The French opera cake, created by Louis Clichy, is a delicate dessert consisting of almond sponge cake, coffee buttercream, chocolate ganache, coffee syrup, and chocolate icing. Popularized by Dalloyau Paris, it is known for its edible golden square and rich flavor. The cake is assembled by layering the sponge, buttercream, ganache, and icing, and refrigerated to firm up.
An opera cake is a French dessert known for its delicate and intensely flavored layers. Thought to be created in the late 19th century by famed pastry chef Louis Clichy, the dessert later became known as L’opera, likely because its many layers reminded users of separate operatic “acts.” A traditional opera cake consists of almond-flavored sponge cake, coffee buttercream, chocolate ganache, coffee syrup, and chocolate icing.
Although the birth of the opera cake dates back to Louis Clichy, the fame of this delicate cake is linked to Dalloyau Paris, one of the oldest bakeries in France. Dating back to the late 17th century, Dalloyau popularized the opera cake in the mid-20th century, creating a signature version that was soon copied around the world. A distinctive element of the original dessert is an edible golden square that sits atop the dessert. Imitation versions using similar recipes often include the golden square Dalloyau made famous.
The base of the opera cake is an almond-flavored sponge cake. Using a real sponge recipe is vital to the texture of the cake, as it needs to be able to absorb a significant amount of moisture from the other ingredients. While the exact recipes vary, many use a batter that calls for egg whites and ground almonds, creating a dry texture that will hold its shape even when moist. When the cake is assembled, a coffee syrup is poured over each sponge layer, deeply infusing the dessert with a rich mocha flavor.
The chocolate and coffee custards that provide the cake’s rich, creamy flavor are simple recipes that benefit from superior quality ingredients. Some recipes call for using instant espresso to make coffee buttercream, but strong brewed coffee can work just as well. An easy way to do this is to microwave heavy whipping cream until it simmers, then pour it over an equal amount of good-quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. After the chocolate has melted, the ganache can be stirred to the desired consistency or refrigerated for two hours and blended to create a light, fluffy ganache. A time-saving maneuver is to reserve half of the initial thin ganache for filling the cake, while you cool and whip the other half to fill the cake.
To assemble the cake, the almond sponge is first cut into three thin layers, each of which will be coated in coffee syrup. Traditional lyrical cakes are layered from bottom to top as follows: sponge, coffee buttercream, sponge, chocolate ganache, sponge, chocolate icing. The cake is then refrigerated for several hours to allow the icing to firm up.
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