food photos
recent posts
Is There A Maestro in the House?
Date: May. 28th 2008
Category: Dessert and Pastry, Daring Bakers
Email This
| 
Add to del.icio.us
If you hear music in the air it’s because Daring Bakers the world around are posting their tribute to one of the world’s great confections: Opéra Cake or L’Opéra as they would say in France.
For the May 2008 Daring Bakers‘ challenge, I have the privilege of hosting with my incredible co-founder Lis and with two of our newer Daring Baker members: Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful.
The challenge chosen is the aforementioned Opéra Cake, but with a twist. We decided that in honour of spring, we’d attempt a lighter version of the cake and by lighter I don’t mean reduced calories. What I mean is we wanted to create cakes that were light in flavour and colour.
While we did our best to research the origins of this cake, we were unable to find out much beyond the fact that the creation of the cake is attributed to a gentleman by the name of Louis Clichy who first presented it in the early 1900s in Paris. Dalloyau, the great Parisian pâtisserie, is also attributed with offering a version of the cake that is considered by many to be the definitive version.
Traditionally, L’Opéra consists of layers of almond-based cake (joconde) that are moistened with syrup and then filled with buttercream. The cake is then topped with a mousse or ganache and followed by a glaze. Usually the flavours tend towards coffee and chocolate.
For our version of the cake, we relied on two sources: Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle’s and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.
The building blocks of this cake, namely the joconde and the soaking syrup, were relatively straightforward. I didn’t have jelly roll pans that were the size required so I ended up using my trusty old sheet pans, which were slightly larger. The resulting joconde was a bit thinner than what the recipe intended but I was extra careful in handling them and cutting them to size so I didn’t have any troubles there.
For the soaking syrup, I decided to flavour it with a lovely liquid called Talea Amaretto Cream Liqueur. I wanted my cake to have a very strong almond flavour (to mirror the almond meal in the joconde) so I chose a liqueur that was very almondy (and delicious!).
Having the joconde and soaking syrup ready, I proceeded with the buttercream. This buttercream begins with a syrup of sugar, water and flavouring (vanilla in my case) that is cooked to a certain stage and then added to a whipped mixture of egg. The trick is to add the syrup very slowly because if it hits the spinning whisk it can create threads and strings that will ruin your buttercream. Once all the syrup is in, you add butter. I also added a liberal amount of almond extract to help with the flavour.
I adored this buttercream! It was silky and buttery. It was rich without eaving a greasy taste in your mouth as buttercream sometimes does. And it was a dream to spread.
While I was anxious to build my cake, I decided not to skip one of the components that is often found in Opéra Cake: the mousse or ganache layer that goes on top of the cake before the glaze is added.
The mousse was basically a mixture of melted white chocolate, heavy cream and more Talea. The heavy cream is whipped to a fluffy consistency and then mixed with the chocolate and refrigerated until ready to use.
Finally, it was time to start building my cake!
I began by cutting the pieces into the appropriate sizes with the first piece being a rectangle. I brushed it liberally with soaking syrup and then topped it with most of the buttercream. I fit two square pieces of joconde over the first layer of buttercream and brushed those with more soaking syrup. I then used the remainder of the buttercream. I ended with the final piece of joconde which I dampened with the remaining syrup.
When I build cakes with many layers, I like to take breaks in between to referigerate the cake. I think letting it get cold helps to stabilize it and it also gives me a break to ensure that I don’t rush and make a mistake or a mess, which is often what I do. Patience is not one of my virtues in the kitchen!
So after letting the cake sit in the fridge for about thirty minutes, I took it out and added the white chocolate mousse layer. I then popped it back in the fridge while I made the glaze.
The white chocolate glaze was simply melted white chocolate mixed with heavy cream. The key is to let the glaze cool so that it’s still spreadable but not too hot (or it will melt your mousse layer).
Of course I got a bit impatient and poured the glaze on a bit too soon. Some of my mousse melted into the glaze (or vice versa) and I ended up with not the prettiest of top layers. To resolve my blunder, I melted some candy coating (in pink) and used it to create a squiggly design on the entire top of my cake. This effectively hid the “ugly melty spots” as I came to call them and gave my cake a very colourful and light look.
I used the remaining melted candy coating to pipe out musical symbols, which was a lot of fun. I let the cake and the symbols chill for several hours before trimming it. As careful as I was, parts of my cake were a bit uneven and I wanted a cake with perfectly even sides. So I trimmed off the uneven bits and thoroughly enjoyed eating them!
