Opera Cake
Now the cake may seem a little difficult, but I promise, if you follow my detailed directions you will be fine. Also, when I began to layer the cake and cream I used a cheesecake pan. Since the cheesecake pan has a clasp to separate the bottom from the sides, it makes it perfect for layering this cake. I used a pan the same size as the ones I had baked my cake layers in. This held everything together perfectly and kept my ganache from dripping as the cake set. I would also recommend you place a parchment circle in the bottom of the cheesecake pan, as well all around the sides. My parchment sides were about two inches taller then the sides of the cheesecake pan, which is perfect because this cake gets pretty tall. Just follow my directions by the letter, and read the whole thing before stating, and I promise that you too will accomplish this amazing to die for cake!
Of course now you're curious to how this cake tastes. I am lost on how to even describe it. The cake layers have a nutty flavor with a slight cookie like texture. The parts soaked in the coffee syrup are moist and amazingly sweet. Then you hit the buttercream. WOW. That buttercream. Its slightly flavored with a mocha paste and has the most delicate color. Add that to the ridiculously sweet chocolate ganache, and the crumbly cake and you have all these amazing flavors melded into a gorgeous and tasty cake. You need to try this. You must. The world will thank you. As will your taste buds.
Ingredients:
Joconde (The Cake)
200 g Finely Ground Almond (I used a food processor)
100 g Caster Sugar (Just Pulse Granulated Sugar in the food processor for 30 sec.)
6 Eggs
50 g Butter (Melted)
60 g All Purpose Four
115 g Egg Whites (3 or 4 Egg Whites depending on size, I used 4)
55 g Caster Sugar
Coffee Syrup
100 ml Coffee or 100 ml Hot Water with 15 g Instant Coffee
100 g Sugar (Personally I would leave out next time.)
Mocha Buttercream
100 g Egg Whites (2 or 3 Egg Whites, I used 3)
200 g Sugar
300 g Unsalted Butter (CUBED and CHILLED)
1/2 tbsp Mocha Paste (1 tbsp Instant Coffee, 1 tbsp Cocoa, 1/2 tbsp Water MIXED)
1 tsp Coffee Oil or Some sort of Extract
Chocolate Ganache
200 g Dark Chocolate
200 g Milk Chocolate
75 g Unsalted Butter
250 ml Heavy Cream
Chocolate Drizzle
1/4 Cup Chocolate
1 tsp Vegetable Shortening
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare two 8 inch pan by placing a parchment circle in the bottom and buttering and flouring the sides. In a large bowl combine the ground almond, sugar, and 3 whole eggs. Beat at medium speed for 10 minutes. Then beat in one egg at a time from the remaining three eggs. Beat each one until combined. After you add the last egg, beat for another 10 minutes. In another bowl stir in 1/4 cup of the almond mixture you just prepared with the melted butter. Set this mixture aside. Add the flour to the remaining almond mixture and combine. Set aside.
In another bowl beat the egg whites till foamy and then gradually add the 55 g caster sugar until soft peaks form. Combine both of the almond mixtures and then take 1/3 of the egg white mixture and gently mix it into the almond mixture to lighten the batter. After you have lightened the batter pour the whole thing into the rest of the egg whites and gently fold it all together! Do not mix or the batter will deflate! Seperate into two pans. Make sure they are even. Place the pans in the oven and immediatly decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for twenty minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans until they are completly cool. Take the cakes out of the pan, remove the parchment paper and slice each cake so you end up with four layers.
Now you need to prepare each of the layers. Make the coffee syrup by mixing the hot water with the instant coffee and then disolving the sugar. You can also just use a strong espresso and mix in the sugar. Set this aside to cool.
