I made this cake as requested by keri  for his housemate’s farewell party. He asked for a different cake than the one I already baked before, so I choose this Opera Cake. I stumble upon this cake’s recipe recently by accident, to be honest I have never even heard of this cake until recently ^^. Opera cake, in honor of the Paris Opera ¹ consists of layers of Joconde a.k.a Almond Sponge Cake soaked in Coffee Syrup, a layers of Coffee Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache.

My Joconde is a bit too thick guess, should be thinner, so I could have more layers. That way it will not be too dry, since the the coffee syrup didn’t soaked all the way in. I never had a chance to try it before so i’m not really sure how it suppose to taste. But then again a lots of dessert that I have tried to make, I’ve never ate it before, so it’s not really a big deal I suppose ^^.

Credit for Photographing and/or Editing to Fauzan and Firdaus

1. ^ ^{http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Opera-Cake-230481.}

Opera Cake

Adapted from from A la cuisine! by Clement which he adapted from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan

Joconde

Ingredients :
60g (4 tbs) unsalted butter, melted
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
30g (2 tbs) granulated sugar
225g (2 cups) almond flour or finely ground almonds
225g (2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
70g (½ cup) all-purpose flour

Directions :
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line two 12½ x 15½-inch jelly-roll pans (pans with raised edges) with parchment paper, and coat parchment with 1 tbsp of the melted butter.

(I just used one large tray with raised edges, cause I don’t mind if my cake is not a square shape, but a rectangle one. My joconde is a bit thick, so if I make it again, I would bake half of the batter first, and the remaining after that, to get thinner joconde, since I have only one tray. )

In a clean, dry mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, whip on low speed until the whites become foamy, then whip on medium-high speed until the whites reach soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, and whip on high speed until the whites are stiff and glossy.

In a separate mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat almond flour, icing sugar, and eggs on medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and voluminous. Add flour and beat at low speed until it disappears. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the remaining melted butter until just combined. Divide batter between the two pans and spread evenly.

Bake cake layers for 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from their pans, and let them cool to room temperature.

Coffee Syrup

Ingredients :
125g (½ cup) water
65g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar (I only use a small amount, just enough to sweeten it)
7g (1½ tbs) instant coffee powder

Directions :
In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar and coffee powder, and bring to a boil, while stirring to dissolve ingredients. Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool.

Coffee Buttercream

Ingredients :
2 tbs instant coffee powder
2 tbs boiling water
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
100g (1 cup) sugar
60g (¼ cup) water
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature (I just use normal butter)

Directions :
In small bowl, combine coffee powder and boiling water and stir until dissolved.

In a mixer bowl, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg and egg yolk on high speed until pale and foamy.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and vanilla extract, and bring to a boil, while stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook without stirring until it reaches 124°C. With the mixer on low speed, pour the syrup from the saucepan into the mixer bowl, trying to avoid hitting the whisk. Raise speed to medium-high and beat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick, satiny, and at room temperature.

Use a fork or whisk to beat the butter until it is soft and creamy, but not oily. Reduce the mixer to medium speed and add the butter to the mixer bowl in 2 tablespoon chunks. Raise mixer to high speed and beat until the mixture is thickened and sanity. Add the coffee syrup, and beat until combined. Transfer the mixture to a container; cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until it is firm enough to be spread.

Ganache

I use different recipe than in Clement’s Blog, adapted from Joy Of Baking

Ingredients :
200g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
200g heavy whipping cream
2 tbs butter

Directions :
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Assembly (clement’s way)

On a cutting board, use a ruler to trim each joconde sheet to produce one 10-inch square and one 10×5-inch rectangle.Place one 10-inch square on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and moisten with 3 tablespoons of coffee syrup. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread half of the buttercream over the joconde. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to allow it to firm.

On top of the buttercream, place the two 10×5-inch rectangular pieces of joconde side by side. Moisten with 3 tablespoons of coffee syrup and use and offset spatula to evenly spread the ganache over the joconde. Place the last 10-inch joconde square on top of the ganache, and moisten with the remaining coffee syrup. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to allow it to firm.

Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the remaining buttercream over the joconde. Make sure the surface is very smooth and even. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, or up to 6 hours. Alternatively, freeze the cake for 20 minutes.

Assembly (my way)

But if you use one large tray like me, basically just cut it into into three identical rectangle, or only two if your joconde a bit thick like mine. It doesn’t have to be rectangle, you can cut the cake into any shape you can imagine, diamond shape would be lovely, but you’ll have more leftover joconde this way.

So basically just moisten the first joconde layer with coffee syrup, spread a layer of the coffee buttercream on top of that joconde layer, let it firm a bit. And then spread a layer of ganache on top of the coffee buttercream. Stack another layer of joconde on top of that ganache and repeat the same things.

If making a square cake, use a dry, hot knife to cut a thin slice from each side of the cake to remove the dripping glaze and reveal the cake’s layers. If making a circular cake, place a 9 to 9½-inch ring mold, on the cake and push down to cut through the cake’s layers. You may need to use a blowtorch or hairdryer to remove the cake from the ring.

Chocolate Glaze

Clement also glaze his opera cake with chocolates, but I omited this cause my ganache was already shiny and smooth enough for me ^^, click here to read how he do it.

Coffee Crème Anglaise

Clement also served his cake with Coffee Crème Anglaise, but I didn’t make it, click here to read the recipe at his blog.