The rest of the cake was given a few final touches and photographed. I brought it to work the next day where everyone loved it. While it was sweet, the cake is not meant to be eaten in huge portions. A little goes a very long way.
Overall, I was very happy with my first attempt at Opéra Cake!
The most important thing I can tell you about this month’s challenge is that it’s dedicated to Barbara of winosandfoodies.com. Many of you know may know Barbara from her blog and many of you may also know her for her support and efforts for LiveSTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. As part of her efforts for LiveSTRONG Day, Barbara hosts A Taste of Yellow, which is an event that unites food bloggers everywhere in the fight against cancer.
Barbara was a member of the Daring Bakers for awhile but had to resign for personal reasons. But as Lis so eloquently put it, she’ll always be a Daring Baker because she represents the very qualities that we all work hard for: she’s is strong, she is passionate, she’s a fighter.
Barbara, this cake is for you!
Ciao!
The Daring Bakers’ Opéra Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle’s and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.For the joconde:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooledDivide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).
Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.
If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.
Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.
Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.
Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.
Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.
For the soaking syrup:
½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of your choice (i.e., vanilla extract, almond extract, cognac, limoncello, coconut cream, honey etc.)Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
For the buttercream (The recipe for the buttercream that is listed here is based on the original. When testing the buttercream, we tested a slightly modified version that had 2 cups sugar, ½ cup water and 1¾ cups butter. The eggs remained the same. We ended up with a very creamy buttercream. But we don’t want anyone to be afraid of our modified version so you have the option of using the original above or the quantities we’ve listed here in this note):
1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar (Used to say 2 cups but should be 1 cup)
¼ cup (60 grams) water (Used to say ½ cup but should say ¼ cup)
seeds of one vanilla bean (split a vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds) or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature (Used to say 1¾ cups of butter but it should be 1¾ sticks).
flavouring of your choice (a tablespoon of an extract, a few tablespoons of melted white chocolate, citrus zest, etc.)Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.
Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) (Note: The original recipe instructs to heat the syrup to 255◦F (124◦C). We heated it to 225◦F and it worked just fine. However, if you are concerned, then by all means heat your syrup to 255◦F.) on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.
While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.
When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!
Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).
While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.
With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.
At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.
Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).
For the ganache/mousse:
7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.
If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.
For the glaze:
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.
Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.
Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
Enjoy!
133 Comments
Post a Comment
extras
February 2010
Valvona & Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table
Have you ever read a cookbook that brings tears to your eyes? Tears of joy for all the beautiful food in the world that can be made. That would be this book. Love it.
Magazine Mondays
Click here for more info!
Categories
- 2006 FIFA World Cup
- 2006 Winter Olympics
- Antipasti
- Baking Class
- Beans and Legumes
- Beverages
- Bread
- Brunch
- Cakes, Cheesecakes, Cupcakes and Muffins
- Canada
- Canadian Blogging By Post
- Chocolate
- Choux Pastry
- Christmas
- Coconut
- Comfort Food
- Cookbooks
- Cookies and Bars
- Cooking Italy
- Dairy
- Daring Bakers
- Dessert and Pastry
- Drinks
- Events
- Fish and Seafood
- Flavour of the Month
- Food Blog Awards
- Food of Piemonte
- Fruit
- Gnocchi, Pasta, Pizza and Rice
- Ice Cream
- Italian Sweets
- La Festa al Fresco
- Lemon
- Magazine Mondays
- Meat and Poultry
- MEMEs
- News
- Panini, Sandwiches and Tramezzini
- Pies and Tarts
- Potlucks
- Preserves
- Salads and Dressings
- Soup
- Sugar High Fridays
- Sweet Snacks
- The Daring Bakers
- The Daring Cooks
- The Travelling Cream Puff
- Treasured Family Recipes
- Uncategorized
- Vegetables
- Weblogs
More Links
- Alpineberry
- Caramels, Bonbons et Chocolats
- The Canadian Baker
- Confessions of a Cardamom Addict
- Cherry's English Kitchen
- Cupcake Bakeshop
- It's My Life
- Tip of the Iceberg
- DavidLebovitz.com
- Dessert First
- Eating Suburbia
- Egg Hunt
- Exploring The Silver Spoon
- A Finger in Every Pie
- Fiordizucca
- Food Porn Watch
- Humble Pie
- Gluten-Free Goddess
- Hungry In Hogtown
- Jellypress
- Jumbo Empanadas
- A Veggie Venture
- Kochtopf
- Le Moulin
- Make Life Sweeter!
