For the longest time, I didn’t know what to make for dessert. What was french and wasn’t creme caramel or creme brulee? Then Kev suggested Opera Cake. I google’d that up and immediately went “Not a chance in hell!”

I had to eat my words – coz I made it.

The original recipe came from Masterchef but I’ve since tweaked it as it wasn’t enough of some things, and way too much of others.

Opera Cake

Serves 10

Ingredients

Jaconde

4 whole eggs
150g icing sugar
150g almond meal
60g plain flour
45g melted butter
4 egg whites
40g caster sugar

Coffee Essence

75g white sugar
2 x 30ml shots coffee
15g freeze dried coffee

Coffee Syrup

125ml water
125g white sugar
1 tbs coffee essence

Coffee Buttercream

150g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
250g butter, softened
2 tbs coffee essence

Chocolate Ganache

400g dark chocolate
225ml thickened cream
22.5g butter, at room temperature

To assemble and serve

30g dark chocolate, melted
Cocoa powder, to serve
Crème fraiche, to serve (optional)

Phew! Did you get through that ingredient list? I cut down and chopped down some of the quantities as the amount it was making meant that you had loads and loads of ganache and buttercream leftover. Sure they are nice to eat and all, but when you have a whole bowl of buttercream, and a whole opera cake to get through with only just the two mouths to feed….

My extra ganache went to making a chocolate tart! Some of you even had the chance to taste it! Hope you liked it, I’ll share the chocolate tart recipe here soon-ish. You will laugh, as it’s so easy to make!

Alright, onward to the methods.

Method

For the Jaconde

1. Sift the almond meal, plain flour and icing sugar together.
2. Whisk whole eggs to aerate and then fold in the sifted dry ingredients then the melted butter.
3. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks then add the caster sugar a little at a time until all incorporated.
4. Fold the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture.
5. Spread onto 2 sheets baking paper then carefully arrange the paper onto a baking tray.
6. Bake at 200°C for 5-8 minutes or until light golden around the edges. Trim the edges while hot then set aside to cool.

For the coffee essence

1. Combine all the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to the boil, simmer until thick and syrupy. Set aside to cool.

For the coffee syrup

1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
3. Simmer about 5 minutes then remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

For the buttercream

1. Dampen sugar with a little water in a saucepan, place onto stove and bring to boil, brushing edges down with pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallisation.
2. Bring the syrup to soft ball (121°C).
3. Meanwhile whisk egg yolks until light and fluffy on high speed in an electric mixer.
4. Once sugar has come up to temperature, add to yolks in a slow thin stream, whisking continuously until all has been added.
5. Continue to beat on low speed until the mixture cools to room temperature. Once cool, gradually add butter and 2-3 heaped spoonfuls of coffee essence, beating until well combined.

For the Ganache

1. Shave chocolate into a bowl, add butter and set aside.
2. Bring cream to the boil then pour over chocolate mixture.
3. Mix well until combined. Refrigerate until set.

To assemble

1. Cut each jaconde sponge in half.
2. Brush 1 sheet of sponge with the melted chocolate and turn over onto piece of baking paper on a chopping board.
3. Brush the sponge generously with coffee syrup, then apply a thin, even layer of butter cream.
4. Place another jaconde sheet on top, pressing to secure.
5. Brush with coffee syrup and then apply a thin even layer of ganache on top.
6. Repeat the layers again and this time finish with a slightly thicker layer of chocolate ganache.
7. Allow to set in fridge.

To serve

1. Once set, trim with a hot dry knife that has been dipped in hot water and wiped dry with a tea towel.
2. Heat and dry the knife again each time before cutting and cut a rectangle for serving.
3. Dust with good quality cocoa powder.
4. Place on plate and top with a quenelle of cream fraiche and a piece of gold leaf.

Top tips!

1. Use parchment paper instead of baking paper if possible. Baking paper is a pain to remove from the Jaconde!
2. It’s easier to remove the Jaconde from the baking paper when it’s hot.
3. Soft ball sugar – if you do not own a candy thermometer, you can check for it by dropping a tiny bit of sugar into a bowl of cold water. If the sugar holds its shape in the water and doesn’t collapse, then you have it at the right temperature. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand.
4. Set aside at least 4 hours to make this if you haven’t made it before. They are simple processes but they do take time.

And after all that, and you’ve done it right… this is what you will end up with.

A slice of heaven, sitting on your plate.

I liked it so much, I baked it again last week. So I have more opera cake sitting in my fridge, looking incredibly sinful and after writing up this post I think I have just earned myself a nibble of the Opera cake.

If you haven’t tasted this before, I really suggest you try to make it. Then again, I kinda wish I hadn’t tasted it before now as no other cake is quite like an Opera cake and I am doomed to have a craving for this for the rest of my life. Oh who am I kidding. It’s Opera cake. The cake that will make you weep tears of joy when you bite into it.

Oh Lordly Lord.