Daring Bakers in May: Opéra Cake
May 28, 2008 at 5:16 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, daring bakers, groups, layer cakes, sweet things | 81 Comments
This May, the Daring Bakers’ challenge had a quartet of hostesses– a four-part harmony, featuring founders Ivonne and Lis and newer members Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful. In voices heard across the world, they sang out this month’s challenge: an opéra cake.
A traditional opéra cake is a thing of delicious beauty, carefully orchestrated with alternating layers of sponge cake, coffee buttercream and ganache, topped off with a dark chocolate glaze. As part of the challenge this month, our hostesses tasked us with rewriting the opéra for spring– the same basic components, but lightened up in flavor and color. For me, part of this challenge lay in that we are fast approaching winter here in Australia. While you can see from the flowers I pinched from a neighbor’s lawn, that I am by no means in a bare, frozen tundra, a lot of the things I may have chosen to flavor this cake are kinda off limits right now.
I’m no stranger to making opéra cake. At the first restaurant I worked for, we used little tiny pieces of the traditional version as a petit four. At least every other day for a few months, I’d make and assemble an opéra (and the scraps are dangerous– I would devour them as I portioned the cake into pieces!). Despite this, I did hem and haw my way through the month, wondering what to do flavor-wise. This past week, though, it was time to get down to business. Looking through my pantry, I realized I could easily make something that would pair perfectly with the Middle Eastern dinner I mentioned I would be making. My opéra would be composed of almond joconde moistened with lemon syrup, pistachio buttercream, lemon-rosewater mousse and white chocolate glaze.
I will make the same confession that I do with every DB challenge– I drastically scaled back the recipe. I made just one pan of joconde (the recipe halves perfectly), and only used half of that to assemble the cake. The rest I froze to use for other things, like the base for a meyer lemon bombe. My one-quarter sized opéra was small, but big enough to give the two of us dessert for three nights, and that’s about my maximum tolerance for any one particular thing.
We were allowed to use any buttercream recipe we liked…I used a whole-egg buttercream that I’ve made before, so as not to be suck with any bothersome extra whites or yolks. To turn it into a pistachio buttercream, I first eyeballed an amount of pistachios and blanched them so I could slip off their brown skins and expose their bright green insides. Then I roasted them in the oven just enough to dry them out, but not to color them, before grinding them in my mini food processor with a little bit of almond meal and drizzle of plain simple syrup. This formed a rough, homemade paste that incorporated easily into the buttercream and gave it pretty green flecks throughout.
I flavored the simple syrup used to moisten the cake layers with a few drops of lemon extract. I also used the lemon extract and rosewater to flavor the white chocolate mousse, which was the cake’s top layer, just beneath the glaze. I did this to taste–enough to make the flavor pronounced, without tasting like I swallowed a jar of perfume. (A chef that I used to work for once said that rosewater reminded him of “grandma’s panty drawer”–what?? And how the hell did he know what that smells like anyway??)
I must say that I was really pleased with how this cake came out. The joconde baked up to be my idea of the perfect height. Too thin and the joconde can be rubbery…too thick and you wind up with an opéra that’s crazy tall. I am quite particular and like all of the layers to be the same height, without feeling like there is too much of one component, and I was able to achieve that here. And the flavors were delicate, but wonderful. I was a little worried that the whole thing would be a bit too girlie for R’s tastes, but he loved it!
I tried sooo hard to get a photo of the whole cake, but it just wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t squeeze the whole thing into the frame without going on a weird angle that made it looked lopsided. That was a bummer, especially since I had bought a new platter to display it on. But it sliced really nicely, so at least I was able to get some good shots of individual pieces.
Last, but certainly not least, the Daring Bakers have dedicated this month’s challenge to Barbara of winosandfoodies.com. Even if you don’t know Barbara, it’s evident through her words that she lives everyday to the fullest and she lives strong. I think we can all sing to that.