- Living Venice … and Beyond
- Italian Cooking Recipes
- Foodisgood
- Joonbug.com (New York)
- Once Upon A Feast
- P.A. Moed
- Pinch My Salt
- Posie Gets Cozy
- Rubber Slippers in Italy
- Scrumptious Street
- Seven Spoons
- Still Life With
- Sweet Pleasure: Plaisir Sucré
- Tales From Pixie Wood
- The Flying Apple
- The Second Helping House
- My Kitchen in Half Cups
- Winosandfoodies
- Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow
- 101 Cookbooks
- A Blithe Palate
- ACE Bakery
- A La Cuisine!
- All Recipes
- All Things Edible
- Scones, Muffins, and Tea Cakes
- Trattoria Cooking
- Dip It!
- Panini, Bruschetta, Crostini
- Chez Panisse Vegetables
- Perfect Cakes
- Chez Panisse Fruit
- Italy in Small Bites
- Marcella Says
- Once Upon a Tart
- The Cook and the Gardener
- The Weekend Baker
- Chez Panisse Desserts
- Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
- The Good Cookie
- Lorenza's Pasta
- The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
- Barefoot Contessa Parties!
- The Babbo Cookbook
- Rustico
- Barefoot Contessa Family Style
- The Complete Book of Baking
- How to Be a Domestic Goddess
- An Alphabet of Sweets
- Death By Chocolate Cookies
- Canadian Living Cooks Step By Step
- Breads from the La Brea Bakery
- The Art of Eating Well
- On Food and Cooking
- The Pie and Pastry Bible
- The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking
- The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
- The Cake Bible
- Baking with Julia
- Italy Al Dente
- The Food of Italy
- The Silver Spoon
- Celebration Breads
- Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert
- More From Magnolia
- Paris Sweets
- Pure Chocolate
- Cheesecakes
- Biscotti
- Sweet Miniatures
- Afternoon Delights
- Luscious Chocolate Desserts
- A Beautiful Bowl of Soup
- The Simple Art of Perfect Baking
- Essentials of Baking
- The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion
- The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
- Easiest and Best Coffee Cakes and Quick Breads
- Out to Brunch
- Barefoot in Paris
- Everyday Italian
- Wanda's Pie in the Sky
- For the Love of Soup
- Truly Madly Pasta
- The ACE Bakery Cookbook
- Salad Dressing 101
- Biscuit Bliss
- Party Nuts!
- French Farmhouse Cookbook
- Fagioli
- Avventura
- Bittersweet
- Home Baking
- Bread Made Easy
- Soffritto
- Pasta!
- Caprial's Desserts
- The Great Chocolate Book
- Truffles, Candies, and Confections
- The Donut Book
- Risotto
- Bread
- Brunch
- Buonissimo!
- Recipes from an Italian Terrace
- A Passion for Chocolate
- Basic Italian
- Simple Italian Sandwiches
- Mediterranean Street Food
- The French Market
- Patricia Wells' Trattoria
- The Italian Baker
- A Thousand Days in Venice
- Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home
- The Zuni Cafe Cookbook
- All About Braising
- Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating
- The Cake Book
- Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague
- Larousse Gastronomique
- Baking: From My Home to Yours
- The Chef's Table
- Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza, Calzone
- Rose's Christmas Cookies
- A Passion for Piedmont
- The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook
- Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake
- Italian Farmhouse Cookbook
- The New Food Lover's Companion
- Pizza (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library)
- Luscious Lemon Desserts
- A Passion for Desserts
- Caramel
- Delicious Dips
- Luscious Berry Desserts
- The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook
- Cupcakes!
- A Passion for Ice Cream
- Coffee Cakes
- A Sweet Quartet
- Sunday Suppers at Lucques
- Kitchen Sense
- Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
- Wing It!
- Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings
- The Best Quick Breads
- Iced Tea
- Artisan Baking
- Bread for Breakfast
- The Cheese Board: Collective Works
- Les Halles Cookbook
- Simple Soirees
- Twelve: A Tuscan Cook Book
- The Handmade Loaf
- Al Forno
- Italian Vegetables
- Meze
- The Lost Art of Baking With Yeast: Delicious Hungarian Cakes & Pastries
- BakerBites
- Baking and Books
- La Tartine Gourmande
- Becks & Posh
- BetterBaking.com
- The Candied Quince
- Cottage Chic Living by Cherry Menlove
- Chez Pim
- Chocolate & Zucchini
- Chocolatier
- The Cookbook Store
- Cooking.com
- Cook's Illustrated
- La Cucina Italiana On Line
- Cucina Testa Rossa
- De Arte Coquinaria
- Delicious Cafe
- Delicious Days
- Epicurious
- Flickr
- Food & Wine
- Foodbeam
- Foodieblogs.net
- FoodieView
- Food for Thought - A Foodtv.ca blog
- From the Branches of an Olive Tree
- Geneve's Kitchen
- Golda's Kitchen
- Il Forno
- International Recipes
- Is My Blog Burning?
- ItalianMade.com
- Joy Of Cooking
- Our Adventures in Japan
- Kitchen Connaisseur
- La Toile Maison
- Leite's Culinaria
- Lidia's Italy
- Lori Longbotham
- Lucullian Delights
- Do You Know The Muffin Man?
- Market Hall Foods
- Living in Florence
- Michaelaram.com
- Monika Korngut's Delicious Living
- An Obsession with Food
- Orangette
- Pastry Arts and Design
- Pastry Chef Central
- Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum
- The Republic of Tea
- ReTorte
- Rustico Cooking
- Saveur
- Simply Recipes
- Slashfood
- Taste T.O.
- The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz
- The Perfect Pantry
- Tomato_Kumato
- The Traveler's Lunchbox
- The Vanilla.COMpany
- Vinography
- The Wednesday Chef
05/28/08 at 1:10 am
Lovely as usual Ivonne- I love your piped notes and symbols! Brava!!!
05/28/08 at 2:00 am
Your cake looks fabulous! Very beautiful!
Cheers,
Rosa
05/28/08 at 2:39 am
Beautiful work as always Ivonne. Sigh, if I still lived in Toronto I’d wander the streets trying to sniff you out
Of course I would be carrying a thermos of coffee or a nice ice wine to offer in exchange!!!
05/28/08 at 2:56 am
Superb as usual!! Thanks for the great challenge. I’d always wanted to make an Opera!
05/28/08 at 2:56 am
Gorgeous Ivonne, as always.
05/28/08 at 3:06 am
Maybe the decoration is hiding some fault, but it looks beautiful.
Thank you for helping me discover the Opera Cake.
05/28/08 at 3:13 am
Your cake looks fabulous! I love the squiggly pink on top!
05/28/08 at 3:25 am
How sweet looking! Thanks for this great challenge!
05/28/08 at 3:57 am
I never in my life thought I would make this cake. But, now that I, I am going to reattack macarons anew. Thanks for picking it.
05/28/08 at 3:59 am
lovely looking cake ivonne. and i love the addition of pinkness!
05/28/08 at 4:01 am
Beautiful cake Ivonne, and thanks to you, Fran, Lis and Shea for hosting this challenge - I was pleasantly surprised that I could make this!
05/28/08 at 4:13 am
Very lovely, Ivonne! Thank you for co-hosting this month’s challenge.
05/28/08 at 4:19 am
Aww, those little notes are very cute additions for your beautifull cake
05/28/08 at 4:32 am
Thank you Ivonne for this special honour. It really made my day. Your cake is gorgeous. Such a pretty colour and I love the musical notes,
05/28/08 at 4:32 am
fabulous!
05/28/08 at 4:40 am
A study in pink! Adorable.
Thanks for a challenging challenge!
05/28/08 at 5:08 am
Bravo, maestro! Your cake turned out beautiful, just as I expected. And the amaretto flavor throughout sounds scrumptious!
05/28/08 at 5:09 am
This was so fun. I am so happy to be a Daring Baker! Thanks to you and your sister for starting and continuing this great group!
The cake looks fabulous.
05/28/08 at 5:38 am
Ivonne, great challenge! I loved every part of it. My status among my friends has greatly improved based upon the success of this cake.
Yours is gorgeous! Mine melted too…. I should have thought about the candy coating squiggly topping. Tres belle!
xoxox Amy
05/28/08 at 5:46 am
Gorgeous! The musical symbols are a perfect touch. Thank you for a terrific challenge this month!
