Quick Summary: Gâteau de Savoie, also called biscuit de Savoie, is a classic French sponge cake with a delicate sugar crust and a light, airy crumb. This traditional, almost fat-free Savoy cake uses just a few simple ingredients and bakes in about an hour.
What is Gateau de Savoie?
Gateau de Savoie, or biscuit de Savoie, is a French sponge cake with simple ingredients like eggs, powdered sugar, flour, and potato starch. The cake originates from the beautiful region of Savoie in France. In English, it is known as Savoy cake, and it is sometimes called Savoyard biscuit or biscuit Savoie.
It was created in the 14th century by Pierre de Yenne, a chef of the Count of Savoy, Aosta, and Maurienne. With simple ingredients, this light sponge cake has stood the test of time.
Biscuit de Savoie is a unique cake that differs in texture and taste from the Italian sponge cake and Genoise cake. It is all about the specific amounts and order of incorporating the ingredients.
What is the difference between gâteau de Savoie and biscuit de Savoie?
There is no real difference: gâteau de Savoie and biscuit de Savoie are two names for the same classic French cake.
In traditional French baking, biscuit refers to a light sponge leavened only with whipped eggs, which is exactly what this cake is, so biscuit de Savoie is simply the more old-fashioned name. You may also see it called a Savoyard biscuit or, in English, Savoy cake.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy, quick, and inexpensive: it is made with a few basic ingredients.
- It uses your favorite bundt pan or a Kugelhopf cake mold. Make sure that the mold you use is made of metal.
- The cake is fat-free, except for a little butter used to grease the mold.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
- Eggs: The recipe calls for room-temperature egg whites and egg yolks, separated. Use an egg separator to separate the large eggs while chilled.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar or caster sugar interchangeably. Make icing sugar with a coffee grinder or purchase powdered sugar.
- Flour: The recipe calls for regular all-purpose flour.
- Potato starch lightens the flour, creating a tender cake texture.
- Lemon: Opt for an organic, untreated lemon to make fresh zest and lemon juice. To help, use a Microplane and a citrus juicer.
How to make Gateau de Savoie
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Use a pastry brush to grease the inside of a tube pan with softened butter.
Step 2: Sprinkle it with granulated sugar and rotate the mold so the sugar sticks to the butter on all surfaces. Refrigerate the mold until ready to use.
Pro tip: Thoroughly grease every part of your bundt cake pan, including the intricate patterns.
Step 3: To make the cake batter, sift the flour and potato starch mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Use an egg separator to separate the whites from the yolks.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1 cup (125 g) of icing sugar until whitish and doubled in size.
Step 5: Sift the dry ingredients over the egg yolk mixture, add the lemon zest, and gently mix with a rubber spatula.
Step 6: In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until mounted, and gradually add the remaining ⅓ cup (45 g) icing sugar and lemon juice. Beat the meringue until stiff and glossy.
Step 7: Add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites into the principal preparation and gently mix. Add the remaining meringue and carefully mix by lifting and turning the bowl in the same direction.
Pro tip: Egg whites must be whipped until the consistency of a bird's beak (bec d'oiseau in French).
Step 8: Pour the batter into the prepared mold, filling it to ⅔.
Step 9: Tap the mold on the work surface, and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 10: Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the mold for a few minutes. Unmold and let it cool to room temperature.
To serve, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar.
Expert Tips
- Make the baking time adjustments as needed. It may vary based on your oven and the quality of the mold.
- Never open the oven door during baking; otherwise, the cake will collapse.
Recipe variations
The traditional gateau de Savoie is made with lemon zest, but you are free to experiment.
- Flavorings: Replace lemon zest with another citrus zest (orange, lime, grapefruit) or add vanilla extract or orange blossom water to the batter.
- Fillings: Cut the cake into two or three layers and garnish with French pastry cream, jam, chocolate ganache, or Chantilly cream with fresh fruit.
How to serve it
Gateau de Savoie can be eaten plain or served with jam, honey, hazelnut praline paste, crème Anglaise, sugar-free whipped cream, and fresh fruits.
It is also perfect for breakfast, dipping it in your morning coffee or French hot chocolate.
Why does my gâteau de Savoie collapse?
Gâteau de Savoie is a fatless meringue-based sponge, so it is naturally fragile and can collapse for a few reasons.