For the buttercream you want to use a double boiler. You can just use a pot with water and place a heatproof bowl on top. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl or you will scramble the eggs. Place the egg whites and caster sugar and using a beater beat at the slowest speed while heating the mixture. You can also whisk this mixture by hand. You want the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites. You can use a thermometer and just heat the mixture to 65 degrees Celsius, but lets be honest, not many of us have a thermometer. I know I don't. I just check by rubbing the mixture between my fingers to see if there are any sugar grains left. After the sugar is dissolved, pour this mixture into a clean cool bowl and beat at high speed until the mixture turns glossy. Now, take out the cubed butter from the fridge, and while beating, add one cube of butter at a time. Your mixture might start to seperate or deflate but it will come together when you're done. Beat well until the cream is light and fluffy. Now add in the mocha paste and coffee oil and 50 ml of the coffee syrup. Mix well.
Last but not least, you need to prepare the ganache.
Chop the chocoalate into small pieces. Heat the cream until its warm and then pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for five minutes and then mix well. Add the butter and continue to mix until everything is combined and smooth. Set aside until it thickens a little.
Assembling the Cake:
Set your prepared pan on a flat table. Place one of the cake layers down. Make sure the layer is upside down, meaning that the top of the cake is touching the bottom of the pan. Brush with the coffee syrup until moist. Spread half of the buttercream. Cover with another layer of cake (always upside down). Again, brush with coffee syrup. Pour over half of the chocolate ganache. Layer with another cake and brush it with the coffee syrup. Spread the other half of the buttercream. Place the last layer of cake and brush with the rest of the syrup. Pour the rest of the ganache and spread nicely. Place in the refrigerator until set and then drizzle with chocolate. When ready to serve, release the cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper. Set in a plate and slice with a hot knife. Wipe the knife before each slice to preserve the layering. Enjoy. Store refrigerated for up to three days! NO MORE!
Enjoy!
Oven Temperature: 400 Degrees, 350 degrees
Prep. Time: 1 1/2 Hours
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours 10 Minutes
I am a total sucker for trying new things. I love trying new food, new clothes, and most of all new recipes. For some reason, the ridiculously time consuming intricate recipes seem to appear when I've got a specific Birthday Cake request. Back in December it was one of my friends birthdays, having been the one to make a previous cake for them, the birthday girl had a specific request. She wanted a cake that combined coffee, mocha, and chocolate flavors. Of course, she had to make it a little more difficult with a request for not too much coffee. I was up for the challenge. I spend all night looking up recipes on Pintrest and trying to think of how I could combine all these flavors. Then, I hit the jackpot. I found a link to what was called an opera cake. It looked beautiful, time consuming, difficult, and delicious. That was the perfect combination for me. I pinned the recipe and woke up bright and early the next morning to start working on my masterpiece.Now the cake may seem a little difficult, but I promise, if you follow my detailed directions you will be fine. Also, when I began to layer the cake and cream I used a cheesecake pan. Since the cheesecake pan has a clasp to separate the bottom from the sides, it makes it perfect for layering this cake. I used a pan the same size as the ones I had baked my cake layers in. This held everything together perfectly and kept my ganache from dripping as the cake set. I would also recommend you place a parchment circle in the bottom of the cheesecake pan, as well all around the sides. My parchment sides were about two inches taller then the sides of the cheesecake pan, which is perfect because this cake gets pretty tall. Just follow my directions by the letter, and read the whole thing before stating, and I promise that you too will accomplish this amazing to die for cake!
Of course now you're curious to how this cake tastes. I am lost on how to even describe it. The cake layers have a nutty flavor with a slight cookie like texture. The parts soaked in the coffee syrup are moist and amazingly sweet. Then you hit the buttercream. WOW. That buttercream. Its slightly flavored with a mocha paste and has the most delicate color. Add that to the ridiculously sweet chocolate ganache, and the crumbly cake and you have all these amazing flavors melded into a gorgeous and tasty cake. You need to try this. You must. The world will thank you. As will your taste buds.
Ingredients:
Joconde (The Cake)
200 g Finely Ground Almond (I used a food processor)
100 g Caster Sugar (Just Pulse Granulated Sugar in the food processor for 30 sec.)
