Tuesday, March 5, 2013

OTHER CAKES: The Le Opera cake is a famous French cake. Even though it takes a few steps to put it together, you will be pleased with the spectacular cake that it is.


LE OPERA CAKE:
 
 
 
 
 
cake:
 
    5 egg whites                                                            
    1 ¾ cups ground almond
    ¾ cup sugar                                                
    5 whole eggs
    ½ cup all purpose flour                               
    pinch of salt
    2 tbsp. melted butter
 
syrup:
 
    ½ cup boiling water                                    
    1/3 cup sugar
    3 tbsp. rum
 
coffee buttercream:
 
    1 egg +1 egg yolk                                        
    ½ cup unsalted butter, softened      
    5 tsp. water                                                 
    6 tbsp. sugar
    3 egg yolks, lightly beaten                          
    1 tbsp. strong black coffee
    ½ tsp. coffee extract, optional
 
chocolate ganache cream:
 
    8 oz. bittersweet chocolate pieces               
    2/3 cup whipping cream
    2 tbsp. rum
 
chocolate flakes to decorate                                       
 
3 tbsp. sifted cocoa powder to dust
 
 
 
 
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch square baking pan, line it with wax paper and grease the paper.
 
Set a large bowl over a pan of boiling water, making sure bottom of bowl does not touch the water. Add 5 whole eggs and ½ cup sugar and pinch of salt. Beat eggs until tripled in volume and very thick. Carefully fold in flour, ground almonds and melted butter.
 
In another bowl, beat 5 egg whites until foamy, gradually add in ¼ cup sugar, 2 tbsp. at a time, beating after each addition; and continue beating until stiff. Fold egg whites into egg-almond mixture carefully.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until tested done. Remove cake from oven, cool cake in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Then un-mould cake and peel off waxed paper. Let cake cool completely.
 
To make syrup:  Pour ½ cup boiling water into the sugar in a bowl, stirring to dissolve sugar. When cooled, add in the rum.
 
To make coffee cream: Work ½ cup butter into a paste. In a saucepan over low heat, dissolve the sugar in water. As soon as sugar is dissolved, raise heat to medium high and boil syrup until a candy thermometer registers 250 degrees F.  Sit bottom of saucepan immediately in a pan of cold water to stop the cooking process. Carefully pour this syrup into the egg yolks in a bowl. Beat this mixture with a wire whip until it is completely cooled. Introduce butter into sugar-egg mixture bit by bit, together with the strong coffee to make coffee cream; adding additional coffee extract to it if desired
 
To make chocolate ganache cream: Heat cream in a saucepan until boiling; put a ladle in it to prevent boiling over. Pour cream into chocolate pieces in a bowl, stirring to melt chocolate. Stir in rum.
 
To assemble:  Slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Use a pastry brush to soak the first layer with 1/3 of syrup; then spread coffee cream on top. Repeat the layering, brushing and icing process with the 2nd piece of cake; then top it with the top layer of cake. Soak this with the rest of syrup.
 
Sit the cake on a wire rack set in a large baking pan. Pour chocolate ganache over the top and sides of the cake.
 
Cover sides of cake with chocolate flakes and sprinkle cocoa powder over the top. Refrigerate cake for at least 3 hours before serving.

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