The most common is opening the oven door too soon, letting in cool air, and deflating the cake as it rises. Keep the door shut until it is baked through.
Under-whipped egg whites are the next culprit: whip them to stiff, glossy peaks and fold them in gently so you do not knock out the air.
Finally, unmold the cake only after it has rested briefly, and cool it fully so the delicate crumb has time to set.
Storing & freezing
Store gateau de Savoie at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Can you freeze it? You can freeze the whole cake or cut it into individual slices. Wrap the cake or slices in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
How do you make gâteau de Savoie gluten-free?
Replace the all-purpose flour with an equal weight of starch, such as potato or corn starch. Because biscuit de Savoie already relies on whipped eggs rather than flour for its lift, it adapts well to a gluten-free version.
Which mold is best for biscuit de Savoie?
A tall, hollow tube pan or bundt mold is traditional. If you do not have one, a Kugelhopf, round cake, or loaf pan works too. Use a metal mold rather than silicone, since metal gives the best sugar crust.
Can you line the Savoy cake mold with a different sugar?
Yes. You can swap the granulated sugar coating for brown sugar if you prefer a slightly deeper flavor and color on the crust.
Why is it called biscuit de Savoie and not gâteau?
In classic French baking, biscuit refers to a sponge cake made only with beaten eggs, with no chemical leavening. Since this Savoyard biscuit is leavened solely by whipped egg whites, it is called biscuit de Savoie, though it is also commonly called gâteau de Savoie.
What is the difference between biscuit de Savoie and Genoise?
Both are whipped-egg sponges, but a Genoise is made by warming and whisking whole eggs together, while biscuit savoie whips the yolks and whites separately and adds potato starch. This gives gâteau de Savoie an even lighter, drier, more delicate crumb.
Can you make gâteau de Savoie ahead of time?
Yes. Store it at room temperature for 4 to 5 days, or freeze the whole cake or individual slices wrapped in plastic wrap and foil for up to 3 months. Its low-fat crumb keeps well and slices easily once chilled.
Love simple cake recipes? Try these next!
- Banana bread with streusel
- Apple sponge cake
- Quatre-quarts (French pound cake)
- French yogurt cake
- Or browse all the cake recipes
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PrintRecipe card
Gâteau de Savoie (Biscuit de Savoie / French Savoy Cake)
Gateau de Savoie or Biscuit de Savoie is a classic French cake with a delicate sugar crust and a soft, airy crumb. You will love its easy and simple recipe with just six ingredients, made in an hour.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For preparing the mold:
- 1 ½ tablespoons (20 g) softened unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
For the cake batter:
- 6 large eggs, separated (room temperature)
- 1 ⅓ cups (170 g) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 cup minus 4 teaspoons (115 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tablespoons (25 g) potato starch
- ½ lemon, zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For decoration:
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Use a pastry brush to grease the inside of a tube pan with softened butter. Sprinkle it with granulated sugar and rotate the mold so the sugar sticks to the butter on all surfaces. Refrigerate the mold until ready to use.
- To make the cake batter, sift the flour and potato starch mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Use an egg separator to separate the whites from the yolks.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1 cup (125 g) of icing sugar until whitish and doubled in size.
- Sift the dry ingredients over the egg yolk mixture, add the lemon zest, and gently mix with a rubber spatula.
- In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until mounted, and gradually add the remaining ⅓ cup (45 g) icing sugar and lemon juice. Beat the meringue until stiff and glossy. Egg whites must be whipped until the consistency of a bird's beak (bec d'oiseau in French).
- Add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites into the principal preparation and gently mix. Add the remaining meringue and carefully mix by lifting and turning the bowl in the same direction.
- Pour the batter into the prepared mold, filling it to ⅔. Tap the mold on the work surface, and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the mold for a few minutes. Unmold and let it cool to room temperature. To serve, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar.
Notes
- Thoroughly grease every part of your bundt cake pan, including the intricate patterns.
- Make the baking time adjustments as needed. It may vary based on your oven and the quality of the mold.
- Never open the oven door during baking; otherwise, the cake will collapse.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 252
- Sugar: 29.9 g
- Sodium: 54 mg
- Fat: 5.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.1 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 6.3 g
- Cholesterol: 145 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
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