6 Eggs
50 g Butter (Melted)
60 g All Purpose Four
115 g Egg Whites (3 or 4 Egg Whites depending on size, I used 4)
55 g Caster Sugar
Coffee Syrup
100 ml Coffee or 100 ml Hot Water with 15 g Instant Coffee
100 g Sugar (Personally I would leave out next time.)
Mocha Buttercream
100 g Egg Whites (2 or 3 Egg Whites, I used 3)
200 g Sugar
300 g Unsalted Butter (CUBED and CHILLED)
1/2 tbsp Mocha Paste (1 tbsp Instant Coffee, 1 tbsp Cocoa, 1/2 tbsp Water MIXED)
1 tsp Coffee Oil or Some sort of Extract
Chocolate Ganache
200 g Dark Chocolate
200 g Milk Chocolate
75 g Unsalted Butter
250 ml Heavy Cream
Chocolate Drizzle
1/4 Cup Chocolate
1 tsp Vegetable Shortening
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare two 8 inch pan by placing a parchment circle in the bottom and buttering and flouring the sides. In a large bowl combine the ground almond, sugar, and 3 whole eggs. Beat at medium speed for 10 minutes. Then beat in one egg at a time from the remaining three eggs. Beat each one until combined. After you add the last egg, beat for another 10 minutes. In another bowl stir in 1/4 cup of the almond mixture you just prepared with the melted butter. Set this mixture aside. Add the flour to the remaining almond mixture and combine. Set aside.
In another bowl beat the egg whites till foamy and then gradually add the 55 g caster sugar until soft peaks form. Combine both of the almond mixtures and then take 1/3 of the egg white mixture and gently mix it into the almond mixture to lighten the batter. After you have lightened the batter pour the whole thing into the rest of the egg whites and gently fold it all together! Do not mix or the batter will deflate! Seperate into two pans. Make sure they are even. Place the pans in the oven and immediatly decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for twenty minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans until they are completly cool. Take the cakes out of the pan, remove the parchment paper and slice each cake so you end up with four layers.
Now you need to prepare each of the layers. Make the coffee syrup by mixing the hot water with the instant coffee and then disolving the sugar. You can also just use a strong espresso and mix in the sugar. Set this aside to cool.
For the buttercream you want to use a double boiler. You can just use a pot with water and place a heatproof bowl on top. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl or you will scramble the eggs. Place the egg whites and caster sugar and using a beater beat at the slowest speed while heating the mixture. You can also whisk this mixture by hand. You want the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites. You can use a thermometer and just heat the mixture to 65 degrees Celsius, but lets be honest, not many of us have a thermometer. I know I don't. I just check by rubbing the mixture between my fingers to see if there are any sugar grains left. After the sugar is dissolved, pour this mixture into a clean cool bowl and beat at high speed until the mixture turns glossy. Now, take out the cubed butter from the fridge, and while beating, add one cube of butter at a time. Your mixture might start to seperate or deflate but it will come together when you're done. Beat well until the cream is light and fluffy. Now add in the mocha paste and coffee oil and 50 ml of the coffee syrup. Mix well.
Last but not least, you need to prepare the ganache.
Assembling the Cake:
Set your prepared pan on a flat table. Place one of the cake layers down. Make sure the layer is upside down, meaning that the top of the cake is touching the bottom of the pan. Brush with the coffee syrup until moist. Spread half of the buttercream. Cover with another layer of cake (always upside down). Again, brush with coffee syrup. Pour over half of the chocolate ganache. Layer with another cake and brush it with the coffee syrup. Spread the other half of the buttercream. Place the last layer of cake and brush with the rest of the syrup. Pour the rest of the ganache and spread nicely. Place in the refrigerator until set and then drizzle with chocolate. When ready to serve, release the cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper. Set in a plate and slice with a hot knife. Wipe the knife before each slice to preserve the layering. Enjoy. Store refrigerated for up to three days! NO MORE!
Enjoy!
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