Home opera cake: 6 -step recipe

Hello, pretty people! Today we travel to Paris with a pastry classic: the Opera cake.

If they ever dreamed of doing this wonder of layers of chocolate and coffee, but it seemed impossible, well prepare.

With a little patience and infallible tricks, they will achieve a Home opera cake that has nothing to envy to that of the best pastries. I promise you that the result will be worth every second in the kitchen.

Here I tell you everything they have to know, from their curious story to the last detail so that the Opera cake recipe Get out perfect.

On the opera cake

The Opera cake it’s a Rectangular French dessert Composed of fine layers that are interspersed to create an explosion of flavor and textures. The key ingredients of the Recipe Cake son:

• Gioconda cake (by the famous picture): And Biscuit Light of almond flourvery finite and airy. It is the basis of everything.
• Coffee syrup: And Almíbar made with strong coffee that generously moistens the cake layers, contributing that intense flavor to coffee that characterizes it.
• Coffee butter: A soft and silky cream with coffee flavor, which gives creamy to the layers. Is similar to a buttercream But based on yolks.
• Chocolate ganache: A ganache intense semi-yargo chocolatewhich complements coffee perfect.
• Bright chocolate glaze: A Final Chocolate Coverage that gives that mirror finish so characteristic and elegant.

It’s a dessert with several componentsbut each one is fundamental for the final balance. The Combination of coffee and chocolate It is a classic that never fails, and in the opera cake it reaches its maximum expression!

The fascinating story of the opera cake

As usually happens with great culinary inventions, The origin of the opera cake It has its laps. There are several stories, but the two best known take us to Paris (obvious). One says that original opera pie created by a pastry chef. Louis Clichy in 1903 For a culinary exposure.

The other, and perhaps the most romantic, tells that EN 1955, Cyriaque Gavillon From the famous Dalloyou pastry shop, he created a Almond layers, coffee and chocolate. When his wife, Andrée Gavillon, saw him finished, reminded him of the majestic Opera Garnier of Paris, with his layers and elegance. And so, they say, the name was born!

Opera cake vs. Tiramisu: similar but different

Many people confuse the opera cake with the Tiramisú Because both carry coffee and are desserts with layers. But the truth is that they are super different, although the two are a party for the palate!

• Tiramisú USA SOLETILLA BIZCOCOS (Vanilla recipe) And its cream is based on mascarpone and egg, sprinkled with cocoa. It is more creamy and “spongy” by vanillas.
• The Opera cake Use the Gioconda cakea chocolate butter and ganache, with a bright glaze. Is more structured and with more defined and powerful flavorsespecially for coffee and intense chocolate.

The trick for a perfect butter cream

One of the steps that sometimes generates doubts is coffee butter cream. The secret to be soft, silky and no lump is to make sure The butter is ready (soft but not melted) and that the hot syrup is incorporated into the beaten yolks in the form of a very fine thread and still beat.

Beat, beat and beat until the mixture cool completely before adding the butter is key so that it is not cut! If you get to cut, do not despair, sometimes gently heating the base of the bowl in a water bath and beating vigorously can be fixed. But better avoid it with patience at the beginning!

Key points of the opera cake

So that Opera Cake Be a success, take into account these points:

• The INGREDIENT QUALITY MATTERSespecially chocolate and coffee.
• Las layers must be fine to achieve characteristic elegance.
• He syrup must moisten the cake wellbut without soaking it too much.
• The cold is a friend: Refrigerate well between cape and cape facilitates assembly.
• He final cutting It is essential for presentation.

Variations to play with the opera cake

While the Classical opera cake It’s ten, you can always play a little in the kitchen! Here are some ideas to do Chocolate Opera Cake or with other flavors.

1. Without coffee (For those who are not coffee growers!): You can replace coffee syrup For a chocolate syrup, or an syrup of some liquor (such as Amaretto or rum), and even use a vanilla or chocolate butter cream instead of coffee
2. All chocolate: Using a Cocoa Gioconda Cakechocolate syrup, chocolate butter and ganache and intense chocolate glaze. For cocoa fans!
3. With a fruit touch: An interesting variation is with raspberrywhere you can use a raspberry syrup And maybe one White chocolate ganache or a vanilla butter cream. Eye, It would no longer be the original opera cakeBut it would be a delight inspired by her
4. Argentine version: With dulce de leche: Why not? One of the layers of butter cream per dulce of milk. It would be our French classic turn well. They can also be inspired by other filling ideas for cakes.

9 tips for the opera cake recipe

1. Read the full recipe Before starting. Planning is key!
2. Have all Hand and heavy ingredients Before starting.
3. Make sure that Eggs and whites for cake are at room temperature.
4. Beat the cake gioconda enough to incorporate airbut not beat more once the flour and clear are added.
5. The cold is an ally: Refrigerate well between cape and cape facilitates assembly.
6. He final cutting It is essential for presentation. Use a very sharp knife and pass it through hot water before each clean cut.
7. He chocolate glaze must be at fair temperature: warm so that it can pour, but not hot.
8. If they do not get almond flour, you can process peeled almonds.
9. The coffee cream can be replaced by common buttercream.

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Easy opera cake recipe

Yield: 10-12 portions

Preparation time: 2 hours (including cooled)

Opera cake ingredients

For the cake (simplified gioconda cake)

• 4 eggs
• 4 clear
• 120 g of sugar
• 120 g of almond flour (or ground almonds)
• 40 g of flour 0000
• 40 g of melted butter
• 1 pinch of salt

For coffee syrup

• 100 ml of water
• 80 g of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of instant coffee

For coffee butter cream

• 150 g of ointment
• 100 g of sugar
• 2 yolks
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 cdita. of instantaneous coffee dissolved in 1 cdita. of hot water

For chocolate ganache

• 200 g of semiamargo chocolate
• 150 ml of milk cream

For bright coverage (optional mirror glaze)

• 100 g of semiamargo chocolate
• 80 ml of cream
• 1 cdta. honey or glucose

How to prepare opera cake recipe step by step

For the cagochuelo joconde

1. Preheat the oven at average temperature (180 ° C). Beat the 4 eggs with sugar until they are sparkling and pale.
2. Add the almond flour and sifted common flour. Mix with spatula.
3. In another bowl, Beat the whites to point snow With a pinch of salt. Incorporate the whites to the anterior milkshake with enveloping movements.
4. Add the melted and warm butter and turn the mixture into a rectangular tray (30 × 40 cm approx.) Lined with butter paper. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden and the dry center. Cool and cut 3 equal plates.

For coffee syrup

1. Take water to the sugar. When the boil breaks, turn off and dissolve coffee. Let cool.

For coffee cream

1. Beat the ointment butter until it is very creamy.
2. Make a syrup with sugar and water (105 ° C or soft ball point).
3. While the yolks are beaten, Add the thread -shaped syrup. Beat until it cools.
4. Add the whipped butter and dissolved coffee. Beat until you integrate.

For chocolate ganache

1. Heat the cream until you start having small bubbles on the edges.
2. Dump into chopped chocolate and let stand for a few minutes.
3. Mix until you get a bright cream. Let temper a little.

For assembly

1. Place the first cagochuelo iron. Paint with syrup. Extend a fine cape of ganache. Refrigerate about 15-30 minutes.
2. Repeat the process with the following two layers and take to the refrigerator minimum 1 hour to take body.

For the final glaze

1. Heat the cream with honey. Pour over chocolate and mix well.
2. When he is barely lukewarm, cold.

Alisar with spatula and cool again 30 minutes.