with the number being approximately 10" high. In the picture you posted with the stencil letter "B", the letter itself looks to be on the large side judging by your hands (not implying your you have big hands though!!!) and your pan looks much larger than a 13X9, which you indicate in the recipe. My question is this, to make a double layer, did you need to bake 2 batches? How thick should the layers be? I realize it depends on the size of the letter or number, but I could use your advice on this. thank you for this great post, seriously gorgeous cake!
Barbie
The Sugar Geek Show says
I can see how that seemed confusing, I updated it to reflect at 13"x18" sheet pan (jelly roll pan)
Marcia says
Thank you for this. Anticipated and answered all my questions. Lots of helpful tips too.
Kelly says
The recipe says it feeds about 10 people, but in the actual recipe box it shows 50 servings. Would I adjust it to 10 servings if I want to make it the same size as you did?
The Sugar Geek Show says
The cream tart is cut from the full sized cake so if you're just making the joconde and serving it up flat without shaping it would serve 50.
Mona says
Hello, so I have a question as I’m making this right now, you said sift almond flour, sugar and flour, so is it the 6 oz or 1 oz of sugar?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I'm referring to the first measurement of sugar. I will update the recipe to make it more clear
Teronia Wilson says
Hi! This recipe is exactly what i’m looking for so thank you!. Can the cakes be made ahead and frozen like normal cake? I’m DIYing my gender reveal and need to work 1-2 weeks ahead to get everything done.
Catherine says
Hi! I was curious if it is possible to use pasteurized liquid egg whites instead of separating actual egg whites?
Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Unfortunately no because pasteurized egg whites don't whip up 🙁 I wish I could use them too!
Mari Austria says
Thank you so much! This recipe saved me doing my entremet at school when my 2 recipes from book failed me. LOve how it turned out!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yay! That makes me so happy!
Amanda T says
Hi I'm not sure where I went wrong but there were actual scrambled bits of egg in my cake.... any advice?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hey there, when you are heating the egg over the water, you have to whisk continuously to avoid cooking egg at the bottom. Also make sure that the bowl is not touching the water
Brent says
Hi! I was wondering if you can add other ingredients into the batter. Like Oreos?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I havent tried that but I don't see why you couldnt 🙂
Nawaal says
Okay I think I'm missing something here. Which eggs are being whisked over a bowl of warm water?
The Sugar Geek Show says
There aren't any eggs whipped over warm water.