05/28/08 at 5:56 am
Gorgeous looking cake. I like the pink musical notes
05/28/08 at 6:00 am
I am really going into a tenor! Beautiful and so creative!
05/28/08 at 6:00 am
Your cake looks great and I LOVE the music notes! Just lovely!
05/28/08 at 6:02 am
Bravo Maestro! Great challenge I learned alot it was fabulous.Thanks for all your hard work to keep us daring, it is appreciated. Love the pink
05/28/08 at 6:06 am
I LOVE the fact that this months challlenge was dedicated to Barbara for her Taste of Yellow event. Well done!!!!! I’m off to look at all the inspired combinations:D
05/28/08 at 6:41 am
Very pretty!
I especially like your little notes.
05/28/08 at 7:01 am
So pretty! Thanks for hosting a great challenge this month…loved the recipe!
05/28/08 at 7:14 am
wow, how lovely. Thanks for hosting!
05/28/08 at 7:20 am
Maestro! Yes I believe one lives in your house Ivonne! Gosh the decorations are fun on your cake! I just knew yours would be lovely and it tis.
Thanks for the Opera!
05/28/08 at 7:22 am
Stunning!
05/28/08 at 7:27 am
I kNEW that I could count on you, Ivonne, to produce such a spectacular version of the opera cake, for this month’s DBC - looks marvelous!
05/28/08 at 7:35 am
Your cake is absolutely stunning!!! I am in awe!
05/28/08 at 7:35 am
Awesome piping! I dig it, really.
05/28/08 at 7:36 am
gorgeous! excellent recipe, and what an awesome dessert to add to all of our culinary repetoires!
05/28/08 at 7:45 am
Thank you for once again making me push my boundaries. Beautiful great job.
05/28/08 at 7:49 am
Fantastic job. I love the little pink notes.
05/28/08 at 7:50 am
Your cake looks beautiful, Ivonne. And thanks so much for hosting. I had so much fun with this one — I think it’s my favorite challenge so far!
05/28/08 at 7:52 am
Thank you for another great challenge, Ivonne. I am so proud to be part of this great group of bakers
You and Lis rock!
05/28/08 at 8:00 am
love your cake, the piped musical notes are great! i love how moist your cake looks like.
05/28/08 at 8:30 am
I love the pink musical notes!Thanks for hosting May’s DB challenge. It was quite challenging to make a opera cake.
05/28/08 at 8:31 am
Thanks for this challenge!!!!
I love the little notes of music in pink!!!
05/28/08 at 8:32 am
Ivonne, I love the music notes! And the step by step photos will help everyone who visits. Thanks to you and Lisa for oh so many things (DB being the smallest and both of your friendship in the virtual world and in real life being the most!)
OK, off to consume more cake than is good for a girl
05/28/08 at 8:34 am
Thanks for yet another wonderful challenge. I had a lot of fun with this one, and everyone’s cakes look incredible, yours included!
05/28/08 at 8:51 am
Thank you for once again being a great host and for a fantastic challenge! Your cake is beautiful (I too was a little too early pouring the glaze and slightly melted my mousse, but I just stuck it in the freezer for a few minutes and added MORE to smooth it out . . . very sweet, but pretty!
. . . I love the pink clefs and music notes!
Best,
Sarah
05/28/08 at 8:52 am
Gorgeous cake, Ivonne! Thanks for an awesome challenge (in every sense of the word)!
05/28/08 at 8:57 am
wow! i love your perfect little pink notes! great job! This was my very first daring bakers challenge and I had a wonderful time baking this cake!
05/28/08 at 9:01 am
This cake certainly looks like a challenge..but of course you did it once again! Your cake is beautiful!
05/28/08 at 9:12 am
Thanks for the great challenge idea, I loved it. And yours looks so nice!! Love the musical notes, too!
05/28/08 at 9:16 am
Thank you for this wonderful challenge!!! It was so much fun. Your cake looks divine - delish!
05/28/08 at 9:24 am
Another stunning confection from the Creampuff! Your cake looks gorgeous. I made pink music notes too.
Thanks for choosing such a terrific challenge. Not only was it fun, but I learned a lot!
05/28/08 at 9:29 am
very pretty cake and an excellent challenge! Thank you so much! I almost gave up though… hahaha
05/28/08 at 9:31 am
Simply gorgeous, Ivonne!
And thanks for co-hosting this month!