If you haven’t had your fill of opera-related metaphors after that post, check out the DB blogroll! And visit Ivonne’s post for the recipe (which was adapted from two sources, Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle’s and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion).
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Oh my first Opera Cake comment! This lloks really superb. You have a great talent. I love the idea of pastichio.
Comment by courtney— May 28, 2008 #
Very pretty! the pistachio sounds divine… I didn’t think posting was until tomorrow… I haven’t made it yet! Guess I’ll be late (won’t be the first time!)
Comment by kbkbakery— May 28, 2008 #
Yours turned out ten times better than mine! First, my cake was stuck to the parchment paper, then the buttercream didn’t really set. But I guess it pulled through in the end. Thank god, or else I would’ve been pissed at the waste of ingredients. You are lucky you had experience making the cake too in your past endeavors. I’ve only eaten these delicious things in Paris, and mine fell pretty short to that standard.
Comment by Amanda— May 28, 2008 #
Wee, that looks great, unfortunately we don’t care for such rich cakes…
Comment by Ulrike aka ostwestwind— May 28, 2008 #
Yours looks fabulous, and you were so smart to scale back we couldn’t eat it all..
Comment by Katerina— May 28, 2008 #
Gorgeous… I LOVE the idea of the pistachio with lemon and almond.
Comment by Dolores— May 28, 2008 #
Yes, the scraps are bad news, aren’t they! Your cake looks great 🙂
Comment by Y— May 28, 2008 #
Your cake looks fab. I used rose water in mine too and got one comment that it tasted like hand cream!
Comment by Tammy— May 28, 2008 #
A beautiful cake Steph – and the photo with the frangipanis is just perfect.
Comment by Cakelaw— May 28, 2008 #
Oh, Meyer Lemon Bomb sounds wonderful. I still have some jaconde and might do that….
Comment by feeding maybelle— May 28, 2008 #
Golly, what fabulous photographs! The flowers are stunning, good old neighbors, huh? Good show, really.
Comment by rainbowbrown— May 28, 2008 #
Wowzers Steph! It looks and sounds fantastic. I love the parallel to eating perfume, I could have had that with my lavender but think I did ok. As usual, you’ve blown me away! Thank you for always inspriring.
Comment by Sathya— May 28, 2008 #
Beautiful job! I love your version – great post too!
Comment by Holly— May 28, 2008 #
Looks gorgeous. I love reading about all the flavor combinations. I scaled back my cake, as well, and there is still plenty.
Comment by Judy (Judy's Gross Eats)— May 28, 2008 #
Woah, you are a freaking genius. Wow.
Comment by rebekka— May 28, 2008 #
Lovely as always Steph. You present everything so beautifully. We were very similar. Great minds and all that.
Comment by KJ— May 28, 2008 #
Picture perfect!
Comment by megan— May 28, 2008 #
What a beautiful cake!! Congratulations on a job well done.
Comment by Amber— May 28, 2008 #
Perfectly executed, and gorgeous too! Yours is the first opera cake I’ve seen posted, and it’s an impressive start to the reveal of this month’s challenge.
Comment by BitterSweet— May 28, 2008 #
This looks stunning!!!! I need you to visit me…:)
Comment by Chris— May 28, 2008 #
I’m so jealous! Your Opera cake looks absolutely fabulous! And so delicious! Great job!
Comment by Heather— May 28, 2008 #
Great flavor combos and presented beautifully! You are the queen of minis. Wonderful job!
Comment by Gretchen Noelle— May 28, 2008 #
What a great shot and great combination. I was just happy to get through my first challenge – my speed would have been a 4 ingredient cookie – and I’m still here to tell the story.
Beautiful.
Comment by gizmar— May 28, 2008 #
Your opera cake looks just lovely. With all of my alcohol fueled madness I didn’t even think of pistachios!
Comment by andreainthekitchen— May 28, 2008 #
gorgeous opera cake! love the flavor combo, especially the idea of pistachio buttercream.
