For two years we have wanted to publish this recipe in Bezzia. Since the opera cake conquer us on a vacation with his court and his fantastic combination of coffee and chocolate. At last we have encouraged ourselves to do it and we cannot be more happy with the result.
The list of preparations and ingredients for this cake can make you panic if, like us, you don't dedicate yourself to the world of cooking. However, we want to reassure you and encourage you to do it. Because although it is laborious, each preparation separately in simple and it can be made with utensils that we all have at home.
Do not try to run, prepare each of the layers of this cake in order and once you have all of them assemble them following our step by step. The opera cake is not as fine as the ones you can have in a pastry shop, but the flavors are exquisite.
Ingredients for 8
For the 42x33cm cake:
- 4 egg whites L
- 1 / 2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs L
- 150 g. White sugar
- 150 g. Almond flour
- 40 g. butter at room temperature
- 40 g. wheat flour
Coffee syrup:
- 160 ml. Water
- 120 g. White sugar
- 5 g. soluble coffee
Chocolate Ganache:
- 120 ml. whipping cream 35% mg
- 150 g. dark chocolate (75%)
- 30 g. unsalted butter at room temperature
Buttercream and coffee:
- Yolks 4
- 40 ml. Water
- 120 g. White sugar
- 4 g. soluble coffee
- 250 g. butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crunchy chocolate base:
- 80 g. dark chocolate (75%) melted
Frosting or chocolate coating:
- 100 ml. Water
- 80 ml. whipping cream 35% mg
- 120 g. normal white sugar
- 40 g. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 7g. gelatin in sheets
Step by step
The cake of the opera cake
- Beat the whites with the salt until they are half assembled. Then, add two tablespoons of sugar (of the 120g.) And beat until finished whipping. Once assembled, keep them in a hermetically closed container at room temperature.
- In the same bowl that you used to beat the whites, now beat the eggs, the remaining sugar and the almond flour until the mixture is white and doubled in volume. Then add the melted butter in the microwave while beating. Once the butter is integrated, add the sifted wheat flour and integrate with a spatula and enveloping movements.
- Now use the same type of movements to incorporate the whites of egg whipped to the mixture. Once done, line the baking tray and place the dough on it, spreading it well so that it is even.
- Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes or until the cake is done. Then take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes before unmolding it to cut it.
- Cut it in half breadthways. My cake is 42 × 33 cm, so the first cut is to divide it into two 21x33 cm plates. Then divide the width of the cake - 33 cm - by three and make a cut in each plate at those centimeters, thus dividing each plate into one of 21 × 22 and two of 21 × 11. It will be clearer by seeing the following image.
- Once clipped let them cool completely on a rack.
Coffee syrup
- While the cake is in the oven, place all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and heat over low heat. Stir until the sugar and coffee have dissolved. Then, reserve the syrup in a container at room temperature until cool.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat the cream in a saucepan until about to boil. Then, pour it over the dark chocolate and stir until completely melted. Once melted, add the cubed butter and mix until smooth.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, so that the plastic wrap touches the surface of the cream and let it cool down to room temperature, for approximately two and a half hours.
Buttercream and coffee
- Beat the egg yolks until they bleach and reserve.
- In a saucepan, place the water, sugar and coffee. Mix and heat over medium heat until it reaches 110 ºC. You will see how it begins to bubble, thicken and change color.
- Now, add it in the form of a thread over the yolks while beating. Keep beating for 6-8 minutes, until the mixture turns creamy.
- Then, add the butter into cubes and beat at low speed until integrated. Then turn up the speed, add the vanilla and beat for another three minutes on high speed.
- Reserve the cream in a covered bowl in the fridge until you reach the amount to use it.
The montage
- Place one of the large cake bases on a parchment paper and brush it with the melted chocolate (the 80g corresponding to the crunchy base). Once done, place another baking paper on top, slightly larger than the base of the cake and turn it over. The chocolate will thus remain in the base and when it cools it will become a crunchy chocolate base.
- Brush the surface of the cake with the coffee syrup. Then, using a piping bag or a freezer bag perforated at the base, distribute half of the buttercream About this. Then smooth the surface with a trowel or knife to make it even.
- Then place on this layer of cream the two small cake bases and brush them with the coffee syrup.
- Cover with the chocolate ganache. You can use the pastry bag as well or do it with a spoon, a knife and a lot of patience.
- Place the last cake base and brush it with the coffee syrup.
- Place the other half of the buttercream on top, smooth the surface and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.
The icing on the opera cake
- Moisturize the gelatin sliced in a bowl with water for 10 minutes
- Then put the water, cream and sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat over medium heat until it starts to boil.
- Then, add the sifted cocoa, mix and let it boil for approximately 3 minutes without stopping stirring.
- Then, remove from heat and add the hydrated gelatin drained. Mix until dissolved.
- Place the glaze in a bowl, cover with film so that it touches the surface of the chocolate and let me know cool down until it reaches 35-40ºC centigrade. You will notice that it no longer burns and has acquired consistency.
- To finish, remove the cake and place it on a rack and on a tray that collects the frosting that falls. Pour the frosting over the cake and smooth the surface with a spatula to remove the excess of this.
- Trim the edges of the opera cake to show the different layers and refrigerate up to 20 minutes before serving.