05/28/08 at 9:56 am
This was an awesome challenge, Ivonne! I loved it! Your turned out beautifully!
05/28/08 at 10:07 am
Lovely cake Ivonne! Thanks for a great challenge!
05/28/08 at 10:16 am
[…] see the recipe to the basic Opera cake and to see the great team click here. […]
05/28/08 at 10:48 am
I have been wanting to tackle Opera Cake forever! Thanks for a fun challenge, Ivonne. Using pink candy melt is such a great idea!
05/28/08 at 10:52 am
Lovely cake, and pretty decorations, well done - and thanks for hosting!
05/28/08 at 11:17 am
Thats so beautiful….I wanted to make notes…but lost patience :((. Yours looks so so good.
05/28/08 at 11:27 am
i love the notes and clefs! yours was beautiful and thanks so much for hosting (and inviting newbies to host!) great job!
05/28/08 at 11:29 am
I love the “squiggly” that is covering the “melty”!!!
A big Thank You all for a great challenge!!
05/28/08 at 12:56 pm
I love those cute notes and the squigglies on top. Awesome job.
05/28/08 at 1:25 pm
I LOVED this month’s challenge - you guys did such a great job choosing it!
05/28/08 at 1:42 pm
Beautiful, simply beautiful! This challenge was, well, really challenging for me this time around, but I sure learned a lot!
05/28/08 at 2:01 pm
Thanks for a great challenge Ivonne! I love seeing all these creative cakes - and yours is no exception! it makes me want to dive right in!
05/28/08 at 2:11 pm
[…] the recipe, visit Ivonne at Cream Puffs in […]
05/28/08 at 2:57 pm
Thanks for the great challenge! I learned a lot! Your opera cake looks fabulous!
05/28/08 at 3:05 pm
The cake looks wonderful. I love the notes and symbols and the color youve used. so pretty
Thanks for hosting such a great
challenge, I loved the opera cake.
05/28/08 at 3:21 pm
bravo, cream puff– gorgeous cake! i loved this challenge…thought the cake was delicious and beautiful!
05/28/08 at 3:26 pm
[…] time you’ve really outdone yourselves. Opera cake for your May challenge? Wow. Who knew SO many people could pull off an opera cake so well! All those elaborate layers […]
05/28/08 at 4:02 pm
“Light in flavour” Three words I thought I’d never see on this site! Still, I might try a slice if you’re nice to me…
05/28/08 at 4:25 pm
What a beautiful cake! I love the musical notes!
05/28/08 at 4:58 pm
It was hard to wait for the glaze to cool! Mine never set because I was extremely generous with the cream.
05/28/08 at 5:13 pm
A Masterpiece!!!
05/28/08 at 5:27 pm
Oh so very pretty–really like the pink squiggly-wigglies.
Thanks for the challenge!
j
05/28/08 at 5:31 pm
Beautiful cake and I love the notes and treble clef. I can’t wait for next month’s challenge-it will be my first!
05/28/08 at 5:57 pm
[…] can find the elaborate instructions on the site of this month’s co-host Ivonne from Cream Puffs in Venice. Three more co-hosts joined in for the fun this month, the other founder of the Daring Bakers, Lis […]
05/28/08 at 5:57 pm
[…] recipe can be found here, if you’re interested, and be sure to check out the […]
05/28/08 at 6:09 pm
What a fantastic challenge - beautifully executed. You deserve a standing ovation!
05/28/08 at 6:28 pm
Thanks for a great challenge! I love the pink treble clef. I might have been better in band if I had such cute little clefs!
05/28/08 at 6:54 pm
Your opera cake looks great. I like the pink pattern on top.
05/28/08 at 7:13 pm
your cake looks great! very fluffy and yum!
05/28/08 at 8:15 pm
Yum~ your cake looks so moist and airy. I am drooling at this very minute!
Thank you for this difficult yet beautiful challenge!
05/28/08 at 8:43 pm
Beautiful job! You always impress me.
05/28/08 at 8:44 pm
Beautiful! Sounds delicious!
05/28/08 at 9:15 pm
So pretty, but I have to say, my favorite picture is the first one! I like the idea of an after shot!
05/28/08 at 9:42 pm
Mistakes? Flaws? I see patisserie-worthy perfection in your Opera. Another work of art from Ivonne’s kitchen.
