My Tasty Vanilla-Brandy Génoise Butterscotch Cake, with Dark Chocolate Icing. So GOOD!

​A Génoise cake is just the fancy French name given to a sponge cake. The French use butter; however, I prefer to use peanut oil in my recipe because it makes the cake delicious moist and soft. As you can see, I made 2 cakes; a regular size with icing to give away and a baby cake without icing for me. Smile.
 
Also, I used the basic ingredients that you would use to make a sponge cake; however, by now you know that I love to add my own take to whatever I make. Therefore, I used brandy, butterscotch chips, the best vanilla that you can buy and covered it with healthy dark chocolate icing. Then, I gave it away to my sweet neighbor Tina, who was not feeling well after coming back home from a cruise.
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: One hour
Approximate Cost: $12.57 or $1.58 per serving
Difficulty Level: __X__ Intermediate
Servings: 8
 
Ingredients for the Cake ($5.94)
½ cup (+ 1/3 cup) of plain bleached cake flour (sifted) (.55)
1 tbsp. (+ ½) cup of sugar (.50)
¼ tsp. salt (.10)
¼ cup peanut oil (.65)
4 large eggs (.64)
1 tbsp. of brandy ($1.00)
1 tbsp. of Vanilla ($2.00)
½ cup of Nestle Butterscotch Morsels (.50)
 
Ingredients for the Dark Chocolate Icing ($6.63)
2/3 cups Hershey’s Dark Cocoa ($1.80)
1/3 cup Evaporated milk (.33)
3 cups Powdered sugar ($1.25)
1 stick of unsalted butter – melted ($1.25)
1 tbsp. Pure Vanilla ($2.00)
 
Directions for the Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a round 9” by 1 ½” baking mold. (You can use in further recipes an 8 by 2” mold or a cup cake mold that holds 12 to 16 cupcakes or you can make a sponge sheet cake in a 12” by 16” sheet pan.)
Sift ½ cup of flour with 1 tbsp. of sugar and the ¼ tsp. salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining sugar.
Add the brandy and Vanilla and mix until totally blended.
Add at once ¼ of the flour blend that you sifted before. Then add the remaining flour in two times only.
Fold a large amount of the batter into the clarified butter and then add it back to the remaining batter.
Fold the Butterscotch Morsels into the batter.
Pour batter into your prepared mold and tap on the counter few times to get any air bubbles out of the cake.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes and when done, let it cool before decorating with the dark chocolate icing.

Directions for the Dark Chocolate Icing
Prepare the icing by using the frosting recipe in the back of the Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Powder box. Is very easy.