Comment by mimi— May 28, 2008 #
Ah Steph! Your cake looks just lovely and I love the photos too. Pistachio sounds just lovely! I prefer the traditional opera with dark flavours but this challenge was fun too! Well done – as always!
Comment by Dharm— May 28, 2008 #
Just beautiful and I like your flavorings, especially the pistachio.
It was a great challenge, lucky you coming into winter.
Comment by Kim— May 28, 2008 #
It is absolutely magnificent !
Comment by Foodie FRoggy— May 28, 2008 #
It did come out amazing! I love the flavor combo you chose. I knwo what you mean about the thickness of the layers, mine were good but a little to thin for my liking.
Comment by marye— May 28, 2008 #
All sorts of lovely.
Comment by peabody— May 28, 2008 #
Gorgeous cake and the flowers are stunning too.
Comment by Gina— May 28, 2008 #
Wonderful take on the challenge my friend! It turned out awesome!
Comment by Tartelette— May 28, 2008 #
So lovely! Your flavor ideas are wonderful.
Comment by Laura Rebecca— May 28, 2008 #
Loved the way you accented the glaze with a squiggle -your experience shows!
Comment by danamccauley— May 28, 2008 #
Stunning cake…standing ovation for one as pretty as this. Love the frangipani’s too…we call them champa here in India.
Comment by Deeba— May 28, 2008 #
Steph… this is absolutely beautiful!
Comment by Aran— May 28, 2008 #
The combos that you used sound delicous! Your pictures are beautiful and so is your cake!
Comment by Christine— May 28, 2008 #
A complete visual feast. really beautiful and nice flavour combination.
Comment by Aparna— May 28, 2008 #
waow!!!
Comment by Chantal— May 28, 2008 #
That’s quite the beautiful cake you have there. Such lovely layers.
Comment by Jenny— May 29, 2008 #
Well, apparently you don’t just make beautiful cupcakes. Your cake looks amazing! And I love the middle eastern flavorings!
Comment by Mary— May 29, 2008 #
I love your blog…. read it all the time. I am dying to get your recipe for this lovely opera cake. ~
Comment by haley— May 29, 2008 #
Sadly, my joconde was a bit thin and dense. Yours looks much more airy. Great photos btw!
Comment by lou @ the higher nest— May 29, 2008 #
Simply gorgeous!
Comment by Em— May 29, 2008 #
It’s gorgeous! Congratulations! Great flavor combo too…
Comment by Lesley— May 29, 2008 #
Beautiful, and I’m guessing NOT reminiscent of anyone’s panty drawer?!!!
Comment by Bumblebutton— May 29, 2008 #
Your cake looks beautiful, and I love the pistachios in the buttercream. Great flavor combination!
Comment by Andrea— May 29, 2008 #
Mmmm … that looks absolutely delicious. I’m so glad you transcended the seasonal difficulties!
Comment by onespicymama— May 29, 2008 #
Wow, that looks so good. I learn so much from your blog and love the flavors you came up with: almond, lemon, pistachio, rosewater. Thanks for the tip about how to work with the pistachios to flavor the buttercream. I hope to see your new platter in a later photo shoot!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog
Comment by Shari— May 29, 2008 #
Wow that butercream! I know what you meant about the scraps being dangerous… It looks so good!:)
Comment by Clumbsy Cookie— May 29, 2008 #
nice job, it’s a pleasure having you on my blogroll
Comment by enza— May 29, 2008 #
My mouth is hanging open – what beautiful Opera Cake! Bravo!
Comment by Katie B.— May 29, 2008 #
Absolutely beautiful.
Comment by Landa— May 29, 2008 #
Very nicely done! The flowers go beautifully with it!
Comment by Valerie Adams— May 29, 2008 #
oh this is so lovely, I will be back to see more!
Comment by Big Boys Oven— May 29, 2008 #
What a lovely Middle Eastern twist to your opera. Simply delicious!