05/28/08 at 10:13 pm
Great music notes! I tried to do this, but it didn’t quite work like I planned. Oh well. I enjoyed the challenge, thanks!
05/29/08 at 12:12 am
Gosh I absolutely love the idea of the Amaretto! It is one of my favourite liqueurs.
05/29/08 at 3:14 am
It’s simply wonderful, and the decoration too! Kisses Elga
05/29/08 at 3:48 am
Your musical notes make the cake. Your details are always the crowning touch. Che bella!
05/29/08 at 4:02 am
I love your little pink musical notes! the perfect decoration! And I so agree with you on the buttercream…it was delicious and easy to spread…I’m so glad this recipe was my first
I also agree about refrigerating the cake in between building it…it does help a lot in making sure everything is stable enough for the next component!
05/29/08 at 4:24 am
You did a wonderful job in decorating the melted spots. It looks very pretty that way!
Thanks for this challenge!
05/29/08 at 6:48 am
Holy smokes. I learned that there is such a thing as Opera cake, and that there are lots of people who already knew that and were/are ready to try their hand making it. It’s a fantastic piece of work. I think somewhere, the French chef who invented this — and who had an army of kitchen boys and scullery maids to help him do the forty jobs involved in making the cake — is doffing his toque to you. Felicitations!
05/29/08 at 7:23 am
I love the way your cake turned out! Beautiful decorations… thank you for hosting! It was a fun challenge and my mother loved the result!
05/29/08 at 7:45 am
Your Opera Cake is simply beautiful. I love the bright pink treble clef, what a lovely touch to your cake. Thank you for a wonderful challenge. I had a great time making the Opera Cake…so many elements to play with and tweak. Yum!
Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go
05/29/08 at 8:18 am
I had never heard about an opera cake till this came up….
05/29/08 at 8:25 am
Thank you for a very challenging challenge. I learned a lot, and am so happy to see the variety of operatic versions out there.
05/29/08 at 9:03 am
RE: applie pie bars.
Sorry to ask you for your feedback on the Applie Pie Bars you made awhile back. I went to print out this recipe and notice there are 6 sticks of butter in this recipe, although it makes a large quantity (so that’s OK. Is the shortbread crust firm and crunchy? I would love to make this recipe, but would llke your thoughts since you alredy made it. Thanks!
05/29/08 at 9:05 am
beautiful! would expect no less from you, thank you for this challenge it was fun
05/29/08 at 11:01 am
Just lovely. Love the piped music symbols. We are moving this month and the kitchen is a wreck, so I wasn’t able to bake my opera cake. Looking forward to christening the new kitchen with opera cake in a few weeks!
05/29/08 at 12:17 pm
Ivonne - love the cake and love you for choosing this!
05/29/08 at 12:36 pm
[…] that I have an interest in the intersections of food and music, the latest Daring Bakers Challenge on Opera Cake should have been a perfect challenge for me. I loved the idea of a complex structure, a […]
05/29/08 at 12:36 pm
Ivonne, your cake looks wonderful! Pink musical notes are so lovely! I bet the cake tasted great soaked with Talea (one of my favorite liquors)!
And thank you very much for hosting such a great challenge!
05/29/08 at 1:03 pm
Ivonne, it’s nice to know that even you a seasoned and skilled baker can get nervous while assembling a layer cake! I love the pink candy coating and music notes, it adds something whimsical to your L’Opéra, not to mention that it’s a fabulous save.
Thank you for co-hosting this, my very first DB challenge! I’m looking forward to the next one!
05/29/08 at 3:34 pm
Thanks for this challenge, I enjoyed it immensely!
Your cake looks wonderful and the music notes are very cute!
05/29/08 at 3:39 pm
Very nice! I love your adorable little musical notes!
05/29/08 at 3:46 pm
Your cake is so beautiful and light looking - I bet it tasted great
05/29/08 at 4:49 pm
Very lovely Opera Cake! I like the musical notations. Really good technique to put the cake layers in the fridge before finalizing - will copy!
05/29/08 at 7:30 pm
Soooooo pretty! I love the colors you chose. Nice job with your La Opera cake!
05/29/08 at 8:09 pm
First of all thank you for hosting and thank you for clear instructions - I would have died in the kitchen otherwise. Your cake is exceptional - the pink is gorgeous, the spaghetti type piping is great and the taste sensational.
This challenge was a great ride and the musical notes are symbolic of the singing (and other such blurts) coming from around the globe. Brava!!!
