Image is for illustrative purposes only.
Joconde is the thin, flexible almond sponge used all through classical pastry work, and this is the chocolate version of it. Ground almonds and whole eggs are whipped to a ribbon, a little melted butter and dark couverture are folded in for richness, and a light meringue keeps the sheet soft enough to bend without cracking.
Baked in a thin sheet, it comes out moist, fine-grained and deeply chocolatey without being heavy. Use it for lining the sides of entremets and mousse cakes, for rolling, for cutting into discs and strips for layered desserts, or simply as a thin sponge base under a chocolate or coffee mousse where a tall, dry sponge would be too much.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 902
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: 40 x 30 cm sheet tray, thin sheet about 1 cm high
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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250 |
5 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature |
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B
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175 |
6.2 ounces
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Almond Meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made both with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal than wheat flour.
It is used in pastry and confectionery – in the manufacture of almond macarons and other sweet pastries, in cake and pie filling, such as Sachertorte and is one of the two main ingredients of marzipan and almond paste. In France, almond meal is an important ingredient in frangipane, the filling of traditional galette des Rois cake.
Almond meal has recently become important in baking items for those on low carbohydrate diets. It adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. Items baked with almond meal tend to be calorie-dense.
finely ground
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sifted |
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C
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100 |
3.5 ounces
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Icing Sugar Mixture
Icing sugar mixture, also known as confectioners' sugar or powdered sugar, is pulverised granulated sugar crushed together with a small amount (about three percent) of cornflour. This icing sugar is great to use when making icing for kids' birthday cakes or dusting sweet treats.
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sifted |
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D
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40 |
1.4 ounces
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Cake Flour
Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product.
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sifted |
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E
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20 |
0.7 ounce
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Cocoa Powder
Cocoa Powder (cocoa solids) is a mixture of many substances remaining after cocoa butter is extracted from cacao beans. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa, and cacao. In contrast, the fatty component of chocolate is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is 50% to 57% of the weight of cocoa beans and gives chocolate its characteristic melting properties.
Cocoa solids are one of the richest sources of flavanol antioxidants. They are a key ingredient of chocolate, chocolate syrup, and chocolate confections.
unsweetened
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sifted |
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F
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40 |
1.4 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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melted |
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G
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20 |
0.7 ounce
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Dark Chocolate (Couverture)
Couverture chocolate is a very high-quality chocolate that contains extra cocoa butter (32–39%). The higher percentage of cocoa butter, combined with proper tempering, gives the chocolate more sheen, firmer "snap" when broken, and a creamy mellow flavor.
bitter, cooking grade
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melted |
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H
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165 |
5.5 Egg Whites
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Egg White
Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks. The primary natural purpose of egg white is to protect the yolk and provide additional nutrition for the growth of the embryo (when fertilized). Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which is dissolved 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins). Unlike the yolk, which is high in lipids (fats), egg white contains almost no fat, and carbohydrate content is less than 1%. Egg whites contain just over 50% of the protein in the egg. Egg white has many uses in food (e.g. mousse) and also many other uses (e.g. in the preparation of vaccines such as those for influenza).
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room temperature |
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I
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90 |
3.2 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
caster
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J
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2 |
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Cream of Tartar
Cream of tartar, also known as potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate, is a byproduct of winemaking. It is known as cream of tartar in context with cooking. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid (a carboxylic acid).
In food, cream of tartar is used for:
- Stabilizing egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume
- Stabilizing whipped cream, maintaining its texture and volume
- Anti-caking and thickening
- Preventing sugar syrups from crystallizing
- Reducing discoloration of boiled vegetables
Additionally it is used as a component of:
- Baking powder, as an acid ingredient to activate baking soda
- Sodium-free salt substitutes, in combination with potassium chloride
A similar acid salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, can be confused with cream of tartar because of their common function as a component of baking powder.
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902
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 210°C (410°F) and line a 40 x 30 cm sheet tray with baking paper. |
Oven fully up to temperature before the batter is mixed |
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2 |
Melt |
Melt F and G (butter and dark couverture chocolate) together over a water bath or in short bursts in the microwave, and keep the mixture warm. |
Smooth and liquid, around 40°C, not hot |
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3 |
Whip |
Whip A, B and C (whole eggs, almond meal and icing sugar) on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes. |
Pale, thick and at ribbon stage, roughly tripled in volume |
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4 |
Whip |
In a clean bowl, whip H and J (egg whites and cream of tartar) until frothy, then add I (caster sugar) in a steady stream and continue whipping. |
Soft, glossy peaks that just hold their shape, not dry |
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5 |
Fold |
Fold about a third of the meringue into the whipped egg and almond mixture to loosen it, then fold in the rest in two additions. |
Light and airy, no streaks of meringue left |
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6 |
Fold |
Sift D and E (cake flour and cocoa powder) over the batter and fold through gently with a spatula. |
Just combined, no dry pockets, volume kept |
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7 |
Fold |
Take a cup of the batter, stir it into the warm melted F and G (butter and chocolate), then fold this back into the main batter. |
Evenly coloured, chocolate fully dispersed and no streaks sitting on the bottom |
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8 |
Spread |
Pour the batter onto the lined tray and spread it out with a palette knife to an even thin layer, right into the corners. |
Even thickness of about 7 to 8 mm across the whole tray |
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9 |
Bake |
Bake at 210°C (410°F) for 7 to 9 minutes. |
Springs back when pressed lightly and the surface is just dry to the touch; do not overbake or it will crack when rolled |
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10 |
Cool |
Slide the sheet with its paper off the hot tray onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before peeling the paper away. |
Soft and flexible, still slightly moist |
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11 |
Store |
Cut to the shapes you need, or wrap the whole sheet in plastic film and keep it flat. |
Stays soft for 2 days at room temperature, or freeze wrapped for up to a month |
Important Notes
This batch makes about 900 g of batter, enough for one 40 x 30 cm sheet tray of thin joconde, which is plenty to line the sides of a 24 cm mousse cake and still leave discs for the base. The recipe doubles and quadruples cleanly if you want more than one sheet. Spread the batter thinly and evenly: a thick patch will bake dry at the edges before the middle is set. Bake it hot and fast so the sheet stays flexible; if it cracks when you bend it, it has been in the oven too long. Keep the sheet on its baking paper until you are ready to use it, as the paper protects the surface and makes it easy to lift and cut.
Tools & Arrangements
Electric mixer with whisk attachment, a second clean mixing bowl, sieve, rubber spatula, small bowl for melting chocolate (or microwave), 40 x 30 cm flat sheet tray, baking paper, large palette knife or offset spatula, cooling rack, digital scales.