Comment by maria~— May 29, 2008 #
beautiful presentation/plating!
LOL at the rosewater and panty drawer comment
Comment by Jaime— May 29, 2008 #
gorgeous!!! great job!
Comment by jennifer— May 29, 2008 #
Quite lovely slices and very elegant presentation with the flowers. The pistachios give the buttercream just the right amount of color and the flavor combination is so nice. Great job!
Comment by Elle— May 29, 2008 #
This is a beautiful looking cake and it sounds like a lovely flavour choice. Your food photos are gorgeous!
Comment by Lisa T.— May 29, 2008 #
wow steph that looks great and i love how you flavored everything…i bet the flavors together were fabulous.
Comment by Mara— May 29, 2008 #
That’s a very classy cake, and beautifully photographed. Great job!
Comment by Suzana— May 29, 2008 #
I’m so impressed that you made your own pistachio paste!!! Your cake looks gorgeous!!! I wish jaconde had risen a bit more, but now that I’ve gotten this recipe under my belt, I look forward to improving on it!
Comment by mari— May 29, 2008 #
You have outdone yourself! That is absolutely gorgeous!
Comment by Lindsey (Cafe Johnsonia)— May 29, 2008 #
Pistachio buttercream sounds to die for… in fact, all your flavourings sound great! This is a stunner…
Comment by Indigo— May 30, 2008 #
Your cake is beautiful…and all the photos are framed perfectly. Great job!!!!
Comment by Claire— May 30, 2008 #
Impressive I always love your pics you do great work and love the flavor combo
Comment by Pam— May 30, 2008 #
Pistachio sounds like SUCH a great idea!
Comment by howtoeatacupcake— May 30, 2008 #
This looks spectacular. Perfect!
Comment by Meeta— May 30, 2008 #
Beautiful! What amazing photography!
Comment by AS— May 30, 2008 #
Nice looking opera cake and photos. I like the sound of the pistachio buttercream.
Comment by Kevin— May 30, 2008 #
It looks really nice, great job!
Comment by Lisa— May 30, 2008 #
What a masterpiece!! Your cake as well as your photo’s, the color scheme in all are superb!
And that zebra cupcake..I was about to ask about the icing but I was glad to see you posted the recipe! Thanks for sharing your beautiful talent! 🙂
Comment by Laurie— May 30, 2008 #
Oh, it’s not only gorgeous, it sounds wonderful! And I love your photos. I’m posting my opera cake rather late, and I ended up with one layer too many!
Comment by Madam Chow— May 31, 2008 #
What a gorgeous cake! Great job!
Comment by Deborah— May 31, 2008 #
Love the flavours (um …Grannies pants drawer aside *hee*)
Your cake and photos are beautiful and I love the florals!!!
Comment by Gabi— May 31, 2008 #
Beautiful opera cake. The pistachio buttecream must taste amazing.
Wonderful pictures!
Comment by Liliana— May 31, 2008 #
I am LOVING the specs of pistachio peaking through.. and call me crazy (or psychotic) but I’ve been awake for roughly an hour & 1/2 today (Yay! I slept in! WOO! *cough* sorry.. lil excited over here) but all I want for breakfast is a bowl of pistachio studded buttercream. Is that bad? 😛
Beautiful cake! And I love the idea of petit fours ala Opera! Bite sized deliciousness for sure! 🙂
xoxo
Comment by Lisa— June 1, 2008 #
Lemon-rosewater and pistachio–sounds divine, and your photos are gorgeous!
Comment by Rebecca— June 1, 2008 #
Your cake looks beautiful! I will defintilely use your method of adding pistachios paste to buttercream. I had read someone else used a pistachio flavored buttercream and I wondered how – thank you! Your rosewater lemon combination sounds tasty too. Beautiful photos Wendy
Comment by Wendy— June 1, 2008 #
That’s a thing of beauty, Steph!
Comment by Ivonne— June 3, 2008 #