05/29/08 at 10:37 pm
Thanks for the challenge, I really enjoyed making this cake.
Yours is beautiful, I love the squiggly topping.
05/30/08 at 5:30 am
Lovely cakes as usual Ivonne! It’s a brilliant choice for the challenge. Thanks for hosting, it was awesome.
05/30/08 at 7:13 am
your idea was fantastic
I’m so glad I’ve succeeded !!!!
Your cake looks wonderful : great job
05/30/08 at 1:52 pm
wow! Another winner. If I were to bake this, it would never finish because my little gal would be eating all the icing and grabbing the cake with her little greedy hands because she loves cakes just like her papa.
05/30/08 at 2:03 pm
The pink squiggles are so nice on this cake. My mousse did the melty thing, too when I poured on the chocolate. Thanks for the clever and pretty idea to hide things like that! I really enjoyed this challenge because of the variety of flavors everyone came up with. Thanks, Ivonne!
05/30/08 at 9:25 pm
Wow, your cake looks amazing! I love your tip about refrigerating the cake in-between layers to let it set. Talea Amaretto cream is one of my favorites, so I can only imagine what it would be like with an almond joconde. Your treble clefs are adorable too. Thanks for hosting (and starting!) such an amazing event!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog
05/31/08 at 7:11 am
[…] time to bake May’s DB challenge, Opera Cake, brought to us by Daring Baker founders, Lis and Ivonne, and co-hosted this month with Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of […]
06/1/08 at 7:04 am
Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Thanks so much for hosting this challenge, Ivonne! I had a great time.
06/1/08 at 2:41 pm
Lovely! What a fun challenge–something I definitely would never have tried on my own.
06/2/08 at 11:50 am
You guys outdo yourselves EVERY MONTH! I’m always duly impressed. Lovely cake!
06/2/08 at 4:33 pm
Could there even be a better way to garnish an Opera Torte? Nope…musical notes and staffs are the best way. Love your idea!
06/3/08 at 6:52 am
This looks amazing! Great work!
06/3/08 at 6:59 pm
Hi Ivonne! You’ve been tagged for a “Meme”! Be sure to check it out on my blog: http://sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/
06/4/08 at 8:19 am
What you do is really wonderful especially with the daring bakers…and the opera just looks delectable…
But i have to say that i learned from a french pastry chef that there is only one type of opera cake in the world which is with ganache and coffee buttercream layered in a specific order as well. This is a true classic french way created by Dalloyau company and later refined by Lenôtre and shouldn’t be change ever. However, you are of course able to use the recipe to create your own different variations but then it shouldn’t be named opera cake.
06/5/08 at 12:09 am
Just a few words…..a sheer masterpiece in pink colour! Wonderful!!!!!
Hugs and kisses
Sabrina&Luca
06/5/08 at 9:59 am
Your cake looks absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for hosting - this was such a fun challenge!
06/5/08 at 10:36 am
Just beautiful!
06/5/08 at 11:17 pm
Hi, I’ve just got to know about the Daring Bakers, and it’s fantastic!
And what a fabulous cake. I’m very inspired to go make one already!
I read through the recipe but there is one part of the joconde recipe I do not get.
At first it says:
Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.
And then later it says :
Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.
Does it mean that once it’s baked, move one of the pan to the middle?
I’m a little confused.
Thanks.
06/6/08 at 8:59 am
I love you. You absolutely amaze me, amazing girl.
06/29/08 at 9:07 pm
i can’t believe i did not remember to visit your blog to see this challenge! i’m sorry!
your opera cake looks magnificent - i love the music notes
thanks for a great pick. i really enjoyed the challenge and surprised myself - never did i think i would be able to create something so elegant like an opera cake.
08/29/08 at 4:19 pm
[…] to decide what kind of cake to make but it just so happened that our cohosts this month, Lis and Ivonne, founders of the DB, and Fran and Shea chose an opera cake for the group’s monthly challenge. […]
11/12/08 at 2:50 pm
[…] that I have an interest in the intersections of food and music, the latest Daring Bakers Challenge on Opera Cake should have been a perfect challenge for me. I loved the idea of a complex structure, a […]
03/8/09 at 8:33 am
[…] cancer.So, now to my cake making. The recipe we used for the Opera cake can be found for example in Ivonnes challenge entry (it’s really quite long, and I’m never totally comfortable about putting anyone […]