The genesis block is created from the LoadBlockIndex() function, which is present inside the validation.cpp file:

bool CChainState::LoadBlockIndex(const Consensus::Params& consensus_params, CBlockTreeDB& blocktree)
{
    if (!blocktree.LoadBlockIndexGuts(consensus_params, [this](const uint256& hash){ return this->InsertBlockIndex(hash); }))
        return false;

    boost::this_thread::interruption_point();

    // Calculate nChainWork
    std::vector<std::pair<int, CBlockIndex*> > vSortedByHeight;
    vSortedByHeight.reserve(mapBlockIndex.size());
    for (const std::pair<uint256, CBlockIndex*>& item : mapBlockIndex)
    {
        CBlockIndex* pindex = item.second;
        vSortedByHeight.push_back(std::make_pair(pindex->nHeight, pindex));
    }
    sort(vSortedByHeight.begin(), vSortedByHeight.end());
    for (const std::pair<int, CBlockIndex*>& item : vSortedByHeight)
    {
        CBlockIndex* pindex = item.second;
        pindex->nChainWork = (pindex->pprev ? pindex->pprev->nChainWork : 0) + GetBlockProof(*pindex);
        pindex->nTimeMax = (pindex->pprev ? std::max(pindex->pprev->nTimeMax, pindex->nTime) : pindex->nTime);
        // We can link the chain of blocks for which we've received transactions at some point.
        // Pruned nodes may have deleted the block.
        if (pindex->nTx > 0) {
            if (pindex->pprev) {
                if (pindex->pprev->nChainTx) {
                    pindex->nChainTx = pindex->pprev->nChainTx + pindex->nTx;
                } else {
                    pindex->nChainTx = 0;
                    mapBlocksUnlinked.insert(std::make_pair(pindex->pprev, pindex));
                }
            } else {
                pindex->nChainTx = pindex->nTx;
            }
        }
        if (!(pindex->nStatus & BLOCK_FAILED_MASK) && pindex->pprev && (pindex->pprev->nStatus & BLOCK_FAILED_MASK)) {
            pindex->nStatus |= BLOCK_FAILED_CHILD;
            setDirtyBlockIndex.insert(pindex);
        }
        if (pindex->IsValid(BLOCK_VALID_TRANSACTIONS) && (pindex->nChainTx || pindex->pprev == nullptr))
            setBlockIndexCandidates.insert(pindex);
        if (pindex->nStatus & BLOCK_FAILED_MASK && (!pindexBestInvalid || pindex->nChainWork > pindexBestInvalid->nChainWork))
            pindexBestInvalid = pindex;
        if (pindex->pprev)
            pindex->BuildSkip();
        if (pindex->IsValid(BLOCK_VALID_TREE) && (pindexBestHeader == nullptr || CBlockIndexWorkComparator()(pindexBestHeader, pindex)))
            pindexBestHeader = pindex;
    }

    return true;
}

Further, in chainparams.cpp, the paraphrase is to be changed to the requisite parameter of choice. In Litecoin, the following parameter is used:

    const char* pszTimestamp = "NY Times 05/Oct/2011 Steve Jobs, Apple’s Visionary, Dies at 56";